Thursday, June 25, 2015

Rudolph Day

Hello my crafty friends, sorry I have been MIA lately. I hurt my ribs right before the wedding, and then there was the wedding, visiting grandkids, a gender reveal party, chemo and of course Father's Day-busy times. Hubby had an allergic reaction to chemo this past time while getting it, scared the daylights out of me but the nurses were quick and had him back in shape. They were really awesome and kept a great eye on him while he finished up chemo. He finished his chemo and he finished up without any more reactions thank goodness. 

Well I finally got into my crafty room and made a card for Rudolph day, which started today. It always starts on the 25th of each month and you have until the end of the month to link up your card. I love playing along as often as I can, it gives me some Christmas cards made ahead of time for once. lol  My card is a total CASE. You can see the original card here. Mine isn't as CAS as Kristie's but I am happy with the way it came out. I fell in love with Kristie's card as soon as I saw it and so I thought I would try to CASE it. I used Lawn Fawn's Joy to the Woods stamp set, my watercolors and water color paper, hot pressed. I ordered hot pressed by mistake and then wondered what the difference was between hot and cold press watercolor paper. I found out that hot press watercolor paper is smooth and the colors sit more on top of the paper instead of absorbing into the paper thus making them look more vibrant. Cold press is textured and the watercolors absorb more into the paper. Both are neat and can have a place in the craft room. So it was a happy mistake, why don't you try both and see if you love them both?! So I took my watercolor paper and cut it to size to fit on my A2 card base. I taped around my paper with micro-pore tape to give a border. Then I water colored a sky background using black watercolor. I heat to dry it, then darken the upper part of the sky some more, then dried it with my heat gun. I popped up my birch trees and glued my cardinal down flat on the birch tree. I cut my "merry" out and glued it down. My "Christmas" was stamped with the rotary alpha stamp by SU. I was a little sloppy with it, I really need to practice using it. lol And I got some black ink underneath my sentiment, so I took a red Spectrum Noir maker and made a red line at the bottom of my card as well as on the inside. I want to see how a few silver stars will look yet in the sky, so may add some of them later. But that is about it. My CASE'd card. I hope you like my little CASE'd card and I want to thank you for popping by for a visit today. It always makes my day when you visit me and I love your sweet, sweet comments! I am going to try and get some wedding pics uploaded as well as the results from the gender reveal party. Crafty hugs, Brenda



Recipe:
Lawn Fawn, Joy to the Woods
My Creative Time, Boughs of Holly
hot press watercolor paper
Loi Water colors Pocket Field Sketch Box 

26 comments:

Carol L said...

THis is such a cute card, and I just love that little red bird perched on the tree branch. I never knew the difference between hot and cold press watercolor paper, so thanks for clearing that up for me! I'm so sorry you haven't felt your best and your hubby had an allergic reaction, but hopefully you're all feeling better now! Hang in there....chin up........better days are coming :) Hugs!

scrappymo! said...

Oh my gosh, Brenda! This is one of my fave cards of yours. Love the design and those on trend dies.
The Merry script die across the bottom is so cool!

Thanks for taking part in the June Rudolph Days Challenge!

Jo Williams Independent Stampin' Up Demonstrator said...

Gorgeous card Brenda! Love your watercolored sky in the background. The stamp set is so cute, I have that one as well but have not used it yet. I really love the "merry" in red, so vibrant and really pops.

Glad to know that hubby is doing much better from the allergic reaction and I cannot wait to hear all about the wedding, see some photos and find out if the baby is a little boy or a little girl. :)
Hugs,
Jo
xox

Marilyn said...

Cute card!! Glad your husband is doing better

Veerle said...

Lovely card Brenda, I love the CAS look of it. Thank goodness your hubby is better again. Can imagine you were scared when he gave an allergic reaction to the chemo. BTW what is a gender reveal party ? I'm still on vacation, last day though snif-snif. It has been wonderful and relaxing, just what i needed. Sending you lots of hugs and love, Veerle xxx

Anonymous said...

Love the card. The red is perfect on the black and white.
So glad the nurses are topnotch. What a scare. You've had a lot of "life" happening all at once but you are still posting - so that's good. Hope your ribs are healing nicely. Hope we get to see some pics soon. Wishing you and hubby a restful weekend.

Suzanne cricutcraftingrammyblogspot.com said...

Brenda I absolutely love this card. I love black, white and red. I learned something new today about the hot and cold press paper. Never heard of that before. Thanks for the info and sharing your creation. You have been extra busy and hope things can calm down again and that the treatments go better. Hugs my friend.

jimlynn said...

