Put your shades on, people….
Now in essence this is a quick card. In practice, far from it. We went through more reinventions and incarnations than Madonna. I think the problem was that I started with the premise that I HAD to use a gilded reindeer but could not find my large antlered beast anywhere, so used a much smaller die instead. I tried stamps for the sentiment because they were to scale, but the embossing powders could not compete with the blingy reindeer. I only have a few Christmas greeting dies and they are too big for this so just overwhelmed the poor little chap. Eventually I decided to cut one down, just to the word ‘Christmas’ which was fine. Then all the positioning went out of whack. Should there be snow up at the top, or snow down at the bottom? Ditto for the greeting. Everything I did fought against something else!
Eventually I decided on putting all the action into the middle of the black layer to give a border of peace and tranquility top and bottom. I think with such a full-on bling thing it was possibly a wise move! This means my brave little Blitzen is now dodging a gold meteor shower, just to bring some Christmas cheer. I hope we are all suitably grateful for his efforts….
To make this card I cut a card blank in gold, then a smaller layer in black. I used the Avery Elle Falling Snow die to create my stardust/meteor shower in the black card and a cut a gold Tattered Lace Happy Christmas, minus the Happy. The recipient will have to take it as given. The reindeer is a Marianne die I have had for years. He doesn’t seem to have a name, just a serial number LR0179. Seems kind of unfriendly, hence the renaming to Blitzen.
Blitzen was a lot easier to gild than the tree decoration from last week. I dug out some double sided sticky paper that is meant to be used with detail dies to save you trying to get adhesive neatly on the back, but of course if you use it in reverse the front of your die cut becomes sticky instead, ready for gilding. So no gluey mitts this time.
I have to confess that the reindeer is raised on 1mm 3D foam, but otherwise the card is again totally flat and will easily meet the lowest postage charge criteria. Lets hope he makes it through the storm!
Love love love this! You are so good with your Holiday cards… I am into lettering now and not really creating cards haha..
This card is stunning! When are you opening up your store??
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I have seen your lettering – it is gorgeous! Now, a store, well…I am no further forward on that long term goal I’m afraid! Thanks for the kind words though!
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I love the gilding! And the storm, also love the postage consideration, very important. 😊
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Indeed. Sometimes it would seem cheaper to hire a courier for the day!
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Love this! The black, gold and gilded ‘Blitzen’ all make a very elegant Christmas card 🙂 Super job!
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Thanks Karen! I’m a bit outside my comfort zone with bling really!
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Lovely card,very festive night. ..reindeers are always good!
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thank you. I think I might work may through all the reindeer this year. Comet, Dasher, Dancer, Lookslike…
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Did I miss that one?
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Bad joke..’what’s the weather like, honey?’…’looks like rain, dear…’
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Exploding monkey?
Ba-BOOM!!
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Hmm, now my turn to ask the ‘did I miss something?’ question?
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Lol…just expanding on the bad joke with a subject of absolutely no relevance at all to your beautiful reindeer but which I thought might amuse you..?
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Aaaaaah. Sorry, fried brain tonight! Now I appreciate it!
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Oh Gillian, this is so lovely. Beautiful design.
Flo x
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Thanks Flo! I actually like it too, eventually!!
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Awww I’m so glad that you didn’t, in a fit of frustration, throw the whole lot in the bin. It all came together perfectly once you’d stopped planning and just let it make itself.
It’s a truly beautiful card. Elegant and twinkly. Perfect.
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Thanks Cobs – you are right! In the end it did make itself! Probably lucky really I was getting beyond all hope myself….
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Yeah … it can get you like that sometimes. And it’s just at that moment when you KNOW for sure that you’re a half-wit that suddenly, just before you begin to cry, … it all magically spins things around and VOILA! A card is born.
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I love this card! Your exasperation on “scale” problems is spot on – I have that problem too. Thanks for sharing Blitzen with us.
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Thanks so much! It drives me mad sometimes that I have the exact thing I want, but just too big or too small. Grrrrr!
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Very nice, Gillian! What did you “gild” with? Actual gilding flakes? Glitter?
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Sorry, I should have said. The same IndigoBlu Mega gilding flakes as I used for the 3D Thursday ornament. This colour mix is called Lancashire Rose:-)
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It is lovely! I wasn’t sure, the deer looks more varigated than the ornament/bauble did (I know, so hard to photograph!).
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Yes, a different pot of flakes and these are much more mixed colours than the silver I used before.
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They’re gorgeous! Very festive, classy and just all round lovely! Lucky people receiving those 😊
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Thanks so much!
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Gorgeous, don’t you love gilding flakes?
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Yes. Well the ones I can tame, anyway!
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That is a beautiful card! And Blitzen looks very festive in the middle of his meteor shower.
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Thanks! Who would have thought a Christmas card would feature galactic rocks?!
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They are such beautiful sparkly galactic rocks……..
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Ooooh how lovely! And yet another fab tip! I have some of that sticky paper (I bought it as I was struggling to get glue on the back of fiddly sentiment dies) and I have never thought of using it in this way!
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Look like I too missed commenting. Blitzen is magnificent and yes very happy he is dodging the meteors. The black on here is nice with the gold border. What a beautifully creative card!
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Ooh, thanks! I don’t think I am very creative so that has made me very happy!
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Oh you kidding? You are super creative!
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You are too kind!
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just honest!
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You are sooo right!!! Tis the Season to show Bling!!!!
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Yep, if you can’t at Christmas….
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Bling is good all year round!!! We just have to control ourselves! hahaaa
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Love your gilded Blitzen! A mix of flakes in different colors adds something special. A I like how you used this snow die – like he is running in a snowstorm. ‘Christmas’ die-cut fits here just right. Very elegant!
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Thank you! It was hard-fought elegance!
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Yes, but it’s worth it! And the good thing is – you don’t have to figure it out again!
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Good point!!
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Absolutely love the way it turned out! Very classy and the black makes all the gold and gilded flakes pop! Nicely done. I ,too know what it’s like when you have something in mind and then you end up with something completely different. It’s aggravating but it always amazes me when it works out and looks great!
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Lol! I always end up flaked out on the sofa, thinking ‘why do I make it so hard?’!!
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😂😂😂Me,too!
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Just love it. 🙂
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Thank you!
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The snow die is an ingenious little tool, really, and your multi-colored gilded deer is beautiful. I’ve never worked with the gilding flakes before; I’d like to try. Do you think they are easier to use with an adhesive paper like this, rather than glue or something else?
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The adhesive paper is definitely less messy, so for a flat shape like this it would be my first choice for sure, but it is quite expensive here. The wet glue and inkpad is great for covering a 3d object, and you can also use it to stamp with, although I haven’t tried this yet. I guess it kind of depends on your project and your budget!
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Wow gorgeous! You make me want to dust off my card marking supplies!
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Thanks, and thanks for visiting! Why not dust them off? I’ll keep an eye out to see if you do!
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Deal!😀
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Oh what a pretty card! I love that gilding! I am going to have to give it a try! What a great idea to cut down the die cut for your sentiment! It works beautifully! 🙂
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Thank you. Gilding is fun and packs a punch for sure. Try the double-sided adhesive sheets if you can as it is considerably less messy. Also, get a bigger sealable container for the flakes once you have opened them as it is almost impossible to get them back into the pot!
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Thanks for the tips!
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Nice post! If you are interested in bling individuals, I recommend the Lebanese people 🙂
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I just checked out your post – very amusing! Nice to meet you!
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