(This is my second post today (I know!) - scroll down for the first one. It's a tutorial for pom pom bunnies. There's a baby sock bunny tutorial on yesterday's post, too - I'm on a roll, I s'pose...)
I haven't made any more "catch-up" cards for the Jingle Belles challenges I've missed, but I did manage to make one for this week's challenge to incorporate "The Holly and the Ivy":
Curious where the "serendipity" comes in? Well, Greg and I moved back to Syracuse four years ago, and have had several boxes and bins stored in a warehouse that his boss owned for most of that time. The building was recently sold, and everything had to be moved. Last weekend, Greg brought our last few bins home and I went through a couple of them. Know what I found? Several different patterns of Christmas-printed tissue paper, and the one I was the most stoked about was a beautiful, vibrant holly print - perfect!
Obviously, that description doesn't match the card above. Two of the other tissue patterns were used for this one. The one I originally thought I was going to do is still a work in progress - I'll post it when it's done. The card above uses a twist on the "faux silk" technique, and I'm going to share that twist with you, because it's SO much easier and cleaner than the original technique!
First, find the tissue paper you want to use. It may look like this:
Heat up your iron to a "warm" setting, such as acrylic or rayon, and press it smooth(er). Make sure you do NOT use steam, and it's best to iron on the back of the paper, instead of the right side. You still want it to have some wrinkly-looking lines to help sell the "silk" look, but relatively smooth:
Cut a piece of freezer paper and place it, shiny side down, on top of the tissue. Press with your iron again.
Basically you are fusing the tissue to the freezer paper. In the original method, you would use glue stick to adhere them together. No glue - no mess! Trim your fused paper and use it however you'd like!
One other tricky bit: I didn't have any green cardstock that matched the holly in my panel, so I cut a piece that was close to the right shade to size, then altered it with a Bic marker. I tested a couple of the markers in the center, then just used the best one around the edges, about 1/2" in only, since the center won't show when the card is put together:
The other cardstock is from a stationery store in Utah. The ribbon is from my stash. I used gold metallic thread in my sewing machine to sew the faux silk panels to their cardstock mats. My machine apparently is not fond of metallic threads, as it skipped a stitch or two here and there, and broke a couple of times, but I'm choosing to think of these mishaps as "charming", and lending to the overall vintage, handmade look of the card (play along - I don't have the time or patience to re-make this...thanks...)
I'll post the other card if/when it gets finished, but I have to go back to work now. That's what happens when you play hooky to get crafty instead... Have a great night, and thanks for stopping by!
ohmygoodness that is awesome! totally charming, vintage, handmade loveliness! great tip about recoloring the card stock and the freezer paper tip is brilliant - now i'll probably have to go buy some. thanks!
Posted by: KatheD | March 30, 2011 at 04:46 PM
Wow! Fantabulous card and thanks for the easy version of "faux silk"...you are always such an inspiration ;-)
Posted by: Linda | March 30, 2011 at 07:30 PM
Wonderful card and technique. And thanks for sharing how you did it. I like the tip with the marker on the tissue paper. Very smart!
I learned in a sewing class last night that there are different types of sewing machine needles depending on the type of fabric you are using. If you have the wrong needle or if the needle needs replacing the thread will break or skip stitches. I wonder if that's why it did that for you? I agree, it does add to the look, although you'd have to have amazing eyesight to see it!
Posted by: Happy Stamper | March 30, 2011 at 07:43 PM
Ohhhh. This is gorgeous. I love that tissue paper on there. Thanks so much for sharing that little tidbit. I'm posting tomorrow all of my make-up cards for JB. Glad to see I'm not the only one doing that.
Posted by: Jana D | March 30, 2011 at 08:40 PM
I love that word "charming". It is so fitting. I think no crafter should be without freezer paper. It's got so many good uses. Love your card.
Posted by: Lorraine | March 31, 2011 at 11:05 AM
Oh my, what a gorgeous card! It is so elegant and I like that you shared the how-to for the look of faux silk, I must try this out!
Posted by: Rosemary | March 31, 2011 at 11:09 AM
Aren't you just full of awesome helpful hints ... love the tissue paper effect, and how easy is that ... and also love the marker tip ... and not to mention your gorgeous holiday card. Thanks for joining our jingle belles fun.
Posted by: SmilynStef | March 31, 2011 at 05:17 PM
oooh! aaah! pret-ty! love the technique use. great job!
Posted by: lisa, too! | March 31, 2011 at 07:59 PM
What a beautiful card. I love that bow it's amazing as well as what you did with the tissue paper xoxoxoxo
Posted by: Paula | March 31, 2011 at 08:19 PM
This card is lovely! Thanks for sharing your faux silk tutorial with us..so easy and such a great effect! Gotta' love those bic mark-its!! :O)
Posted by: Sherry Dobreski | April 08, 2011 at 09:29 AM