Christmas card fun!

 

 so, it is that time of the year when we are getting ready to Celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour.  i am so thankful for all He has done for me - sometimes when i think of how ungrateful i am for the sacrifice He made for me, it really makes me sad.....BUT, not this time of year!  because at this time of year we rejoice because God was preparing to have His only Son be born into the World so that all who would one day believe in Him, may have eternal life!!!  

my main technique today has been around for ages - i believe Jowilna Nolte showed it to me the first time almost 5 years ago, then i saw it on a Tim Holtz video and i know there are many more videos and versions of it out there.  i give all credit to anyone who wants to claim the idea as their own - this is just my version!!!

 

 i have been getting a lot of requests from clients who wanted a step-by-step tutorial involving ways with stamps.  i love stamps.  today i am going to show you two things to do with your stamps - very plain and simple, yet very effective!  above are the tools you will need to make this card.  heatgun, black cardstock, versamark inkpad, clear embossing powder, some perfect pearls, anti static pad, waterbrush (or just a brush and water) as well as your selected stamps and some paper

 i first used my anti-static pad to remove all static from my black cardstock.  this is one of the steps many people new to embossing forget, and then they get upset with the way the technique turns out.  i forget too, so don't feel too bad!!

 now you can ink up your stamp with the versamark ink and stamp your image onto your black cardstock.  i used the smooth side of the cardstock to stamp on

 cover your stamped image liberally with the clear embossing powder. 

 shake off the excess until only your image is left covered with the powder

 heat the powder with your heatgun.  you can see here where the powder is starting to melt

 this is the finished result

 mist some water onto your craft sheet

 using your brush, pick up some water and then dip it into your pearls.  you can clean your brush between colours using a paper towel.

you will see when you paint that where you have embossed, it resists the pearls.  wait until it is completely dry, and then you can wipe it with a slightly damp cloth to get any excess pearls off your details (WARNING - if you make the cloth/kitchen towel too wet, you will make a MESS - ask me!!!) trim off any excess of the image you don't want to use

 tear a piece of old dictionary paper that fits your card and mist it and ink it to give it an aged look

using a plain word stamp and some black ink, stamp your sentiment onto the dictionary paper.  add some ribbon and your coloured image and you are done!!

all products were bought at Scrapbook Studio - have a look at all the Perfect Pearls!  there are all kinds of colours so you can choose as many as you like!  these little jars of goodness are so versatile - maybe i will focus on them for the next few weeks!!  enjoy the rest of your day and week and remember to please be kind to someone who does not deserve it.  you will feel amazing!!!