Handmade Christmas card prototype for TioT

Today I'm joining Try it on Tuesday with a project that is near and dear to my heart.  Their latest challenge theme is "Handmade by you."  Two requirements are, you are not allowed any purchased embellishments and nothing digital.  I have no problem with either of these requirements, because I still have no idea how to make digital art and I love making everything on my Christmas cards.

Let me take you through how I made my Christmas card prototype.  For the basic supplies, I used 140 lb card stock, 91% Isopropyl Alcohol, StazOn reinkers, and a cup for mixing.

I'm so glad you can see the colors I used, so I don't have to remember them.

I began with a bit of the alcohol and a few drops of StazOn reinker.  After I had used it all, I made a bit more, but added the other two colors.  Subtle differences, which may not show up on camera.

I've mentioned this before that one of the reasons I love this background technique so much is because the ink/alcohol mix dries quickly.  That ensures the card stock dries flat, important in card making.

Next, I cut the pages in half width wise.

I'd give anything for one of those score pad thingies.   It's hard getting the exact center on the card and even harder to get a good fold.  One of the few things I learned from Tim Holtz that didn't involve his merchandise was, once you had determined the center of the card, start in the middle of the fold and fold outward.  It works for me, as it did for him!

Now that my cards were folded and ready to embellish, I decided to paint some white printer papers.  While waiting for the paint to dry, I got out a couple of punches.

A single punched flower I hoped would make a star, was all I got before this punch quit working.  I admit, I have the worst luck with punches.   Even though I'm not a big fan of Martha, I do love her punches.

I found another punch that I thought I could use, and once I punched once, I realized it was smaller.  Still, I felt it would work fine.

I punched until my arms and hands got tired, and decided I had enough embellishments for the time being. 

As you can see, I love using book pages to decorate my cards, but this turned out to be a disaster.  This was obviously NOT what I was going for.  So it was off to the drawing board, and an hour or so later,

I had revamped the design.  Now it actually looks like a tree.

I was even pleased enough, it was time to add Bleubeard's signature stamp.  Mine is in my office because I used it for another entry nearly two weeks ago, and forgot to bring it back to the craft room.

On Tuesday, after going with my friend to the doctor, I went to the early voting facility downtown, where my alter ego Wendy showed she was ready to cast her vote.

Once we got home, she was ready for me to attach her sticker showing she voted earlier in the day.   For those of you who don't live in the U.S., we are holding a presidential election next Tuesday.  I was so glad I cast my votes early, and avoided the possibility of long lines on voting day.


Thanks for joining me on this Try it on Tuesday challenge journey.   I'm really grateful for your visit and your support of my art.

Today is Day 3 of AEDM.