A Winter Ritual

who doesn't throw at least one snowball every winter?

TUTORIALSTENCILTECHNIQUESTRETCH YOUR PENNIES

2/12/20242 min read

Would you like to experiment with a design like this? You'll find a supply list below, including a link to the stencil I used from A Colorful Life Designs. Follow the link and use discount code ChrisFan10 to save 10% on your entire order! (Master Creator Bundles are excluded as they already have a 20% discount built in.)

Let’s get started:-

Card Base: 5.5 x 8.5, scored and folded at 4.25

Blue Border: 5.5 x 4.25 *

Card Face: 5.25 x 4

* See Cheating on Layers and Borders under Stretch Your Pennies in the Header

Card Face:

I stamped the snowman image onto the card face with Memento Ink and coloured him with alcohol markers. I put him aside at this point until inspiration struck on how to finish the card face. Several weeks later ….
I put the card face onto my Grip Mat and laid the stencil over the top. I used light blue ink around the snowman, but not over the top of him. I limited the inking to the section around the image - I didn’t want the stenciled pattern to cover the entire card face.
I stamped “WINTER” with a blue ink that is just a bit darker than the first.
I had the perfect mouse to complete the scene, but he was facing in the wrong direction; so I added him to the card face using the Mirror Image technique..**

** See Mirror Image under Techniques in the header for an explanation of this process.

Other:

I stamped “hello” onto a scrap of cardstock and used an oblong die to cut it out. I cut a tiny semi-circle out of the right-hand end, shaped to fit up against the snowman’s hand.
The little mouse was already holding a snowball in his left hand: I drew in a second one that he had just thrown. I added a few black dashes behind this to draw attention to it and to make it look like it was moving.

Assembly:

I glued the blue border layer to the card base, and then added the card face on top, centering all.
I glued the oblong sentiment snugly against the snowman’s hand.

Final Thoughts

I really like this fun winter scene. This snowman is a favourite of mine - he can take on so many moods. Here, he looks like he’s had fun, but is ready to call it quits and grab a hot chocolate.

Supplies: (and links where possible)

I have listed which products I have used, and where they may be purchased. It's a huge marketplace and in most instances, there are multiple sources and many alternatives to choose from.

Stencil: Rocky Path, A Colorful Life Designs

Stamps:

Cozy Greetings, Unity Stamps

Get Together, Colorado Craft Co., Scrap n’ Stamp

Die: Ornate Labels, Sizzix, Amazon

Waffle Flower Grip Mat, 8.5 x 6.5, Scrapbook.com

Ink: Stampin’ Up!

Blending Brushes: Stampin’ Up!

Memento Ink: Stampin’ Up!

Alcohol Markers:

Stampin’ Blends: Stampin’ Up!

Copics: Wallacks