Stress Free Cardmaking Summit - Part 1

I decided to take part in the Stress Free Cardmaking Summit - I bought the Ultimate package as I knew I'd never get to watch all the presentations over the three days - this way I can go back again and again. 

On Saturday (my time) I watched two presentations - the first by Sharon Curtis.  - She showed how to make a Christmas wreath card.   

 I didn't have any of the same products so shopped my stash.   To make my wreath I used two circle dies (one Spellbinders one and one Impress one) to make the wreath frame.  I took dies from a number of companies and mixed and match to come up with the poinsettia flowers and leaves.  Sharon used a sentiment die, but I went with a stamped sentiment.   This one is from Waffle Flower Designs.  Added some of the little pink dots from a Sizzix die set as the flower centres and for embellishments.   Added the white pen stitching and some ink spatter.   It was a fun card to make and I can see myself using this idea in the future. 

The second presentation I watch was from Ardyth.  It was about easy "gel prints" with out a gel plate.  Using some shimmer powders on a smooth surface to dip you card into.   I used some Pixie powders and Nuvo shimmer powders.  

 These where the first ones done... 

Ardyth used a stencil to "stamp" with some paint made with the shimmer powders.  I tried mixing a couple of powders to get a darker blue - but it went way too dark and I really thought I'd messed it up.   But I preserved and from one sheet got 4 panels and from two of them I made these three cards. 

Note to self:  Don't use a fine die for this technique!   The backgrounds turned out a bit more grungy than I wanted but in the end was quite pleased with the outcome.  And there are still 8 panels to use!

Today I've watched a few more presentations and have lots of ideas to try out.   The summit will keep me going for quite some time trying out the wonderful techniques and ideas.  

Thanks for stopping by.   Hope you had a crafty weekend.