Christmas Cards by Angie Coomber

Christmas Cards

Hello fellow crafters!

Are you busy making Christmas cards or are you super-organized and already had them finished in August?

I can't resist these cute Mini Houses when it comes to Christmas and they are simply stamped and coloured in with whichever pencils you have to hand.

For the background I painted a very light, pastel layer of watercolours on watercolour paper, followed by a rough covering of various shades of blue watercolour, leaving some pastel patches showing to create a kind of "galaxy" effect. I also painted some of the blue on a spare bit of paper. I then added some white splatter for the "stars".

I cut some wavy pieces of the blue painted card and arranged it on the background to create a scenery together with some of the houses.

To finish, I added some glitter and some rub-on Christmas quotes, matted and glued to white cards.

Have a lovely December everyone!

Hugs from Angie x

December's Creative Challenge - Christmas

Hello!

Welcome to December's Creative Challenge.
We also would love you to welcome a new member of our team- Siobhan Brignull. Siobhan kicks off her term with us with a fabulous Christmassy project for the challenge.
Please do pop over to her blog and say hello. 

Thank you to everyone who joined in last month's challenge.

This month the theme is Christmas and can be interpreted any way you like, as long as it has rubber stamps on it. To join in with this challenge (we are limiting the challenge entries to 3 per person), is simple; all we would like you to do is, make a piece of artwork, making sure that you include the theme and some rubber stamping. Pop back here to link up using the Inklinkz at the bottom of this post, so that we can see what you've made and then, leave us a comment to let us know you have joined in with the challenge.

As always, there will be candy for one randomly picked entrant - the winner will receive a stamp of their choice from The Artistic Stamper .
In addition, you can enter the same challenge on Facebook! There is no prize on there, it's just for fun!
To join us on just go to our new Facebook group, and send us a request to join..
And don't forget....if you use The Artistic Stamper stamps on your entry, you will entered into the draw, twice! To get you started here are creations fron some of the team.

Siobhan

Hello everyone, this is my first blog post as a member of the Artistic Stamper Creative team. I am a long time shopper and class attender of the Artistic Stamper, and was really pleased that Jennie asked me to participate in her Creative Team.

I have been paper crafting for about 15 years or more, not really sure when the obsession started, but I started with peel offs and card making, some scrapbooking followed by ATC and then I found Mixed Media in all it's painterly messy glory, and I have been here ever since.

So, for my first project I used the Christmas Tree 3d models and the reindeers that Jennie has in her shop, I used a selection of The Artistic Stamper background stamps and  stencils to create depth and texture along with my favourite PaperArtsy paint.

If you want to see more information on which products I used and how, along with more photo's.

Visit my blog.

Lisa

I created the background from smooshing distress inks on to a craft mat and spraying a coupoe of spritz of water. I then picked up the ink on a piece of white card, dried it and lifted more ink until the craft mat was clean. I stamped the Artifacts Funky Fairy stamp in a circle on the background with clear ink, then heat embossed them with white embossing powder. 

I then took a smaller piece of card and coloured it using the same method. I stamped the ''Into each day" verse stamp on to it and mounted it on to black card and adhered it in to the centre of the background card. To finish the card, I matted it on to black card. 

My Blog

JANE

Oh my goodness!!!...I threw everything at this background, stamps, stencils, gesso, inks, gilding flakes, paint, glitter, I can't even tell you how sparkly this is!!...I was trying to capture the essence of Asia to go with the fabulous stamped woman from the FACES stamp set, the three crowns are meant to symbolise the Magi.  My friend is married to an Iranian, and as she wholeheartedly embraces the culture, I thought I would make this card for her, I tried writing the Christmas greeting in Arabic...but...heck..it looked all wrong, so settled for this instead...translated means Merry Christmas. Hope my friend likes it.

JANE'S BLOG

Titbelsoeur

To meet this new monthly challenge, I have made a decoration for my Christmas tree using an old CD-rom as support (re-use, re-cycle...).

I have sticked a book page as a background, distressed the edges and stamped

Snowflake Background all around. I have coloured the circle with Distress inks and left a blank space where I stamped the Santa face from Mini Christmas 2. And to be sure everyone knows what it is about, I have stamped Merry Christmas

from Christmas Greetings # 1 !!

I hope this decoration will inspire you to participate in this new challenge

my blog 

my pinterest
my facebook

Jennie

I made a "simple" card using Neil's Leafy Tree as a Christmas tree set against a background of Distress Oxide, spattered with white paint. The tree was stamped in black archival, and sparkled up with stickles .

