Most of the time I can see why a set is named the way it is, but not today.  Today my Stampin’ Up! 2018 Holiday Catalogue sneak peek uses the Feathers & Frost Stamp Set.  In the set there’s a couple of birds with feathers, but no frost, not even a mention in a sentiment.

Of course that didn’t stop me buying this gorgeous 13 piece photopolymer stamp set.  There’s two birds facing opposite directions, a large square wreath/branches image and 4 smaller images.  The line art images are great for colouring, but will look equally good left alone.  In addition there are 6 sentiment stamps for outside and inside a card.

I started this project with the square wreath/branches image from the Feathers & Frost Stamp Set.  Unlike other samples I’ve seen I decided to rotate the image so the cut stems were at the bottom.  Stamped onto Very Vanilla Card using Shaded Spruce ink, it fitted onto the 4″ x 5-1/4″ piece beautifully.

Using an empty Aqua Painter, I dipped the brush into some clean water and wiped it on some paper towel.  With the brush barely damp I then painted the leaves on my wreath, pulling in the ink from the outlines.  This technique creates a really subtle look to the colouring that I love.

Then after washing the brush tip, I added some Poppy Parade ink to the centre of the berries.

TIP – press down on the top of the closed ink pad to transfer ink from the foam pad to the inside of the lid.  When the pad is opened you can pick up the ink with a brush or Blender Pen.  If you want a lighter shade, simply add a drop or two of water onto the lid and mix with the ink.  When you’re done you can wipe it clean, or close the pad ready for next time.

FEATHERS

From the Feathers & Frost Stamp Set I chose the bird facing left and with Soft Suede ink stamped him towards the bottom of my wreath.  It didn’t matter about overlapping the leaves as I really only wanted his legs and beak from this image.

With that done, I stamped the bird again, this time onto a separate scrap of Very Vanilla Card.  Next, using my damp Aqua Painter, I used the same technique to ‘pull in’ colour from the stamped lines into the image.  Then on his back I painted a little more Soft Suede ink from inside the lid of the pad.  Finally I painted his chest with Poppy Parade ink and set my robin aside to dry.

ALTERED SENTIMENT

I love being able to get more from my stamp sets by altering the sentiments.  So I took the ‘and peace to your heart’, inked it up with Soft Suede ink and covered the ‘and’ with sellotape.  Then I stamped onto some Very Vanilla Card.

Next using my Big Shot and Magnetic Platform I cut out the sentiment using the #2 plain-edge die from the Layering Circles Framelits (counting from the smallest up).  The #2 scalloped-edge die from the same set was then used to cut out some Shaded Spruce Card.

Using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) I attached the sentiment to the Shaded Spruce piece and set it aside.

ASSEMBLING THE CARD

Using my Stampin’ Trimmer I cut and scored a piece of Thick Very Vanilla Card.  I folded the card along the scored line and sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder.  This would be the card base.

Going back to my coloured robin on the scrap card, I cut him out with Paper Snips, ignoring his legs and beak.  Then using liquid glue I fixed the robin directly onto the robin image stamped on the wreath.  By doing this the beak and legs magically reappeared, and the rest of the bird looked great.

Next I used liquid glue to attach the wreath layer to a layer of Shaded Spruce Card with a narrow border.  Then I wrapped some Very Vanilla Solid Baker’s Twine four times around the layers and tied it in a knot.

The layered sentiment was added over the twine, with Stampin’ Dimensionals used to push the strands together in the middle.

Finally I mounted everything onto the card base with more Stampin’ Dimensionals.

FINISHING TOUCHES

I loved the look of the robin so I decided to make that the coordinating feature for the project.

Using Soft Suede ink I stamped the bird in the bottom right corner on a layer of Very Vanilla Card, and on the front of a Very Vanilla Medium Envelope.  Then using the same colours and process as before I painted the birds.

As there was no wreath on these pieces, I used Shaded Spruce ink to stamp one of the two small branch images in the birds’ beaks.  This was a simple process as I could look right through the photopolymer stamp.  The leaves and berries were coloured to match the wreath on the front of the card.

Now all I had to do was attach the Very Vanilla layer to the inside of my card with liquid glue and I was done.

FEATHERS & FROST

I really like this stamp set and how my first project turned out.  I deliberately made a non-Christmas card with this set just to show its versatility.  OK, I made my bird into an English robin, but it didn’t have to be.  There are lots of birds that are this shape and you can paint them any colour you like.

So that’s today’s sneak peek over, I’m off to play with something else.  Hmm, I wonder what I should choose?…

Meanwhile, I’ll leave you with a proper look at the Feathers & Frost Stamp Set.

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