The 12 Blogs of Christmas

Welcome to the QKR Stampede Christmas/Winter Blog Hop. You should have arrived here from Monika's blog; if you didn't, go there now and then come back here to continue the Hop. If you didn't start at the QKR Stampede Blog, be sure to go back to the beginning so that you don't miss any of the fabulous projects! Now that you're back, wasn't Monika's project fantastic?!?! Not counting the QKR Stampede Blog, I believe I am the "third Blog of Christmas" -- no French Hens here, though!

My first project is a card using the Peace Angel (#16705) stamp.

For this card, I used the Argyle embossing folder by ProvoCraft and my oval nestabilities dies. I stamped the Peace Angel in the center of the oval using my Ancient Page Coal Black ink, then colored with my PrismaColor watercolor pencils and a blender pen. I added a touch of glitter to her wings (after all, angels should have glittered wings!) and the stars.

My next project is Christmas ornaments. These are very special to me for a couple of reasons: (1) my sister LOVES penguins . . . I know she would love to get this--or a set of these--as a gift for her Christmas tree; and (2) when we were kids, every year, the weekend of Thanksgiving, my Mom would take us to a local store that made ceramics . . . everything ceramic. We would get to pick out a bunch of ornaments and other items (Santas, snowmen, village buildings), then we would bring the items home and spend the weekend painting our items. It was always a lot of fun and it was especially fun to see how we evolved as "artists". So, on to my project:

 

The ornament to the left uses the Pine Cone Accent (#19603) stamp, while the ornament to the right uses the Ice Skating (#7902) stamp.

For the Pine Cone Accent image, I painted the stamp (just like when you color a solid/bold stamp image with markers) with a paint called Gloss Enamels, which is suitable for painting on ceramics, glass, and other non-porous materials. Then I stamped directly onto the ornament. The lighter color of brown is actually an open area of the stamp, so I painted by hand with a very fine paint brush.

For the Ice Skating image, I inked the image with Jet Black StazOn ink and stamped directly onto the ceramic ornament blank. I then painted the open areas using the Gloss Enamels and a very fine paint brush. With a "dry" brush (very little paint on the brush), I added some blue paint along the base of the ornament to represent the ice on which this little penguin is skating, and I added some glitter to the "ice" and around the penguin to give it a "snowy" look. The great thing about these paints is that they dry slowly (because of the thickness of the paint) and are water soluble -- you do not need any chemicals to clean your brushes or your stamps. That being said, the paint can be completely cured by either baking or allowing to air dry. If you decide to pick up these paints and use them, be sure to have a cup of warm, soapy water sitting by so that you can clean your brushes AND your stamps! You don't want the paint drying and becoming a permanent part of your stamp.

I hope you found these projects inspiring! Your next stop on the Hop is with JESSICA. You're sure to see some wonderful eye candy at Jessica's blog! Before you leave, please be sure to leave a comment. Thanks for taking the time to stop and visit!