Making Spirits Bright

a cheery - but chilly! - friend

TUTORIALSTENCILCHRISTMAS/HOLIDAY SEASON

7/24/20232 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: 8.5 x 7, scored and folded at 3.5

Arched Layer: 8.5 x 3.5

Card Face: 8.5 x 3.5

Card Face:

I stamped the snowman image in Memento black ink, and coloured him with alcohol markers.
Then I stamped him again on masking paper, and cut him out . I peeled the backing off of the masking paper, and laid this carefully over top of the snowman to protect him.
Using the cloud edger stencil and a very soft blue ink, I creating a sky behind him, stopping about 2" from the bottom.
I used a piece of paper with a torn edge and a soft grey ink to create snow banks on the ground around him.
I removed the masking paper and there he was - perfect, because he'd been protected throughout the inky processes.
I added a couple of whimsical trees by hand, and used a tiny blending brush to add some green to the center of each one.

Other:

I used an arch die to cut the opening: it was created for a standard sized card but I was able to adapt by putting in in place and then using a partial die cut process to cut most of the outline. Then I removed the die and finished the cuts with a ruler and a craft knife. This was easy because the lines are perfectly straight.
I got a sentiment out of my ready-to-go binder, and cut it into three pieces as shown. (You can find an explanation of the binder under the Techniques tab - check it out!)

Assembly:

I glued the card face to the base, and then glued the arch around that alligning the edges.
I put dimensional foam on the back of each of the sentiment pieces, and put them in place on the right hand side as shown.
I wanted a little more definition around the arch, so I outlined with a very, very soft grey alcohol marker to suggest a shadow.

Final thoughts:

My initial plan for this didn't include the arch ... however, while I was colouring this fellow my hand slipped and I ended up with a dot of ink up towards the top. Luckily it was positioned in an area that I knew I could cover.

I'm a novice colourist, but I was happy with this little scene - I'm learning as I go along, and it's a little better than the last one I did!.

Supplies: (and links where possible)

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

Stencil: Cloud Edger, A Colorful Life Designs

Stamps:

Tall Snowman, Woodware, Ecstasy Crafts

Sentiment: Making Spirits Bright, Simple Strips, Taylored Expressions

Dies:: Nested Arches, Photoplay, Scrapbook.com

Ink: Stampin’ Up!

Memento Ink: Stampin’ Up!

Alcohol Markers

Stampin' Up!

Copic, DeSerres

Mint Tape:Scrapbook.com

Blending Brushes: Stampin’ Up!