Hi, everyone!
I can’t believe we are already over halfway through November! Christmas is on the way and I can’t wait to show you this project I created for the Blog this month!
You may have spotted my card I designed just recently on the Show & Tell page, featuring our amazing Winter Shake Up stamp and NEW coordinating die. It featured some frosty flurries on acetate as an overlay and it was SNOW fun to make (see what I did there? Wink )
(If you missed it, here is a little peek of this beauty….
I decided to create another card with that frosty, festive feel by adding acetate.
I am usually a “clean n simple” card maker, and I like “fast”. But these two acetate cards are a labour of LOVE. They take time to work on and I just enjoyed the process – they aren’t a card you can whip up in a hurry and I loved that on my day off when I had extra time to play!
I began with choosing a couple Clearly Unity stamps that debuted a little while ago – I inked up Pines of Endearment and the super cute big ol snowman from Sending Christmas Smiles – I LOVE HIM! These were inked up in Versafine Onyx Black ink on watercolor paper, and then heat embossed in clear. This tends to help me stay inside the lines when watercoloring.
Next up, before I began to color, I wanted to create a fun background – I tapped Distress Oxide inks in Uncharted Mariner and Weathered Wood on some acrylic blocks and then lightly spritzed then with water and carefully “dabbed” them around the snowman and tree – I was SUPER careful to not get any in the snowman image (masking works well too!)
I went in 2 or 3 times, layering that color until I felt it was just right. I then decided to add a few fun snowflakes from Pines of Endearment in those same ink colors plus added a bit of Saltwater Taffy distress ink splashes.
Next up, I used a touch of my Zig Realbrush markers to color the hat, carrot nose, and add a bit of shading to the snowman. I decided to add a bit of paper piecing for his scarf and hat band, and Unity has sooo many paper choices it was hard – but the scrap of that soft pink paper from Calico Country was calling to me (it’s not truly Christmas – but it works well)
Next… the fun part – let it snow!
I purchased a thinner acetate sheet that works well for this – I wanted to create an A4 sized card so this sheet required a bit of an overhang – so it was cut 4 1/4 x 6 1/4 and scored at 5 1/2 – I score it REALLY well – so that I can fold it over and adhere it to the back of the watercolor panel before attaching to the card base.
I took a stencil from Tim Holtz called Speckle and used Grit Paste called Snowfall and Texture Paste called Sparkle, and pushed it though to add all that fun snow!
There is sooo much sparkly, frosty texture! It’s so pretty to look at up close!
I added the sentiment from the Sending Christmas Smiles stamp set to a heart I cut using the Dashes and Frills Heart nesting dies. Its popped up on top of the acetate layer.
This card really is a beauty – and the acetate layer adds a little extra!
I hope your Thanksgiving and holiday season is filled with all good things!
Peace, Love n Ink
Amber
