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Friday, December 22, 2017

Winter Peace


This is the last Christmas card for 2017, and I think it's my favorite one; although I do like the other cards I did this year. I think this one is simple and elegant and could probably fall into my Upcycle Your Scraps category. The backgrounds are from alcohol ink on Yupo paper that I previously made, plus a couple using Nuance backgrounds that I already had.


For this card, I first cut panels from Neenah Solar White 80# cardstock, using the largest die in the Lawn Fawn LF768 Small Stitched Rectangle Stackables die set. This cuts a rectangle that is 3.75" x 5" with a nice stitched edge.

I then used the Memory Box 99843 Stitched Circle Trees die to cut out the top center of the panel. I knew I wanted this die the moment I saw it. It's a collage type die, which I like, and I love the stitched circle that defines the trees and sloping hills that could be snow. This little scene reminds me of where we live.

I stamped the Peace on Earth sentiment (Magenta 07.457.H) with Versafine Onyx Black ink toward the bottom of the panel. I love the script of this stamp, and also the message behind the sentiment.

For the backgrounds I added Ranger alcohol inks to Tim Holtz Yupo paper. For each of these cards I only needed 1/4 piece of each of the 5" x 7" pieces of Yupo paper, so they are fairly economical. I used a number of different colors on these, including blues, greens, pinks, oranges and some of the silver mixative, which ended up looking like snow. I really like the ones that I used greens and pinks in because they remind me of the Northern Lights. 

I already had these Yupo pieces hanging around, and I grabbed all I had that were predominantly blue. I cut them into 2.5" x 3.5" pieces and mounted each one to the back of a die-cut panel. Since these cards were relatively easy to make, I made 15 of them.

I mounted the panel to Malmero Perle Abysse cardstock and then to a base card of Neenah Solar White 110#.

Since I didn't have enough of the already colored pieces of Yupo paper, I pulled out a panel of watercolor cardstock that I had worked with Nuance. I think I like this card even better than the alcohol ink ones, although only 2 were made with Nuance. Since the colors in the Nuance ones are a little different, I matted them with So Silk Fair Blue cardstock instead of the darker Malmero.


This one REALLY looks like the Aurora to me. I first saw the Northern Lights in Iceland on Christmas Eve 3 years ago. I was standing on the balcony of my Son-in-Law's Mother's house. It was such a perfect moment. A good friend has since taken us out to see the Northern Lights a number of times, and each time it's like the first.


These were taken from a rooftop in Southeast Iceland on a memorable trip with our good friends Jón Eldon Logason and Inga Olsen. I took these photos with my phone! Photos with real cameras on a tripod are better, but this experience is etched in my mind forever.


Some of the Lights were shimmering and moving, and some had pinks and purples in them.


So I want to say Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all of you. When I look at the Northern Lights, I have hope that things will be better next year. They are so beautiful and ethereal, and seem to be full of promise. All the best to you, and thank you for following me and looking at my blog!


Products Used:

Magenta Peace on Earth 07.457.H
Magenta Nuance
Memory Box 99843 Stitched Circle Trees
Lawn Fawn LF768 Small Stitched Rectangle Stackables
Ranger Alcohol Inks
Tim Holtz Yupo paper
Tim Holtz Watercolor cardstock
Versafine Onyx Black ink
Neenah Solar White 80# & 110# cardstock
Malmero Perle Abysse cardstock
So Silk Fair Blue cardstock

8 comments:

  1. Very pretty Dianne, I wish you and your family a merry Christmas |

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  2. Merci Carole, and Merry Christmas to you and yours!

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  3. Merry Christmas sweat heart. May God richly bless you and your family all year no always. The Northern Lights-how stunning wow thank you for sharing . did you try it with nuance or brusho or ? it should work on Yupo have a great new year now. love ya Rose

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    1. Hi Rose! It's so good to hear from you! Yes, the first card was done with alcohol ink on Yupo and the second card shown was done with Nuance. It was pretty easy and a lot of fun! I'm going to try to do a Christmas card or tag once a month all year, starting with January. I have so much stuff I still haven't used, and it would be nice to have them all done come next December!

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  4. Gorgeous cards! My favorite is the last one. That background is incredibly beautiful.

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    1. Thanks Daria! I think that's my favorite too. In fact, I liked it so much that I couldn't mail it away! :)

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  5. Great looking take/technique for the Northern Lights!

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Thanks so much for taking the time to comment! Please visit me again soon.
Dianne