Creative Sundays with Jo Ann: Season’s Tweetings - Three Cards...Three Mediums

This post was originally seen on the Honey Bee Stamp Blog on 11/19/17. It is being added to my personal blog so that it can be archived. Enjoy!

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“Oh Here We Come a Caroling”…or “Wassailing”…as they refer to it in Old England. Whatever you call it, it refers to going door to door and singing Christmas carols. I chuckle when I think of that old Claymation TV special that came out in 1987. They were confused by the words of the song, and dogs selling waffles were singing “Here We Come a Waffling,” followed by geese singing “Here We Come a Waddling,” then pigs singing “Here We Come a Wallowing.” It ended with a truck full of elves drinking hot cider and singing the correct version. I have fond memories of caroling with various church groups, both as a child and as an adult with my children. There were always a couple of houses along our route who would invite us in for hot chocolate, homemade cookies, and candy canes. What fond memories! The tradition of Christmas Caroling was the inspiration for today’s cards.

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Season’s Tweetings is not only the name of Honey Bee Stamp’s newest collection…it is also the name of the stamp set that I used to make my three cards today. I thought that I would showcase three different mediums, on three different cardstocks, using the same stamp set. They all start with a one layer card layout that is fast and easy. I’ll then move on to some simple ways that you can customize this set for a unique look. So grab a mug of coffee or tea, put your feet up, and let’s start creating.

Card One

The first card was stamped on Tim Holtz watercolor cardstock, with Ranger’s Jet Black Archival Ink. This ink is perfect when using wet mediums, like watercolors or water based markers. To create a chorus of birds, I stamped the two outside birds and then stamped them again on Inkadinkado masking paper. Once the masks were cut out I covered the two birds and stamped the middle bird, giving it the illusion of being in the back.

Everything was watercolored using Tim Holtz Distress Inks. The sentiment, ‘Joyous,’ is from the same set. It was stamped with Versamark Ink and heat embossed with Ranger’s Liquid Platinum embossing powder. This sentiment is one of my all time favorites…I love the script! To finish the card, I mounted the panel to a piece of Tim Holtz’s glittery Christmas Deco sheets and then taped it to a top folding card base. Like I said, quick and easy card.

Card Two

I stamped another chorus of birds on Kraft cardstock, this time using Simon Says Stamp’s Intense Black ink. Any dye ink will work well when using a dry medium like colored pencils or chalks.

I wanted the birds to be holding music folders so I used post-it tape to mask off the parts of the stamp that I didn’t need. Don’t forget to remove the tape before you stamp your image! I again applied the masks to the two outside birds. This time I used the bird that is holding a cookie to add to the back, only inking the top part of the stamp.

It was easy enough to draw the folders on the bird’s bellies. I used the bird stamp with the cookie as a guideline to draw the wings. I added a pom-pom to the hat of this bird and drew in his bottom half and his feet. A Copic Multiliner was used to draw over my pencil lines.

This card was colored using Prismacolor pencils. The waxy nature of these pencils tends to dull your image lines so I went back over them with the Multiliner when I was finished coloring. For the sentiment, I cut off the top line of the Adore Him stamp (gasp). It always makes me a little nervous but if you are careful it really doesn’t harm the stamp and you can always put it back together to use it as it was intended. Hint: cut the stamp with at least one angle or two. It makes it much easier to line it back up properly.

The rest of the sentiment and a couple of music notes were stamped inside the top half of the card. This will leave plenty of room for you to add your message on the bottom half.

I scattered several music notes on the front of the card, mounted it to a piece of red card stock, and taped it to a top folding card base. Another quick and fairly easy one layer card.

Card Three

For the last card I stamped the same grouping of birds, as card two, on 80 lb Neenah White Solar Cardstock, again using the Simon Says Stamp Intense Black ink. This ink is a perfect choice when coloring with alcohol or solvent ink markers.

I used the same inking, masking, and drawing techniques as the second card. I also added a pair of glasses and a bow tie to the middle bird, and a lampost to the background. A Copic Multiliner was used to draw in my lines, as it is compatible with alcohol inks.

This card was colored with Copic alcohol markers. The trees are mostly a series of scribbles, giving the illusion of tree shapes. Again, I went back over the image lines with a Copic Multiliner as the Copics tend to dull them a little. The sentiment is from an older set, Joy To The World. This set has smaller music notes so I used them to add notes to the folders, using Versamark and white embossing powder. The panel was mounted to a piece of red card stock and taped to a top folding card base. This card took a little more time and effort, but it still was not terribly difficult to create.

While I tend to reach for my watercolors first and foremost, I really do like the different looks that are achieved using colored pencils and Copic markers. I tried to use similar colors on each card so that you can compare them. Bonus: all three cards are one layer and will go through the mail easily, requiring no extra postage.