Saturday, December 17, 2011

A Lewis Christmas Caroll to you!

Calling all Alice fans - make a Wonderland holiday card and link it on The Altered Alice; there is a wonderful prize up for grabs!
I have not had time to create anything this month, but I wanted to share a couple older Wonderland Christmas cards with you.  This first one is one of my top favorite cards ever! The background is a fabulous collage stamp by Stampin' Up! My sister is a hobby demo, so we'd be happy to help you get your own Christmas collage stamp if you need one.  I stamped it on Kraft card stock, double inking the rubber with brown dye ink and then Versamark before stamping, which allowed me to heat emboss with clear detail powder. Then I did detailed sponging, using the Tsukeniko Fantastix to rub in various colors of distress ink. I printed "Greetings from Wonderland" in the blank rectangle in the design using a brown pen.

Then I highlighted some areas of red and gold with Smooch, love that stuff. I added white gel pen highlights to give dimension to the letters and berries. The White Rabbit was also embossed on kraft and colored with a white gel pen, prismacolors, and Smooch. The gold ruffled lace is a doily from the baking aisle. I cut out the center of the doily, just leaving a thin strip intact right above the lacy edge. When I straightened it out to adhere it the the edge, it creates lovely flounces that I manipulated with my fingers to make pleasing ruffles.

This next card is the Pixie Dust Studios Mad Hatter and the paper is Nikki Sivils. I created the banners and sentiments on the computer, coloring and trimming the printouts. The gold Krylon paint pen edging adds some elegance, and the rich satin ribbon is the perfect finishing touch
I had a wonderful time coloring this fun image with Copic alcohol markers. Of course I had to color the face a la Johnny Depp! I added more details with a multiliner, like defining the thread areas of the spools on the bandoleer. I trimmed it out, but the small white rim did not isolate it enough from the background patterns. I wanted the Mad Hatter to stand out, so I glued the trimmed out figure to black card stock and trimmed it out again with a larger margin. I really like the way this looked, and it isolated him from the background so he now stands out against the patterns.

Merry Christmas to you and yours! I hope you experience your own Wonderland this year as we once more welcome Christ into our hearts.

Notice Lewis Carroll and Alice in Wonderland in the left panel, and all the characters below.
I will leave you with the full quote from the poem that is quoted in the Lewis Carroll nativity window, "From a Fairy to a Child":


LADY dear, if Fairies may
For a moment lay aside
Cunning tricks and elfish play,
'Tis at happy Christmas-tide.

We have heard the children say—
Gentle children. whom we love—
Long ago, on Christmas Day,
Came a message from above.

Still, as Christmas-tide comes round,
They remember it again—
Echo still the joyful sound
"Peace on earth, good-will to men!"

Yet the hearts must childlike be
Where such heavenly guests abide;
Unto children, in their glee,
All the year is Christmas-tide!

Thus, forgetting tricks and play
For a moment, Lady dear,
We would wish you, if we may,
Merry Christmas, glad New Year! 

--Lewis Carroll; Christmas, 1867.

Sunday, December 4, 2011

It's time for a Lewis Christmas Carroll over at The Altered Alice!


Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from The Altered AliceThis month the design team brings you their holiday wishes, and we invite you to send your holiday greetings to The Altered Alice. You have until Friday, Dec. 23 to enter. The winner post will either be a little early or late, as the last Sunday of the month falls on Christmas day!

Our prize this month is a $40.00 gift certificate to Custom Crops, the premier online retailer for crafters of all kinds. From Accuquilt to Zva Creative, adhesives to vinyl and everything in between, Custom Crops offers a huge selection of the products you've been looking for at competive prices with fast, friendly customer service. Thanks to design team member Donna for organizing this Christmas prize!

To celebrate the season, we bring you The Lewis Carroll Memorial Window at Daniell Chapel in England. Notice the left panel where Lewis Carroll and Alice kneel to pay homage to the newly born Christ in this wonderful Nativity scene! This month's quote is actually contained within the windows, do you see it?
Click to enlarge
The window was designed by stained glass artist Geoffrey Webb,  a must-see for anyone that loves Wonderland. A wonderful Christmas poem by Lewis Carroll is shown in the center three bottom panels, which include characters from Wonderland - the White Rabbit, Dodo, the Caterpillar, Mad Hatter, and more! Our own Sue Roddis visited this chapel and gave me permission to show her close-up photos here, click to enlarge:




We look forward to seeing your holiday greetings, so send us a Christmas card or tag! If it features Wonderland, you will have two chances at the randomly awarded prize instead of one. Multiple entries are fine, but each must be on a separate post. 

Stop by The Altered Alice to see some AMAZING design team inspiration projects, and we hope you will play along as well!

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