After yesterday’s rather long post featuring a gift box project I thought today’s should be much simpler.  I decided to grab the new Spirited Snowmen Stamp Set for my sneak peek project.  It’s a red rubber stamp set with 3 lovely line-art snowmen images, two smaller images and three sentiments.

Here in Nova Scotia we’re under another severe heat warning with feel-like temperatures in the high 30s.  Playing in the snow seems quite appealing right now…

THE BASICS

Starting with my Stampin’ Trimmer I cut and scored a piece of Thick Whisper White Card.  Then I folded it along the scored line and sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder to create a card base.

Then, as this was to be a winter card I decided it should have a snowy background.  Using my Big Shot and multipurpose platform with all the tabs open, I embossed a layer of Whisper White Card using the Softly Falling Textured Impressions Embossing Folder.

Softly Falling adds a random assortment of small raised dots to the card with more at one end than the other.  It’s a simple design but very effective.  Turn it so more dots are at the bottom and it could quite easily be rising bubbles rising.  Today however I wanted falling snow, so I turned it the other way with the most dots at the top.  Then the embossed card was fixed to the front of the card base with Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow).

SIMPLE COLOURING

I love colouring images but I know that’s not everyone’s cup of tea.  So today I decided to keep it really quick and easy.

Using Memento Tuxedo Black ink I stamped the skating snowman image onto a scrap of Whisper White Card.  Then I stamped the back end of the snowman on the right side of a layer of Whisper White Card.  Finally I stamped the front end of the snowman on the left side on the front of a Whisper White Medium Envelope.

Using all 5 colours in the 2018/2020 In Color Stampin’ Write Markers I coloured all the images.  I used Blueberry Bushel and Pineapple Punch for his hat and scarf, and lovely Lipstick for his buttons.  His carrot nose was coloured with Grapefruit Grove, with Call Me Clover for his boots.  Finally, from the Neutrals collection I used Smoky Slate for the skate blades and Soft Suede for his arms and legs.  No shading, no worrying about where the ‘light’ was coming from, just bright and colourful images.

With the colouring done, I took the layer with just the back of the snowman and fixed it inside the card base with liquid glue.

The remaining complete snowman image was simply cut out using Paper Snips and set aside.

SMALL DETAILS

I was almost ready to begin assembling the front of the card but needed a few extra pieces.

First, the sentiment, ‘winter cheer’ from the Spirited Snowman Stamp set, stamped in Tuxedo Black ink on Whisper White Card.

Then it was time to use the Big Shot and Magnetic Platform with dies from the Layering Ovals Framelits.  Counting from the smallest up, I cut out the sentiment using the #1 plain-edged die.

Having chosen the skater from the spirited snowmen, I knew I had to put him on a frozen pond.  So with the #4 plain-edged die I cut out a piece of window sheet.

The window sheet comes with layers of tissue paper to separate the sheets and I had an idea…  Using a piece of Stampin’ Sponge I sponged and tapped Balmy Blue ink onto the surface of the tissue.  It created a subtle mottled effect that I could certainly find a use for.  So I placed the sponged tissue onto a piece of Whisper White Card and cut both at the same time with the #4 plain-edged oval die.

Finally I was ready to put it all together.

WORKING BACKWARDS

Window Sheet and tissue paper can be a challenge to attach to a project so the adhesive doesn’t show, but I have a solution.  Work in reverse, starting with your top pieces and hiding the adhesive behind them.

So using this method I put a Stampin’ Dimensional behind the left edge of the sentiment and attached it to the Window Sheet.

The fussy-cut snowman’s boots and belly came next, attached to the Window Sheet with pieces of Stampin’ Dimensionals.  Then on the back of the Window Sheet I put some Mini Glue Dots where they would be hidden behind the sentiment and bottom of the snowman.  The sponged tissue paper was fixed to these.  More Mini Glue Dots were added to the tissue paper hidden by the snowman and sentiment and the white oval was attached.

Finally I turned the whole thing over and added Stampin’ Dimensionals to the back.  I placed a single layer on the back of the large oval and stacked them on the sentiment and snowman.  Once the Stampin’ Dimensionals were in place I attached my image and sentiment to the front of the card.  By stacking the Stampin’ Dimensionals I ensured that the focal point was completely level.

Job done.

The method I used to invisibly attach the Window Sheet and tissue paper also works for vellum.  In this short video you can see the front to back process for a previous project.

SPIRITED SNOWMEN

I really like the Spirited Snowmen images.  The areas to colour are small enough to be tackled by even the most reluctant crafter.  It’s sure to be a hit.

Here’s a look at the all the images and sentiments in the Spirited Snowmen Stamp Set.

Well that’s it for today, please do join me tomorrow for another sneak peek from the Stampin’ Up! 2018 Holiday Catalogue.

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