Blue Snow

The last couple of cards I’ve shared with you have been in bright, warm colours. Today I went for a cooler colour palette. I planned all along to do a monochrome card, using only shades of blue and white. However, this is not at all the card I was planning on making. When I went to grab the stamp set I was intending to use I saw this one, and decided to do this instead!

I started by stamping the snowman from the Pink & Main Snow Globe stamp set onto a snippet of watercolour paper. I used Simon Says Stamp Barely Beige ink as I wanted to do some no-line colouring. I masked the snowman off and used the snow drift stamp to add a horizon line. I then removed the mask and die cut the image using coordinating snow globe die.

I used two blue watercolour paints to add colour to my image. I added water to a section at a time then added the paint onto the shadowed side, letting the wet paper draw it across. I kept the blue shading on the snow and snowman very pale, and went darker for the hat and scarf as well as the sky. Painting the snowman’s nose blue felt a bit strange because of course snowmen usually have orange carrot noses! I told myself it is an icicle, and I think that works well.

Once all the painting was done and dried I went back in with various blue watercolour pencils to add a bit more detail here and there, as well as to build up the texture. I used my Wink of Stella to blend out the watercolour pencil, I also used pencils to draw back in the eyes, mouth, buttons, arms and tassels on the scarf.

Next I die cut the base of the snow globe from some blue foil card. I then ran it back through my Big Shot with a wood grain embossing folder. I also dry embossed a piece of vellum with the lattice embossing folder from the Sizzix Butterfly Lattice set.

The last element I needed was my sentiment. I die cut and heat embossed the banner from the Snow Globe set. I used clear embossing powder for the outline of the banner, then white heat embossed the sentiment onto it.

With everything ready I started assembling. I used my glue pen to attach the snow globe to its base, tucking it in behind slightly. I then put foam tape on the back of the assembled snow globe and pressed it onto my dry embossed vellum panel. Turning the panel over I applied tape runner to the back of the vellum where it would be hidden behind the snow globe. I adhered it to my light blue card base, then added dots of glue from my glue pen around the outer edge of the vellum to keep it from flapping around. Finally I added glue pen behind the letters on the banner and laid it over the base of the snow globe. As the base was textured I set an acrylic block on top of the banner to properly hold it in place whilst the glue set.

I’m rather pleased with this card. There were a couple of points during the painting of the image that I really wasn’t sure if it would work. The blue nose of the snowman is one example. Likewise I was concerned that the bright blue of the foil card might be too intense. But it actually all came together pretty nicely in the end. I still like the idea for the card I was originally going to make (which would have been much more time-consuming) so you may see that one in the next couple of days!

Love,

Lady Joyful

Challenges included:

Allsorts Challenge – Christmas in June

Craftyhazelnut’s Christmas Challenge – Anything Christmas

Craftyhazelnut’s Christmas Challenge Extra – Anything Christmas

Double D Challenges – Blue & White

HLS June Christmas Challenge – Anything Goes

Merry Monday – Christmas and Monochromatic Blue (edit – where it was an honourable mention!)

Moving Along With The Times – Wet and/or Dry Embossing