- Stamps: Hero Arts My Monthly Hero October 2016 kit
- Paper: Whisper White
- Ink: Basic Black, Kaleidacolor Blue Breeze, Early Espresso (snowglobe base), Crumb Cake (deer image, snowglobe base, sponging), Lucky Limade (tree), Always Artichoke (tree), Old Olive (first part of sentiment), Summer Sun (star)
- Accessories: Big Shot, Hero Arts MMH Oct 16 dies, Stampin’ Dimensionals, Watercolor pen, Gelly Roll Glitter pen, Martha Stewart ribbon, brayer
- Technique: Brayering, 3-D layering, Watercoloring, Dry Embossing
Ten plus hours of work, over the past two weekends, and I finally have this set of 8 cards done! I created the two versions of this card as part of a card gift set I am giving to some as Christmas gifts this year. Though there is another winter-theme card in the set (and also my first entry into the Hero Arts Holiday Cardmaking Challenge for 2016 – see it over at Splitcoast Stampers), this is the only “Christmas” card in the set – and it’s more “Holiday” than specifically “Christmas,” on purpose. I wanted to give cards that could be given in a variety of situations, and tried to steer clear of making any of them too specific for that very purpose.
This card was directly inspired by several of the samples shared through Hero Arts leading up to the release of the My Monthly Hero October 2016 kit. How could I not buy the kit after seeing the amazing creations they shared? 🙂
I made two versions of this card, the first with a woodgrain background, to mirror the feel of the beautiful wood that is used to make the base of so many of the gorgeous snowglobes we enjoy during the Christmas season.
The second was made with a cable knit sweater embossing folder, to reflect the cozy-ness of the Christmas season.
I’m not sure which I like best, though I think the scale of the woodgrain embossing folder used for the first card fits the project as a whole a bit better.
The reason these cards took so long is the fact that I kept changing and adding elements to add interest while still trying to keep the overall clean and simple feel of the card that I wanted to attain. I used my handy dandy glitter pen to add sparkle to both the background and the piles of snow, and to also help dry the eye to each. I really appreciate just a hint of sparkle once in awhile, especially when we are dealing with snow. As a true snow lover, I have to say that one of my favorite parts of the winter season is all of the diamonds that line the ground and sparkle on a sunny day!
The background was created with the help of my trusty brayer and my nearly-forgotten Kaleidacolor ink pad I bought ages ago. I was very impressed the ink was still useable in the pad! Knowing this, I think the ticket price of these pads isn’t so terrible, after all! For the tree, I was deeply in love with the trees stamped with Hero Arts’ ombre pads shown in many of the examples for this kit. I speedily made a trip to our local Hero Arts dealer, and was dissapointed to not find any ombre pads in green. So, I improvised by inking my stamp first in Lucky Limade, and then sponging Always Artichoke at the base. I really like how the result turned out!
These cards can also be seen in my gallery at Splitcoast Stampers, along with all of my creations, most of which unfortunately don’t make it to my blog. (My apologies – that’s what happens when the only internet access I have is by way of my smartphone… have you ever tried typing a bunch of stuff on one of those? Not so fun!) 🙂
Thanks so much for looking! As always, I do read and cherish comments, and will gladly return the favor should you be so inclined to share your thoughts on my cards!
Blessings,
C
DancesWithHooves 