Bethlehem Star: Hope Barton
I think I get credit for persistence. This was my third try. First, I stitched the town with a silvery thread on a blue print fabric but it was too busy. Next I stitched it in white on a blue batik but I forgot to reverse the penciled guide so it was backwards. Finally on the 3rd try, I got it right. I used fusible interfacing on the blue fabric, then penciled in the town and star. I stitched the scene from the back so I could follow the penciled drawing. I used Peltex interfacing to make the card stiff.
Poinsettia: Cathy LaBonte
I appliqued the flower's petals, then did some thread painting, and added hot fix crystals.
Christmas Ball, and Our Lady of Guadeloupe: Joan Johnson
I waited til the last minute but then I made my cards in one day. For the Christmas Ball, I used paper that I made a while back. The paper looks like "light." The ball is made from fabric with Christmas words on it. I used gold fabric for the "collar" on the ball, then appliqued the red ribbon. The pine is a combination of stitching and pen work.
This past weekend I went to a service in Spanish honoring Our Lady of Guadeloupe. It was wonderful! Today I received a Christmas card in the mail and although it is not a picture of Our Lady of Guadeloupe, the card and event inspired me to make this "Old World" card. I color photocopied the card onto fabric and cut it into 2 pieces because I think in some respects, Christmas has become fragmented. The ruffle with the colored yarn flowers was something I had and it represents the colorful Spanish ceremony.On the inside of the card I used a quote from the service and some embroidered fabric I had that I though evoked stained glass.
Dove of Peace: Linda Gardner
I made 2 of these. The first one came out a little small so I enlarged it and made a second one. The dove is trapunto and the words are machine embroidered.The edges of the cards are satin stitched.
Santa: Marcia Kilpatrick
I was not sure how to go about making a card. I found these 2 Santa panels and decided to embellish them for my card. I used white pearls to represent snow, silver beads for ice, star sequins, tiny colored, metal letters I got in a yard sale, and other beads. My husband thinks I am crazy but I love to bead and embellish.
Christmas Balls, Snowmen, Tree with Gifts, and Star of Wonder: Melanie Johnston
The Christmas Balls are penned with jelly roll glitter pens. The background is blackened using a sharpie, then the piece is quilted with gold thread. Lastly, I applied hot fix crystals to enhance the balls. It does not open so is more like a postcard.
For the snowmen card, I used colored pencil. I was going for an old fashioned look. I wanted to try the new Smootch spritz pearly spray I just bought. I used the Vanilla Ice on the card. Love the spray! What fun! Gives a nice all over subtle glitter. Perfect for "snow."
In the Blue Star card, I used blue satin, blue Ultrasuede, plain white tulle, and white tulle with snowflakes on it. The silver cording is supposed to represent a tree with a star crystal on top.
The tree with gifts was an experiment using Glaze pens. Supposedly they are best used on non porous surfaces. I coated the fabric with Golden Digital Ground to make it non porous. The glaze pens are fun to use. The ink flows from the pens and sets us with a nice glaze.The tree is green silk. The gifts are made with the glaze pens.
