Wednesday 21 April 2021

A rainbow of colour ........

Happy Wednesday .........

How are you? 

It's all good here at the moment ........ fingers crossed!
Our latest lockdown restrictions were all lifted on Monday (yeah!)  A new exit plan for opening our borders was published yesterday (whoo hoo!!) ....... roll on the end of June!  We've booked a family holiday Staycation, and a long weekend away in the van.  And ..... we're off out this evening for the first time in what feels like FOREVER!!  It's nice to be getting back to normality!  
I say fingers crossed because, I've just heard on the local news that there are new unexplained cases of the virus on the island that have been detected overnight ........ lets hope that further investigation doesn't bring bad news!! 

Anyway, the reason I'm here is  .......... I'm playing along with the CAS Christmas Challenge again ....... sneaking in another festive card before the deadline.


The theme is ...... Rainbow.  Not something I would normally think of for festive designs but ..... it works


Who doesn't love pretty fairy lights, and these would brighten up any Christmas tree!

I stamped and heat embossed the fairy lights onto a piece of white cardstock, and then coloured them using ZIG Clean Color Brush Markers and a waterbrush


I added a touch of fine crystal glitter to each of the bulbs for a little added sparkle,


 and used a silver gel pen and my waterbrush to colour the tops


I used a fancy stitched edge die to add extra detail to the bottom, and trimmed my stamped image to match 


A simple sentiment, stamped underneath and heat embossed, adds the finishing touch.

I've enjoyed creating the rainbow designs for this challenge but, I think I'm still more of a traditional girl when it comes to my festive cards!

Speaking of rainbows, here's a colourful idea for this month's CAS Mix Up Challenge .......



It's not the usual form of paper piecing but I think it would pass.  
I haven't actually stamped an image and paper pieced it, instead I've cut the petals from an old book page and then pieced them together to make my flower ...... could be a daisy, or a sunflower maybe.


I took an old book page and coloured it using various colours of acrylic paints.  
I used my finger to smoosh small patches of colour but you could use a brush ........ I've done a few too many workshops with the lovely Tracy Scott I think, she loves to finger paint!  It's such an easy way of applying colour, and you don't have to be too careful either for this technique. 

I stamped on top of the painted page using a few background stamps to add some more detail and interest ...... another technique picked up from Tracy


I then cut myself a template for the petal shape ...... you could cut your petals freehand if you prefer. 
I concertina folded my painted book page to fit my petal template, drew around it across the width of the paper and then cut out the petals. 

I arranged the petal shapes to form the flower on the edge of a piece of black cardstock.  Once I was happy I glued each one into place, trimming off any excess.


For the centre of the flower I cut a circle from another book page and glued it over the top. 

I added some white gel pen around the edges of the petals to make them stand out,  and finished with a few splatters of white paint


A simple heat embossed sentiment was all it needed on the bottom 



Both challenges close on April 24th so there's still a little time left if you fancy playing along.

Thanks for popping by ...... enjoy the rest of your day.

Cheerio until next time .......
 


Products used:
CAS Christmas card
Stamps: Outline Christmas Bulbs (Simon Says Stamps); Sentiment was a freebie I think
Inks: Versamark ink;
Other: Metallic Platinum Embossing Powder (WOW!); ZIG Clean Color Brush Markers; Quickie Glue Pen; Fine Crystal Glitter, Silver Sparkle Gel Pen; Fancy Stitched Edge die (not sure of the make)


CAS Mix Up card
Stamps: Various background stamps from my stash; Sweet Daisy stamp set (Julie Hickey Designs) - for the sentiment
Inks: Versamark ink;
Other: Old book pages; PaperArtsy Fresco Finish Acrylic Paints - various colours; White embossing powder (WOW!); White gel pen

10 comments:

Julia Aston said...

Two bright and festive cards Linda! love that jumble of tree lights with your rainbow colors and touches of snowy glitter! and your paper pieced bloom is striking against the black card! hope your island is able to ease the restrictions again!

HilaryJane said...

2 more really lovely cards. I think I like the paper pieced flower best, thanks for the inspiration. I do hope you new found freedom is here to stay xx

nancy littrell said...

Wow..a true mixed media paper pieced Beauty, Linda. You even kept it CAS with your black background. TFS and the for the inspiration, my friend. Especially thank you for a fun and creative challenge. Love and Hugs...Nancy

Mac Mable said...

What a fabulous and fun rainbow Christmas card and a great way to incorporate the colours Linda x. Your paper piecing and die cutting looks amazing and loving the stamping over the top of the paint. Stunning second card Linda .

Loll said...

Two fabulous card Linda. LOVE your rainbow of lights. It's just amazing ... so colourful and fun. And a wonderful design! Your paper pieced flower is gorgeous. Those bright colours just sing with the black background. Fabulous cards! Hope the restrictions stay lifted and you get your weekend get-away! xx

Leslie Miller said...

Linda, I love color and I think your rainbow Christmas card is fantastic! The glitter, the design, it's all very festive. Once again you've blown me away with your paper piecing. How striking your flower is against the black with all the wonderful color you gave those petals. You worked wonders with these two cards!

Christine Alexander said...

your rainbow Christmas lights look wonderful so festive and love your petals the fresco paints are so colourful (I need more ♥)

Trina P. said...

Wonderful rainbow cards. I’ve always had multi-coloured lights on my Christmas tree, so using lights for your rainbow Christmas card is perfect. Love the sparkle and extra details you’ve added. Thank you for brightening up the gallery at CAS Christmas this month.

Heather said...

Both these cards are beautiful and thank you for sharing such great ideas. The sparkle details on the lights are perfect and the book page flower has totally inspired me.

Barb Ghig said...

I love how you used the colors of the rainbow for your fairy lights, Linda! Great idea to add a touch of sparkle to each one, too! Thanks so much for joining in the fun with us at CAS Christmas!