Winter Wonderland

I have to tell you right off the bat that I really like how this card turned out and that it was a happy accident :-).  And, no matter how many times I tried to duplicate it (and I tried quite a few times), I just couldn't.  What I was trying to duplicate is how the edges of the vintage book page tore off right around the image.  So this is definitely a one of a kind!

I created this card by stamping the church image (from Rubber Cottage) with Distress Ink (denim) and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder onto a very old, and somewhat fragile, book page.  Then I did the same thing with the sentiment, which is from Serendipity Stamps.  I had to mask this stamp to get it to stamp on two lines, as the rubber stamp is all on a single line.  I layered this book page onto dark navy cardstock, which is then layered onto another piece of a page from a different vintage book.  A bit of lace has been added between these two layers.

Once I had completed the card, I thought it might look better if I had used VersaMark and heat embossed with blue embossing powder.  So I decided to try and pry off this first book layer.  The edges tore perfectly around the image, and that was it.  It wouldn't budge.  Now I really liked it, but I still wanted to try my other idea.  It did look good with the darker image, but I could never get the edges to tear off so nicely (usually, it also tore into the image itself).  So I took some advice that I'm always giving my husband: be happy with what you've got.  And I am.

This card was also showcased on Rubber Stamp Madness' Facebook page this past Wednesday.

Christmas Church

Since I had the week off from a couple of my design teams, I've had more of a chance to play around and participate in some other challenges.  Today's card is actually made from a rubber stamp (it's been awhile since I've used any) from Rubber Cottage and the sentiment is a rubber stamp from Memory Box.

I stamped my image in white onto black paper and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder.  One other thing I did was dip my finger in some white embossing powder and lightly sprinkle it over  the black to simulate snow falling.  After cutting out my snowflakes with a Creative Memories punch, I also heat embossed them with a mixture I created consisting of clear embossing powder and glitter.  It's really hard to tell in the photo, but they really shimmer and sparkle in the light.  This is a close up of one so you can get the idea.  The green branches are my touch of color and are from the Branches punch by Martha Stewart.  The image is cut using Labels Ten from Spellbinders and adhered to a piece of black chipboard, also cut with Labels Ten.

I'm entering this card into the following challenges: Stampendous (use chipboard); Stampy Land Challenge (colored ink only); Oldie But A Goodie (rubber stamp - Let It Snow); Mark's Finest Papers (black, white, one other color); Totally Paper Crafts (black & white); Cooking It Up with Katie (punch, ink, emboss); Really Reasonable Ribbon (CAS, Christmas, ribbon).