Friday 4 August 2017

Christmas is coming .......

Hello again .....

I know, I know ......... some of you haven't had your summer holidays yet and here's me going on about Christmas.  I do have a good excuse though .... it's time for this month's Happy Little Stampers Christmas challenge ..... Ho! Ho! Ho!


The theme is Anything Goes .... anything Christmas that is ..... with an optional twist of using a Poinsettia

I love poinsettias at Christmas time but I do struggle to keep them alive past the end of December ..... it's not just poinsettias, plants in general really. I'm definitely not green fingered ..... I had a cactus that died!!!
That's why I have a beautiful fake poinsettia ..... comes out every year and goes away with the decorations in January ..... easy!

I have a few poinsettia rubber stamps too ....... here's one of my favourites, Scarlet Majesty from Penny Black


Speaking of Penny Black ..... that's where I spotted this idea of using black ink on this style of stamp along with the Kraft card.  One of their Design Team ...... Heather Hoffman, created some beautiful designs, I just had to give it a go.   A totally different look from the traditional red, but quite elegant I think. I love it with the touch of gold too.

I did use the MISTI, and quite an old Onyx black Versafine Ink pad as I didn't want the colour too dark. I also stamped onto Crumb Cake cardstock from Stampin Up ...... this is a lovely smooth card and a great Kraft colour.   I love how you still get all the detail from the stamp, the veining in the petals and the shading ...... gorgeous!


The sentiment ..... one of the HLS Christmas Sentiments, has been heat embossed using a gold powder


And I finished off the design with a sprinkling of Fran-tage Chunky White embossing powder, to give the look of falling snow ...... sprinkled randomly on the top and gently heated from underneath, so as not to blow it all away.


I do love how this turned out ....... it's so different.   In fact this might just be one of the designs I use for my Christmas cards this year. What do you think?

Check out the HLS Blog for all the challenge details along with more festive inspiration from the rest of the Design Team

Thanks for popping by ...... enjoy your weekend.

Cheerio until next time ......


10 comments:

Redanne said...

I share your 'issues' with poinsettia and cactus - lol!

I think that has to be the most beautiful poinsettia stamp I have ever seen, it is so elegant and you have used it beautifully - I just love the mix of Kraft and black, it really is gorgeous!! Hugs, Anne xx

Mrs.B said...

Stunning card Linda and it's such a gorgeous stamp - wouldn't have thought about stamping in black but it gives a wonderful effect, especially with the Kraft.
Avril xx

Nonni said...

Wow, I really like this! A completely different look for a more traditional poinsettia card. Beautiful use of this stamp and I love the white "snow"!

Anonymous said...

What a gorgeous and unique card. Thank you for detailing how you accomplished this beauty. Char

Jane said...

So I'm not the only one who struggles with poinsettias living past Christmas Day! But oh your card is just wonderful, so elegant and sophisticated in the blacks and kraft. Totally smitten.

Stephanie Lanzalotto said...

This is absolutely gorgeous! I would never have thought to use black for the poinsettia, but what a fantastic look with the kraft and gold. I have some of that embossing powder too, and have not cracked it open. Thanks for the tip and for sharing this beauty!

Mac Mable said...

So eye catching and so contemporary. Love the 'colour' of the poinsettia...unique and creative...love it x

Inkyfingers said...

I agree that this has such an elegant look Linda and it's something I would never have thought to try. So arty and classy!

Ina G said...

Wow Linda! This is oh soooooooo gorgeous. Love your beautifully stamped poinsettia - especially the effect you got with the colour. Simply stunning.

BożenA said...

Oh Linda! This card is incredibly beautiful. I love monochrome tonality, a bit of gold makes the card extremely elegant. WOW!