We hope that you will join in this month's challenge, and also join us on Facebook too.
We look forward to seeing your creations. Don't forget to add a comment when you have posted your entry.
Have a very festive month
Jennie x

An InLinkz Link-up

Happy Kissmas by Jane France

Hi there all you Artistic Stamper fans, this is Jane here with my very first design team post, I am thrilled to be here and looking forward to seeing all your fabulous creations, as well as hopefully inspiring you with my makes.
For my first card I wanted to do a Christmas themed card with non traditional colours and to make use of a stamp that is not necessarily for Christmas. I have this Rodin's "The Kiss" statue on my fireplace...(obviously the small version!!) so when I saw that The Artistic Stamper had it in a stamp....I just fell in love with it, a versatile stamp that can be used for lots of occasions... ie... Valentines Day, Birthdays, Anniversaries, Weddings,....and now...... Christmas!!.

I started by inking up an old book page, then stencilled blue ink through the SMALL DOTS 6x6 mask, I then stamped and heat embossed the SNOWFLAKES, then on a separate piece of paper, stamped the THE KISS, cut it out, and along with the computer generated sentiment, added it to my card. 

My Blog

My Pinterest

December's Creative Challenge- Christmas

Hello!
Welcome to our monthly Creative Challenge. It's the last one of the year, and what better theme than Christmas!  Interpret it in any way you like, as long as it has rubber stamping in it.

To join in with this challenge (we are limiting the challenge entries to 3 per person), is simple; all we would like you to do is, make a piece of artwork, making sure that you include the theme and some rubber stamping. Pop back here to link up using the Inklinkz at the bottom of this post, so that we can see what you've made and then, leave us a comment to let us know you have joined in with the challenge.

 As always, there will be candy for one randomly picked entrant - the winner will receive a stamp of their choice from The Artistic Stamper . 

In addition, you can enter the same challenge on Facebook!   To join us on just go to our new Facebook group, and send us a request to join..  There will be a prize for the Facebook challenge, as well as the blog challenge!

And don't forget....if you use The Artistic Stamper stamps on your entry, you will entered into the draw, twice!

Here is some creativity for you from the Creative Team to help you get started....

Jennie

I have made an alternative Christmas card, white embossing a calligraphic mat, and covering it in distress inks through an Artistic Stamper Stencil, and adding stamps from our Christmas range with Archival inks.

Gemma Hynes

Wow! where has the year gone, time for the December challenge and for this I created a card. I did not use a single Christmas stamp making this card, just lots of The Artistic Stampers background stamps. For more on how I made this card, head over to my blog. I can not wait to see everyone's Christmas creations. 

Titbelsoeur

Hi there ! how about making beautiful gift tags with our fabulous Christmas stamps ?

Debs

Hi everyone, here is a quick card with the new Christmas stamps

 

We hope that you will join in this month's challenge, and also join us on Facebook too.

We look forward to seeing your creations. Don't forget to add a comment when you have posted your entry.

Have a festive month!

Jennie

An InLinkz Link-up

Slight Quirky Christmas Card by Gemma

Hi Everyone

I do not as a whole enjoy making Christmas cards. I think my attention wanders due to the sheer number you are expected to make. Saying that I really enjoyed the messiness of this card, and the fact that it is quite non traditional, or as the other half said with a frown "that's a bit quirky" (opps! I don't think he likes this years card, but I do xxx).

It was one of those pieces where part way through, you think of putting it in the bin, but by the end you love it, its so easy to reproduce and think of all the things you could put in the light bulb (which is why it is one of my favourite stamps)
To start I stamped and cut out a mask of the large light bulb stamp, which I held down onto the card and scraped crushed grape and vibrant turquoise dylusions paint over the top.

Keeping the mask in place I stamped both the Grid and Harlequin Background stamps in the same colour paints. Then I removed the mask, and stamped the light bulb. Then I painted it with a titan buff acrylic paint. I also added a little titan buff to the background with the edge of a card.

I stamped Merry Christmas using the decay alphabet , which I went over with both black and white paint pens. I also stamped a little holly stamp in the light bulb and around the edges of the card. To finished I drew around the light bulb with the black paint pen and added some white in places with the white paint pen.

Thank you for reading

Gemma (InkyKitty)

Products from The Artistic Stamper

Large Light Bulb Stamp

Dylusions Paints

Grid Background

Harlequin Background

Decay Alphabet Stamps

Snowy window card... By Zuzu

I have made a simple (but hopefully effective) white on white twinkly christmas card to share with you today. I stamped out the little girl (from the "Victorian christmas #1 plate) on to white paper using black archival ink and glued her behind the die-cut window.

I added glittery twinkle to all the die-cut shapes and simply assembled them on to the card. the words in the top corner are remnant rub rubons.

