Joy!

Simon Says Stamp is having a "Don't Cut, Just Paste" challenge on their Monday challenge blog. I decided to create a Christmas card for Operation Write Home.

I began by stamping Hero Arts' "Joy Burst" image in the middle of a piece of 90 lb. watercolor paper, using Versafine Onyx Black ink. I then heat embossed it with Recollections Clear Detail embossing powder. I stamped several circles around it using 2 stamps from the Essentials by Ellen "Bokeh Dots" set. I used several different colors of ink for that; Hero Arts' Silver, Navy, Red Royal, Forever Green; Delicata Golden Glitz by Tsukineko; and Simon Says Stamp's Sunshine. Once I'd finished the stamping, I colored in the letters with the Chili Red Inktense pencil at the top, Lagoon at the bottom, and then blended the colors in the middle with my Ranger detail water brush. I also used the Iris Blue Inktense pencil for the larger snowflakes in the image.

Detail of the letters & paste "rays"

I adhered the panel to my non-stick craft sheet, with temporary adhesive, and taped the "Sunburst" stencil by The Crafter's Workshop over the top. Then I spread Golden Light Molding Paste through the stencil with my palette knife. I applied just a thin coat, starting at the outside edges and stopping when I reached the focal image. I removed the stencil, cleaned it & my craft mat and knife, and let the panel dry.

Once the paste had dried, I die cut the panel with a Spellbinders "Grand Scalloped Ovals" die. After inking the outer portion with Tumbled Glass Distress ink, I cut a piece of 2mm thick craft foam, and glued it to the back of my panel with Ranger Multi Medium Gloss. I applied more Multi Medium to the back of the foam, and adhered it to a piece of red cardstock that I'd cut to 4.25x5.5". Finally, I mounted that onto a white A2 card base.

I'm also entering this card in Hero Arts' "Tic-Tac-Toe" challenge. (The squares I chose from the challenge graphic are Circles, Stencil, and Heat Embossing.)