SU! 2018 Holiday Card Swap #2

Hello! Happy Saturday!

I trust you are all doing well today! It’s a wonderful day to be alive!

Time to move on and show you the rest of the cards from the Holiday Card Swap I just did! I realized I should have named the other post with Holiday since there are more than just one swap. but, oh well…a learning lesson!

What do you imagine when you think Halloween and owls? Yes, THIS! Right?!

Halloween was the easiest to create a card for using the Still Night stamp set and thinlits! No surprise there, I am sure! This one came together so perfectly! I did struggle with a sentiment, though. I needed to use only current SU! stuff and I don’t have a current Halloween sentiment. I only have Paper Pumpkin Halloween sentiments. The ones that come with the Still Night, just didn’t sound Halloweenish to me. And, I am not really a creepy sort of Halloween gal, so I wanted to stay on the cuter side of things. That’s when I grabbed the Make a Difference Alphabet and made up my own…’Hoo!’ I thought about doing ‘Who?’ but figured that was too predictable. Something original was what I was going for and that is what an owl says. Right? I used the Gorgeous Grape ink for the sentiment and distressed it with the grape as well.

Hmmm, got sidetracked with the sentiment and I haven’t even told you about the card! That’s ok, all in good time!

I apparently did not remember to take pictures of this next step, so words alone will have to do. If you have questions, feel free to ask them in the comments and I will answer them!

I cut out a 3” circle from the white cardboard that lines the DSP. I needed something firm. I used that as my stencil for my moon. Then I grabbed a page of Very Vanilla and laid the stencil on it. Grabbed the daubers and ink for my Crushed Curry and Pumpkin Pie and began to use circular motions to bring the color into the circle. I started with the Crushed Curry and then blended in the Pumpkin Pie. This was fun to do and each full moon came out uniquely different, yet stunning. I really like the moons! I then cut them out so that I could put them on the Night of Navy. One of the best colors ever! I typically use it for anything I want to look like nighttime! It’s better than black for that! Besides, I knew I was using the black for the silhouette of the branch and owl. The base is Pumpkin Pie card stock distress with Gorgeous Grape ink.

As you can see, I changed up the owl from my prototype to the actual card that was made and sent for the swap. It came down to a time factor! I was subbing so much and running dangerously close to my deadline. The prototype had been stamped with Versamark, clear embossing powder poured on it, then shook off, then heat set. Plus, running it through the Big Shot with the thinlit. That is a lot of steps! I needed to cut out some steps! So, I went with the black owl that looks like he wants to take off. It’s not as striking, yet it is easier to see. I think the black owl with the clear embossing powder is harder to see.

I may have taken out 3 steps, but there was still the cutting of the owl. You have a different sandwich of Big Shot plates that you have to use for detailed thinlits. It helps to make them come out better and yet, you still have to run it through a few times! Plus, the bristle brush and mat really help get all those pieces out.

When you don’t, this happens…which has it’s place, just not on this card…

When you do, this happens…

Sometimes a few hang on for dear life and then you just have to take your paper piercer and push it out! Or a fingernail can work at times too, depending on the size. those toes needed the piercer!

Oh, I almost forgot! On the sentiment…do you see those 3 black pearls?? We don’t sell them, by the way. Do you want to know how I did that? A Sharpie! Yep, I colored them on their mat and then transferred them to the sentiment oval. I have done it with rhinestones to give them color, so why not pearls? It worked and I like how it turned out. At first I left it all plain and then I thought it needed a bit more so I also did the silver thread in loops under the sentiment. I am still working on perfecting that technique! Not sure why I struggle with it. I know it’s all the rage right now, but mine never seems to come out just right…or maybe that is my problem…it isn’t supposed to be just right, it is supposed to be messy. I need to set aside that OCD tendency for this technique, I guess! LOL

I left the inside blank so that the giver of the card can write what they want. Sometimes, I just really like it that way! I did use the stamp with the 3 little dots on it to decorate the corner of the inside with some Tuxedo Black and some Gorgeous Grape. Kept it simple.

That was it for this card. Prototype changed, as is typical for me. Let me know what you think! Which do you like better??

Thank you for reading and taking this crafting journey with me! It’s nice to have you along!

Enjoy your Stampin’, Scrappin’, and Craftin’ journey and feel free to share your creations with me!

Blessings, June

If you like what you’ve seen here and want to see more, you can follow me by clicking over on the left to get notice in your email of new blog posts.

You can also follow me on Facebook and Instagram under Junebug Creations…see you there!

Challenges this card has been entered into:

• HIMCR – Challenge #372 – Freestyle
• Double Trouble Challenge – Challenge 10 – Three Colors and Stamped or Digital Image
• Brown Sugar Challenge Blog – Challenge #282 September 2018
• Crafty Gals Corner – Challenge #175 ~ Anything Fall Goes
• TTCRD – New Anything Goes Challenge 25th Sept
• 613 Avenue Create – Challenge 213 Anything Goes / Optional Twist Clean and Simple
• Lil Patch of Crafty Friends – CHALLENGE #90
• Crafty Friends – Challenge 93