"Santa's Key" Christmas Card featuring the Sanded Colour Block Technique! Join us for a Blockheads Technique Challenge Blog Hop!

Hi Everyone!

I've been gone a while coz I had abdominal surgery on Nov 12.   I'm okay and recovering nicely and finally getting around to letting you all know about a fun series of Technique Challenges that we've started with Blockheads Paper Arts!  The first challenge has begun already (on Nov 17th) but you've still got plenty of time to join the fun!

The first Challenge technique is called "Sanded Colour Block".  

To take the Challenge visit the Distress Stain Sanded Colour Block Technique Page at Blockheads Paper Arts and create your own "Sanded Colour Block" project.  The card I'm sharing today features the technique!

For this series of challenges we're trying a different kind of Blog Hop by providing you with html code to include in your project blog post!  This way any one can join in the Hop and by including the code in your post it will automatically link you up with everyone else taking part in the Hop!  How cool is that ;0)  The code is at the bottom of this post!

Once you've posted your project featuring the "Sanded Colour Block" technique on your blog please pop on over to the Blockheads Blog and add your blog post URL link via the linkie button.  You will then be in the running for an awesome prize!  The Blockheads Design Team, that's me, Karen and some new members yet to be announced) will then select a winner who will receive a $25 Blockheads gift certificate...Woohoo!  Awesome right, so I hope you'll join the fun!  Don't forget to include

Here's my card I made using the featured Challenge technique "Sanded Colour Block".

The Santa Face, Snowflakes and Christmas sentiment stamps I used are exclusive Blockheads Paper Arts images from their new An Illustrated Christmas and Christmas Morning sets! 

Santa's Key

 

You will need the following materials to do this technique:

Any brand of Embossing Folder like Cuttlebug or Tim Holtz' Texture Fades

Bone Folder or some kind of burnishing tool

Sand Paper

Glossy Cardstock

One or more colours of either Distress Stains or Distress Inks (or both if you want)

Masking/painter's tape

Rubber stamps to complete your project

I decided to try the Technique out on the Christmas words embossing folder by Cuttlebug and created the colour blocking effect by masking each section with painter's tape.  I used Distress Stains:  Bundled Sage, Stormy Sky, Fired Brick and Tea Dye.  I didn't burnish my painter's tape enough on the 'Holidays' block and had some bleed into the neighbouring blocks but I wasn't worried coz I decided that's where my ribbon would go to cover up the 'mistake'.  I tried to fix it but didn't like the darker lines that I ended up with.  The painter's tape also peeled off some of the top layer in places too coz I burnished too much but that didn't bother me either coz I was going for a distressed effect for my card anyway and most is hidden by the bow too.

 I trimmed the "Sanded Colour Block" panel and distressed the edges with a Tim Holtz Distress tool and applied Vintage Photo Distress Ink to the edges with an Ink Blending tool.

Cut a mat for the "Sanded Colour Block" panel from brown cardstock and emboss it with a snowflake Cuttlebug embossing folder and distress the edges with the Distress tool.  Apply Fired Brick Distress Ink to just the embossed areas and to the edges of the mat.

Adhere the "Sanded Colour Block" panel to the mat with permanent adhesive tape just to hold it in place.  Run the panels through a sewing machine without thread to punch the holes and then hand stitch the panels together with red thread.  You can sew the card on your machine if you want to put I didn't have a bobbin set up with red thread and didn't feel like getting one ready ;0)

Adhere the snowflake ribbon (Michaels) to the panels with double-sided tape and attach a Tim Holtz Idea-ology charm clip to the ribbon before sticking it down. 

Die cut a tiny tag with a Cuttlebug die cut from cream cardstock and a mat slightly larger from brown cardstock.  Distress the edges on the both with the Distress tool and hand write 'Dear Santa' in a kid's handwriting style with a red Prismacolor pencil.

 

 Apply Fired Brick Distress Ink to both and adhere the tag to the mat with permanent adhesive tape.  Attach the tag and the key charm to the charm clip with a large jump ring.

Stamp the Santa Face onto Neenah Solar White cardstock with Rich Cocoa Memento ink.  Tear the edges of the stamped image to continue with the distressed look.

Colour Santa with Marvy Le Plume Permanent markers or Copics except for the berries.  I coloured them with a dark red Prismacolor pencil and added highlights with a white gel pen.  Apply Judikins Diamond Glaze to just the berries and holly to add some dimension to the image.

I'm very excited to let you know that later this week I'll be sharing a Marvy Le Plume Permanent marker tutorial called "How to Colour A Vintage Santa" over on the Blockheads Blog.  The step-by-step photos will show exactly how I coloured my Santa.  I'll let you know when the tutorial is up so stay tuned for that ;0)

Apply Tea Dye Distess Ink to age and distress the Santa image.  Adhere the image to the front of the card with double-side tape then adhere the bow with a glue dot.  Gather up the ribbon tails and adhere in place with glue dots too.  Embellish the left side of the card with amber self-adhesive rhinestones.

Make a folded card from cream cardstock and stamp the snowflake design around the outer edges on the front of the card and all over the back of the card with Fired Brick Distress Ink and distress the edges with the same ink.  Do the same to the inside of the card too!

For the inside of my card I stamped the Christmas sentiment onto a piece of matching cardstock in Fired Brick Distress Ink and trimmed and distressed it.  Cut a slightly larger mat from brown cardstock and distress the edges too.  Then apply Fired Brick Distress Ink to all the edges.  Adhere the sentiment to the mat with permanent adhesive tape and adhere it inside the card with tape too. 

Here's some more photos of my finished card!

That was a really fun technique to do.  I also tried it out on another brand of glossy cardstock which didn't sand so well but still produced an interesting background for a future card ;0)

I hope you enjoyed seeing my project and are inspired to give it a try.  Then come and join the Challenge Blog Hop for a chance to win the $25 Blockheads gift certificate!  Remember to include the html code in your blog post coz links added to the Blockheads Blog without the code will be removed, so don't forget!

I can't wait to see your projects and good luck ;0)

I've entered this card into Challenge #9 - I'm Dreaming of a White Christmas at Fashionable Stamping Challenges

Happy Stamping!

THE SHARPIE DOMINO QUEEN

I design for Blockheads Paper Arts * Third Coast Rubber Stamps * About Art Accents