Brenda, this is beautiful! I love the way you did the background behind the trees! A pretty card for Christmas!
I never knew that about the cold and hot press watercolor paper! Thanks for that information.
Lynn

Lisa said...

This is so beautiful, Brenda!! I love those trees and the background!! The pops of red are so fabulous!! Gorgeous card my friend!!

I'm glad you hubby is doing better and no more allergic reactions. Keeping you both in my prayers!! Have a great weekend :)

Lisa
A Mermaid's Crafts

Vickie said...

Love your card.



I was thinking about you this morning and lo and behold there is a post from you. Glad Dwayne is okay and was able to finish.

Kathleen said...

Really sweet card, quite stunning in fact.

Kath x

Loll said...

Gorgeous card Brenda ... LOVE that background!!

Sorry to hear about hubby's reaction, but glad it was all settled fairly quickly, and that his chemo is done. And sorry to hear you are hurt. You've been through so much. Time for you both to rest up. Feel better, Brenda. xx

KT Fit Kitty said...

Wow, you've certainly had a lot going on! Hope things get better for you! Your card is beautiful, a real eye-catcher! Love it!

MaryH said...

You know I'm loving the little red guy perched in these pretty birches. Like the way you've popped up the design, and let the dark sky show through in the shadows. Brilliant idea to use the inky color rather than the blues...It's very dramatic, and also makes the red bird show much more intensely. Loved the tiny sliver of red at the bottom too. Great card...Hugs & TFS (MM)

Bonnie said...

This is so pretty, Brenda! I need to get some hot press watercolor paper! Thanks for explaining the difference! Love the birches with the pretty cardinal and die cut merry. The red line at the bottom adds even more interest! Glad your DH got through the chemo.

Jane Willis said...

I love this card - very CAS and yet still tells a great story. I've not heard of a gender reveal party either - I presume it's a baby-to-be whose gender is to be revealed, and not an adult???

sally said...

Sorry to hear about your troubles, I'm currently nursing a husband that's just had a new shoulder fitted (a week ago) and in 9 days time I'm driving us of to the southern French Alps from the North East of Scotland- 3 1/2 days....

I so love your little red Cardinal! I have only had the pleasure of seeing one once whilst I was over visiting my stepdaughter in Maine, unlucky me because the camera was on charge & so was my phone :-(

Sally

LesleyG said...

gorgeous card, especially considering all you been thru, and thanks for the watercolour paper tip...never knew that! xxx

Anita in France said...

Fabulous card, Brenda ... gorgeous ombré watercolour background ... and wonderful pops of red in the cardinal, sentiment and that slim strip along the bottom! Keeping up those prayers for you both! Hugs, Anita :)

MackieMade Paper Creations said...

Hello Brenda! Hope the wedding was lots of fun!
Your card is gorgeous!!!! I love the watercolored background! Great job! Thanks for explaining the difference between hot and cold pressed! I always wondered about that!!!!

Caroline said...

Oh, this card is awesome. Love the colors, trees and the splash of red with the cardinal. Beautiful!

Sybrina K said...

Brenda, So sorry to hear about your ribs. :( But thrilled you're back to getting crafty because this is so pretty. Love that background and how it just pops that little red bird!

Tina Campbell said...

Super cute card Brenda :) so sorry to hear of your pain oh I can only imagine how much that hurts and Dwayne's allergy what a scare! Wow he's really testing you for the long haul :) Glad to hear things are okay and that the wedding was a success, it's alwys great to see the grand-kids and I look forward to see the wedding layouts if your planning to do any :)

Unknown said...

Yikes, on the hurt ribs right before the wedding. You have definitely been a busy girl. Glad hubby was able to finish his chemo without further incident.

I was just looking at this stamp set on-line yesterday and I convinced myself that I did not need any more Christmas stamps. You are making me rethink that decision. This card is so pretty. The sky you created came out amazing. Such a cool ombre effect. And I really like the pops of red against the black and white.

Hettie said...

Oh Brenda this card is wonderful. Love it. So unusual.
Saw your post above too. Your ribs do sound sore. Hope Hubby's chemo was good. My Mum is going through Chemo too as she has leukaemia...bless her.
You sure do sound busy. If you really want to cut a lawn, ours needs doing and it will sure keep you fit!! How are you on steep banks?
Have a great weekend.
Hugs
xx

D- said...

Your Christmas card is beautiful. I loVe your sweet little bird. Thanks for sharing.
Crafty hugs,
Dawn
DesignsByDragonfly.blogspot