Snow Loved Snow Couple

Evening Everyone,

Yippee! The sun's been shining again, however it has also been a tad breezy ... in fact, the wind was so strong earlier it was shaking the birds right out of the trees. Still, it's been a great drying day :))

Today's make features one of my all-time favourite stamps - Sugar Nellie's Snow Loved - an oldie but a goodie.

And all because Hazel, over at Crafty Hazelnut's Crafty Challenge asked for a snowman or snowwoman. I remembered this stamp and thought why not both.

To make the topper the happy couple were stamped with Memories Black dye ink on to smooth white card (from Papermill Direct) and stamped again on printer paper to make a mask. After colouring the snow folk with ProMarkers (using a mix of blues, aquas, greys, greens, reds and brown) I did something I've been nervous of trying, I die cut it to leave the bottom of the image outside the oval shape (Cart-Us Ovals). And it's easier than I thought!

Once that was done, the image was masked off and snowflakes were stamped in the background using VersaMark. To do this, three tiny snowflake stamps from the Magical Christmas set from Hot Of The Press were placed together on a stamp block and then randomly stamped around the image with some of the stamping going off the edge. That done, Adirondack's Stonewashed blue ink was brushed over the stamping. The effect is subtle but the snowflakes are clear in close-up. Another oval was cut from a snippet of aqua card (Baja Breeze from Stamping Up) by tracing round the die and cutting out and then stamped with snowflakes and inked in the same way as the topper. Both were finished off with a sponging around the edges with Tim Holtz Peacock Feathers. The glitter on the topper is a fine pale blue one I bought at a stall at the SECC Hobbycraft show two years ago ... a little goes a very long way! The holly berries have had the Stickles treatment (Xmas Red).

   

The inside and back have been stamped with the snowflakes too ... I heard a card decorated like this, on all sides, described as a 360 degree card ... another new term for the crafting jargonictionary :))

Other materials used:
Dark blue mirror card; Cuttlebug Snowflakes embossing folder; Crafters Companions Die'sire Snowflakes dies; dark blue gems

I'm submitting this card to the following challenges:

Crafty Hazelnut's two challenges - CHNC Challenge 135 - snowmen or snowwomen and
CHNC Challenge Extra for August - where anything goes as long as it's Christmas.

Pixie's Craft Snippets Playground - #83 - the oval of Baja Breeze is admittedly the only snippet used here ... and it's quite a wrench to see it finally used up.

Jellypark Friends Friday Challenges - Christmas in July ... I know, it's August but this challenge is open for another five days :)

That's me done for today and I won't be around tomorrow. I'm off to my favourite craft centre, Cardwells, where there is going to be a craft fair and craft demonstrations going on. Of course, I'm going to be good and not tempted at all to fill a basket with crafting goodies ... on second thoughts, it would be rude not to :))

Take care and have a wonderful weekend whatever you are doing,