Thank you for looking.
Z x

Christmas arch:By Zuzu...

 

well, keeping with this months challenge them of Christmas, i have given last years christmas arch a makeover.
it looked like this last year....

 

I pulled all the bits off and sanded it back and with a  bit of gluing and stamping it now looks like this....

I covered it in old book pages and some bits from old manuscript  music books then stamped on it. i used rubons for the star and the word "BELIEVE" and added some embellishments and gave it a coat of crackle varnish and rubbed some paint in to the cracks (taking excess off with a baby wipe.)

Supplies used:

wooden arch (icon)

small wood crown

metal corners

Stamps: Christmas plate 3 (candle)

            : Christmas plate 4 (wise men)

Remnants rubs (tim holtz rubons) "believe" and star.

Winter wonderland: By Zuzu

Yes, I have set free my christmas stamps. Its good to get ahead with Yuletide crafting I think. it keeps it fun and eliminates stress. this snowy winter wonderland house shaped configuration will be a pre Yuletide gift for a friend.(and fits nicely in to this months challenge theme!)

I used one of the wooden houses in the "altered art" section of the shop. I painted it inside and out with a combination of duck egg blue and cream. then i stamped some christmas images (list at the foot of the page) on to tissue paper i had pre-stained (and dried) with antique linen distress stains. i cut them out and glued them to the back of some of the compartments of the wee house. I then painted the "floors" of the compartments with white paint and added some snow-tex (fake snow texture). after that it was a case of filling in the wee compartments. making snowballs out of beads and using a lot of Tim Holz and other sizzix dies.

Supplies list:

Wooden house
Victorian Christmas #2  (2 stamps from sheet)
Victorian christmas #1   (2 stamps from sheet)
Crystal stickles

Ideaology Ice-skates, corked domes and Christmas word bands.
Ideaology Woodland, corked vials and Fractured dolls

Winner of October's Challenge

Hello, I am back again with the winner of last month's challenge, which was Alter Anything! We had some absolutely gorgeous creations and as always thank you to everyone who joined in. I have used Mr Random.org to choose a winner, and so please step up to our podium

Monique

with this fabulous creation!

Please email me , so I can sort out your prize :)
Don't forget we have a new challenge this month-Christmas , and what better way to start the celebrations than to do a Christmassy piece...looking forward to seeing them all :)

Have a creative day
{hugs}
Jennie

We three kings...

I couple of simple cards and tags made for christmas. I used a mask of torn paper for the cards and inked up the visible area in a graduated colour tone. you can use any kind of ink.paint or chalk you like for this (maybe distress inks and a blending tool).

Once the strip of colour had been inked and it had dried, I simply stamped over with black ink using some christmas stamps.

Ho! Ho! Ho! ...by Emma

Hello everyone! Hope you are all well and had a wonderful weekend, so far!

It's time for me to share my latest creation with you all and as always, I hope you like it...

...and here's how I made it!

To begin with, I created the frame using Tim Holtz Sizzix dies that I have in my stash. I then stamped the image of Santa onto a piece of cream card, die cut to size to match the larger frame. I blended the card with Old Paper DI and then blended the edges with Vintage Photo before I coloured the image using Distress Markers as watercolour paints to give a soft, vintage look to the piece. I then attached the finished piece to my frame.

Next, I die cut the lamp post and holly leaves from chipboard and painted it with an Adirondack Paint Dabber, leaving the surface stippled to give a texture to the paint. I painted the holly leaves and berries and allowed them all to dry before adding a piece of acetate behind the lantern part of the lamp post, coloured with Alcohol Ink. Once all my pieces were completely dry, I attached them to the main frame.

I then die cut the Tattered Pine Cone pieces from card, blended the cones with Gathered Twigs and the leaf fronds with Iced Spruce before shaping them to make dimensional cones. I added my completed cones, twigs and punched holly leaves to my frame, together with some vintage ribbon from my stash.

Using black Archival Ink, I stamped the Merry Christmas ticket from Tim's, Odd and Ends stamp set, onto a piece of card blended with Old Paper DI and I also stamped the Calligraphy stamp using the same colours. I added the ticket to my frame and then rolled up the stamped Calligraphy piece of paper to make a scroll. I then attached this, together with a pen nib to my artwork. Finally, I added accents of Rock Candy dry glitter to the cones, leaves and lamp post.

Mini Calligraphic Mat 20

Mini Christmas Stamp

Old Paper, Iced Spruce, Gathered Twigs and Vintage Photo Distress Ink

Adirondack Paint Dabbers

Alcohol Inks

Rock Candy Dry Glitter

Distress Markers

Sizzix Tim Holtz ~ Holiday Lamppost, Tattered Pinecone Alterations Dies

Tim Holtz ~ Odds and Ends Stamp Set

Pen Nib Idea-ology Findings

So, I really hope you liked my first piece for this month!!

