I’m in a hurry to get this blog post finished as we’re under a winter storm warning and the snow’s picking up.  All the schools in the area are closed so they’re only expecting it to get worse.  Although it’s only a week away, I was reminded that Christmas is not the only celebration at this time of year.  People get married, have babies, and birthdays too.  So I thought I’d create a birthday card today with what I can only describe as a cracked ice background.

CRACKED ICE BACKGROUND EFFECT

I had an idea to create a subtle background layer in cool winter colours.  So I started with a piece of Saran Wrap (cling film) and scrunched it up into a loose ball in my hand.  The technique is not new, I just gently tap the Saran Wrap onto an ink pad and then onto my project.

I always do a test on a piece of scrap paper with this technique just to make sure that the colour I’ve chosen works.  I’m glad I did because my original choice was Coastal Cabana, but it was too bright.  Instead I went with Balmy Blue, but my initial test showed even that was too dark.  As it’s a fairly new ink pad there was too much ink and the effect just wasn’t subtle enough.  No problem, my next test was to stamp on the scrap paper again without adding more ink to the Saran Wrap.  That was perfect.

I took a layer of Whisper White Card and proceeded to tap the Saran Wrap on the ink pad, then onto scrap paper and finally very gently onto the card.  As I was working I realised that the white card combined with the pale, pale blue ink was creating a sort of cracked ice background effect.  I’ve never noticed this before when stamping with Saran Wrap, but perhaps it was due to the colour.  Whatever it was I loved what was happening.  In fact I loved it so much I stamped around the edge of another layer of Whisper White Card.  Then I stamped all over the flap of a Whisper White Medium Envelope too.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

For my sentiment I chose the Perennial Birthday Stamp Set and the large happy birthday.

I wiped a strip of Thick Whisper White Card with an Embossing Buddy to remove any oils and static from the surface.  Then using VersaMark ink I stamped the sentiment.  Next I sprinkled the sticky ink with Silver Stampin’ Emboss Powder and then tapped off the excess.  Finally I removed a couple of stray specks of powder before melting the rest with my Heat Tool set on 2 (high).

TIP – When I’m planning to lift a sentiment on Stampin’ Dimensionals or something similar I use thick card or stick two layers of card together.  This helps stop the sentiment from buckling or collapsing when the project is assembled.

To complete my sentiment I used the corner rounder on the Detailed Trio Punch to punch the top right and bottom left corners.

As this was a winter birthday card I decided to add some snowflakes.  So using my Big Shot and Magnetic Platform I cut a piece of Balmy Blue Card with the medium snowflake die from the Seasonal Layers Thinlits.  Then I cut two of the smallest snowflakes from Silver Glimmer Paper.

SIMPLE LAYERS

I chose Balmy Blue Card for my card base, and started by cutting and scoring it on my Stampin’ Trimmer.  Then I folded the card along the scored line and sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder.  The cracked ice background piece was fixed to the front using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow).

Next I added Stampin’ Dimensionals to the back of the sentiment.  I placed the Balmy Blue snowflake onto the background layer and then pressed the sentiment over the top.  The Stampin’ Dimensional behind the top left corner would hold the snowflake in place as well as the sentiment.

Next I fixed the two silver snowflakes on top of the sentiment with tiny dots of liquid glue.   Finally I added a medium (4 mm) clear Rhinestone Basic Jewel to the centre of the silver snowflakes.  The front of the card was now done.

All I needed to do now was use liquid glue to fix the other Whisper White layer inside the card base and my project was finished.

I simply love this card.  The cracked ice background with the delicate die-cut snowflakes really does provide a winter feel.  What’s more, despite being blue, this card could be for a male or female.  What do you think?

OK, I’ve managed to get the blog written, and I’m not going to push my luck any further.  I think it’s time for another coffee followed by a couple of hours in the craft studio.  I hope you’ll join me here again tomorrow for another new project.

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