Black and Gold Christmas by Natalie

 

I know... I know... it's too early to be thinking about Christmas... or is it?

In June, Lesley brought the retiring stamp set to her shows on Create and Craft. This card uses a couple of these sets alongside the vertical sentiments: Say it Vertically. Vertical sentiments are great for where we need to add a vertical boundary or border.

The background design

Most of my backgrounds start life as a piece of plain white card. Using two of the larger flower gem designs, I stamped in Antique Linen and Weathered Wood Distress Oxide inks. Distress Oxides give a better impression when stamping but can also be pulled out with water. Stamp the images so they overlap and no masking is required.

As we are using white card rather than a watercolour or mixed media surface, work with a damp paintbrush rather than flooding the card with water. Start by pulling out the Weathered Wood flowers as the foreground; Antique Linen images will more easily fade into the background. Blend around the outside of the bezel (the round bit) around the gem. This will instantly give your image dimension, and you can always print with a little reinker or squidge some ink onto a palette. Blend around the outside of the flower using just water.

Colouring the gems

Treat each ring of polygons as one shape. Work a gradient across the ring dark to light; then on the next ring go light to dark. This will fake a sparkle; you can embellish with a white gel pen at the end if you wish.

Repeat this colouring process for the Antique Linen flowers but only where a Weathered Wood flower doesn't overlap.

Focal Point

Stamp two long drop baubles in Weathered Wood onto white gold mica cardstock. Allow to dry (it will take a little longer on this kind of cardstock) before fussy cutting out the images.

Crop a panel measuring 6x4" and adhere to a 6x6" black mica card blank. Trim a strip of vellum measuring 7x1.5" which will wrap vertically so you can adhere it on the inside of your card. Overlay your baubles and adhere both to the vellum and add additional adhesive beneath the vellum so it is secured.

Use a sparkly pen to draw two strings for the baubles.

Stamp your vertical sentiment onto either white card or more of the mica card. Use a more permanent ink to bring out the detail in the stamp such as a grey permanent pad.