I'll be back later in the month with my second creation but until then...thank you for taking the time to visit and I'll look forward to reading all your comments!

See you soon...Emma x

Frosty winds made moan.... By Zuzu

 I have begun to think of christmas projects now. lets face it, if you are going to be making things for christmas then you need time to gather inspiration, choose the stamps and supplies, order them, receive them and then get making. With that in mind, I have made this little frost inspired arch (this can be adapted to any winter scene even if you do not celebrate christmas.)

I used one of the little wooden arches from HERE. I decorated it with paint effects; sky blue (toned down with a little white) for the undercoat and blank canvas white for the top coat), sanded it then stamped it using some christmas stamps from HERE... snowflakes, "silent night" and the little winter scene... I have also used some of the trimming from the Tim Holtz collection by cutting off four or five individual roses from it.

 I painted some fake ivy leaves in white and added glitter to them and stuck on some silver snowflakes i have had in my stash for more years than I care to remember.
and there you have it. a wee snowy frosty sparkling shrine.

Must be Santa by Sioux Jenneys

Seasons Greetings everyone and as this is my last post of the year I'd like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas by sharing this card with you  :)

1. Cut a label using an alterations die and stamped the gorgeous Santa from Mini Christmas in Archival black.

2. Hand colour portions with a cut and dry nib...I used Distress Ink aged mahogany for the hat and berries, worn lipstick for the rosy cheeks and peeled paint for the greenery. I added a touch of Distress Stickles in fired brick to the berries too. The edges were aged with a touch of scattered straw and then some brushed corduroy.

3. I cut a mask from paper using another alterations die and taped extra paper round the edges so that it would cover the whole card front then stamped the snowflake (it's a freebie from The Artistic Stamper with any order this month don't forget) in Versamark and clear heat embossed.

Inked the background with a combo of Distress Ink scattered straw and brushed corduroy again.

4. Then I placed the other part of the mask over the centre panel and inked the rest of the card in Distress Aged Mahogany with a touch of brushed corduroy at the edges.....then stamped the calligraphic mat 13 in Archival coffee.

5. Stamped the lovely Seasons Greetings from Mini Christmas in Archival black and attached the label centrally to finish.

I wish you all the best Christmas ever! :)

See you again in the New Year!

xoxo Sioux

Merry Christmas!

Wishing everyone a very MERRY CHRISTMAS
Enjoy, be merry, and have a wonderful day!

with lots of love

Jennie, Hels, and all of our wonderful Creative Team

Meet Professor Christmas...By Nicks

For my second project for The Artistic Stamper I just had to use my favourite stamp of The Artistic Stamper Christmas collection - Tick Tock Father Christmas

A few weeks ago my very understanding OH brought home some conical vases that some one was throwing out, because he had a suspicion that I could do something with them. Did I want them?? Of course I did!!

With Santa in one hand and a bottle in the other, it was obvious that the shape was perfect for a Santa shape and so this Christmas Steampunk Decoration evolved.

I dribbled some alcohol inks into the bottle and swirled it around, I didn't want it to cover the whole inside. I then partly filled the bottle with some bits and pieces from my stash - some hardware (I have more in my craft room that OH has in his toolbox!), some Tim's idea-ology bits and some Christmas Stars and snowflakes.

The Prof's cloak was made from a piece of wire mesh cut to shape and covered organza and roughly sewn along the sides with silver thread and edged with some washer thingamajigs - don't ask me what the are really called! - The sack was made from an odd bit of hessian I had lying around and filled with some rusty nails my son found in his friends dad's workshop.

I stamped the Santa stamp onto some TSS metal using stazon ink. Dry embossed with with a selection of the TSS tools and working from the back of the metal on a thick foam mat and using a paper stump, plumped (is that the word??) his face. Before trimming him down I filled the back with some lightweight polyfilla and allowed to harden - this keeps the shape of the metal.

He needed arms - He now has arms and a chest because I stuck him on top of a skeleton which I had saved from Halloween

I love Prof Christmas and he looks very much at home on our mantelpiece - not sure he will go in the Christmas Dec box after the festivities are over though!

Thanks for looking! I will be back again after Christmas, so I'll wish you all a very Happy Christmas now but if you would like to see some more project using the lovely AS stamps hop over to my blog each day before Christmas where I am opening my advent calendar every day and sharing a 'me time' treat with you all

Nicks Arty Stuff