Blue Christmas

Would you like to experiment with a design like this? You'll find a supply list below, including a link to the stencils 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 4.25Silver 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

Some designs look like you’ve made a fuss, but come together wonderfully fast. We call these “awesome”. LOL.

Card Face:

• I attached the Ornament stencil to the card face with Mint Tape, masking off the hanger portion.

• I applied a dark blue ink across the surface, leaving one portion at the top bare to become reflected light on the ornament's surface.

• I wanted to create a thin border of dark blue at the edge of the white space, so I used a small blending brush, carefully restricting the majority of the ink to the edge.and feathering it inwards.

• Returning to my regular-sized brush and using a very soft hand, I gently brushed ink over the white space to soften it.

• I added a tiny bit of spatter with metallic silver watercolour.

• I removed the stencil and put a piece of copy paper over my card face. I traced the ornament and cut it out.

• I placed this cut out over the inked ornament to act as a mask, securing it with a loop of Mint Tape.

• I put the Star Stretch stencil in place and inked over the surface with light blue ink..

• I removed this stencil and the mask.

• I waited until all of the ink was completely dry and then dusted the entire card face with anti-static powder.

• I put the Ornament stencil in place again, lining it up carefully with the previously inked image.

• I put a piece of Mint tape across the top of the ornament to protect it and added Versamark to the hanger portion of the image. (I did this by pressing my ink pad firmly onto the stencil, taking care not to go beyond the tape I had used as a mask.)

• I added silver embossing powder and set it with my heat gun.

• I put the card face into my stamp positioner and put the stamp.in place.

• I added the sentiment with Versamark.

• I added silver embossing powder, setting it with my heat gun.

Assembly:

I glued the card face to the card base.

Final Thoughts

This design is so simple but very effective. It is also pretty flat and will mail without incurring any extra expense.

I was able to ink the entire background before adding the hanger portion because I knew that the opaque embossing powder would cover the ink completely. This meant that I didn’t have to create a mask for the hanger, and saved some time.

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.

Stencils:

Star Stretch: A Colorful Life Designs

Marvellous Masks Ornaments: A Colorful Life Designs

Stamp: Snowflake Sentiments, Stampin’ Up! (retired)

Ink: Stampin’ Up!

Metallic Watercolor: Aoutle, Amazon

Blending Brushes: Stampin’ Up!

Vesamark: Simon Says Stamp

Silver Embossing Powder: Stampin’ Up!

Detail Blending brushes: Waffle Flower, Scrapbook.com

Mint Tape:Scrapbook.com

Stamp Positioner: Misti, Spellbinders

Adhesive: Tombow Aqua, Michaels

Card Base & Card Face: Accent 100 lb., Amazon

Quick & Easy Cards that don’t LOOK Quick and Easy!