Christmas Season Is Coming Soon

It’s raining hard right now and set to get progressively worse as the day goes on. Hurricane Larry is going to miss us but will still affect our weather for the next couple of days. I find myself being thankful that it’s only water, I’m not ready to shovel the white stuff just yet. Instead I’m happy to stay inside and craft, especially since I realised it’s only 15 weeks to Christmas!

Given that cards need to be mailed weeks beforehand, it’s time to ramp up production. So today I have a Christmas card idea featuring the Snowflake Wishes Stamp Set and emboss resist technique.

EMBOSS RESIST TECHNIQUE

I haven’t used the emboss resist technique in a while and decided it would be perfect for this Christmas card.

I began by cutting a 3-3/4″ x 5″ piece of Basic White Card. Then from the Snowflake Wishes Stamp Set I chose one of the larger snowflake images. Next, using VersaMark ink I stamped the snowflake three times before sprinkling the sticky ink with clear Stampin’ Emboss Powder. After tapping off the excess powder I melted the rest with my Heat Tool set on 2 (high).

While the embossing cooled I used my Paper Trimmer to cut and score some Misty Moonlight Card. Then I folded it along the scored line and sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder.

After setting the card base aside I was ready to continue with the embossed panel. Using a Blending Brush I covered the card with a layer of Balmy Blue ink. Then, rather than wait, I dried off the ink with my Heat Tool set on 1 (low).

Going back to the Snowflake Wishes Stamp Set I took a different, slightly smaller, snowflake image. Using VersaMark ink again I stamped the snowflake three times close to or slightly overlapping the original ones. As before I sprinkled the VersaMark with clear embossing powder, tapped off the excess and melted the rest with my Heat Tool.

Inside of Christmas card created using the Snowflake Wishes Stamp Set from Stampin' Up! #papercraftwithme

While the embossing cooled I used the same two snowflake stamps as my coordinating feature.

First on a 4″ x 5-1/4″ piece of Basic White Card I stamped the larger snowflake with Balmy Blue ink. Then I added a few of the other snowflake image with Misty Moonlight ink. I repeated this on the front of a Basic White Medium Envelope too. Then with Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) I fixed the stamped layer inside the card base.

MAKING IT SPARKLE

Now I could concentrate on finishing off the panel for the front of my card.

First I needed to add another layer of ink to enhance the emboss resist effect. This time I used Misty Moonlight ink with my Blending Brush to make the snowflakes really stand out. Once I was done I used a tissue to wipe off the excess ink that was left sitting on top of the embossing. And that’s when I realised my mistake…

As I wiped I realised that I’d missed some excess clear embossing powder across the centre of the panel. It really wasn’t obvious until the embossing resisted the ink! However, the more I looked at it the less concerned I became. It looked like that really fine dry snow we sometimes get, and somehow added to the overall effect. So I decided to continue, and chose the “May your season sparkle” sentiment.

This time after stamping the sentiment with VersaMark ink I sprinkled it with silver Stampin’ Emboss Powder. Then after tapping off the excess I was careful to remove the stray specks. Once I was happy I melted the rest using the Heat Tool set on 2 (high).,

With all the embossing and inking done it was time to finish putting the card together.

Using liquid glue I first mounted the panel onto a 3-7/8″ x 5-1/8″ piece of Basic White Card. Then in the centre of each embossed snowflake I added a Rhinestone Basic Jewel. Finally I attached the assembled piece to the front of the card base with Stampin’ Dimensionals and I was done.

Even with the little embossing powder faux pas I really love how this card turned out. Despite using only clear embossing powder I ended up with larger white snowflakes, while the smaller ones were a subtle light blue. That’s the beauty of the emboss resist technique you can keep adding ink and clear embossing to create amazing effects. Have you tried this technique?

If you’re looking for more Christmas card inspiration check out these earlier blog posts: