Merry & Bright

Catch the Bug Challenge Blog is having their "Stella Says Sketch" Challenge #317. The challenge, obviously, is to use their sketch for your card design:

I began by creating my background panels. I was inspired by a lesson Debby Hughes did on Day 1 of Online Card Classes' "Holiday Style" class, going on now. She used the emboss resist technique with watercoloring on one of her cards.

I stamped my snowflakes (stamp set source unknown) on a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper that I'd cut to just under 3.25x4.5". I then heat embossed them with Ranger Super Fine Detail White embossing powder. When that had cooled, I sprayed the panel with water, and used Distress inks in Evergreen Bough & Picked Raspberry to color the background in a watercolor style. While the inks were still wet, I sprayed the panel again with my homemade Perfect Pearls mist, to give it an all-over shimmer. Then I set that aside to air dry.

For my focal panel, I die cut a piece of Strathmore smooth bristol paper with one of the "Classic Ovals LG" dies by Spellbinders. I printed the "Snow Friends" image from Bugaboo Stamps on that, and colored it in with my Zig Clean Color pens. Finally, I inked around the perimeter with Evergreen Bough.

By now my background panel was dry. I cut it into thirds, and adhered the pieces to a white A2-size card base, with a little gap between the panels. I stamped my greeting, from Simon Says Stamp's "Christmas" set, below the right panel, and heat embossed it with Ranger Liquid Platinum embossing powder. To pop up my focal panel, I die cut a piece of craft foam with another Spellbinders oval die, and adhered it to the back of the panel with double-sided tape. I adhered the panel to my card with more double-sided tape. Finally, I used Ranger Multi Medium Matte to glue 3 gems to the right side of the card.

I'm also entering this card in the following challenges:

Merry Monday Challenge #179: "Pink, Green, & White"
Catch the Bug Challenge Blog: "Anything Goes"
Live Love Cards November Challenge: "Snow/Snowflakes"