Christmas Cards for Unique Crafters Challenge

This month is all about Christmas projects! The UniqueCrafters Challenge Blog is being sponsored by Cedar Chest Designs so don’t forget to stop by and link your own project for a chance to win a free $10 gift certificate. Both of these cards and images are featured as examples on the website.

 

As a special bonus, you can download the “Natures Christmas Tree Image” for FREE and anybody who uses it or any other image from Cedar Chest Designs will be entered into a random drawing for a whopping $35 gift certificate.

To make my first card I used the new Reindeer Penguin image from Cedar Chest Designs. He is colored with Copic markers and I assembled the card with paper and embellishments from the Merry Christmas line by Echo Park. The main pattern paper is called “Merry Border Stripe.” I finished the card by adding a bit of red sparkle with my Spica pen, a quick brown pen border to the image edge and a simple satin brown bow.

Copic Marker Colors Used on Penguin Card:
Penguin: C00, C1, C3, C5, C6
Reindeer Antlers: E15, E18, E29
Red Accents: R22, R24, R27, R59
Green Vest: YG61, YG63, YG67
Brown Shoes: E11, E13, E15, E17, E18
Background: W0, W2, W4, W6 

For my second card I used the Dew Drop Christmas Ornament image from Cedar Chest Designs. It was also colored with Copic Markers and assembled with the Merry Christmas line by Echo Park. I used a pale red, green and yellow marker to add the background dots and added lots of Glamour Dust to make the ornament sparkle. I finished the image with a simple knot of gold twine and a holiday stamp on the bottom.

 

Copic marker Colors Used on Ornament Card:
Ornament: R22, R24, R27, R59, YG61, YG63
Background Dots: Y11, R22, YG61

Simple Christmas Cottage Card

This quick and simple card was made with a Christmas cottage image that I found on a clipart site online. I used a new technique to shade in the cottage walls by dotting in the colors instead of brushing them on. I used Copic Markers C3, YR14 and E35 to make the dots and then blended the colors slightly with E33. I then used the same effect to darken in the ground under the cottage with C3 and C1 and then blended them out with C0. I liked the effect in both place. When I try this style again in the future, I will attempt to do it with lighter and darker markers to create better shadows while also filling it with this textural pattern.  The image will look different if you use the dot markers in a different order. Play around to see what patterns you like and feel free to ask me any questions.

The card itself was made with a beautiful green snowflake pattern from the Season’s Greetings line by Echo Park Paper and a few scraps from my supplies. The glitter was added by simply brushing the edges of the roof with my Quiky Glue Pen and then sprinkling a little Deco Art Glamour Dust over the image. Brush off the extra glitter and let it dry for just a few minutes before it set. Overall, I decided to keep this card simple because I actually mailed the card out for Christmas this year.

Purple Wee Fairy Card

I love this card. It is one of my all time favorite images and favorite colors. It also has the honor of being my first completed card featuring a Copic Marker colored image.  I used one of the Wee Fairy stamps by Sylvia Zet and made the card with scraps from my collection. The flowers in the corner are a digital flower image I printed and also colored using Copic Markers. The blue inked edge is done with the Tim Holtz Weathered Wood Distress Ink and the little gems have been added using my Imaginisce I-Rock tool.