Very Merry Christmas

Michelle Short had a lesson on Day 9 of Online Card Classes' "Holiday Style," on doing "Soft Tone-on-Tone" cards. While I didn't have the die she used for her card, I was able to do something similar on mine.

I began by die cutting my tree from silver foil paper, using one of Spellbinders' "Banner and Trees" dies. I also die cut a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper with the largest of Lawn Fawn's "Large Stitched Rectangle" dies. After deciding where I wanted my tree on the panel, I stamped my greeting, from Hero Arts' "Very Merry Christmas" set, in Versamark ink. I then heat embossed it with Ranger Silver embossing powder, to coordinate with the silver tree.

I replaced my tree on the panel, without adhering it, and made little pencil tic marks around it, so I would know where to paint. Then I brushed clear water over the area inside those marks, and dropped in diluted Peacock Feathers Distress ink. Once I had that blended out, I dried it with my heat tool. (Yes, I'm impatient like that! LOL) I went over it with a little more Peacock Feathers, and also dropped some Cracked Pistachio Distress ink into the wet Peacock Feathers layer. I dried it with my heat tool again, and repeated the process one more time, focusing more of the color towards the center of my shape, and fading it out to white around the edges.

After drying the panel once more with my heat tool, I adhered the tree, which I'd run through my Xyron Creative Station, on to my panel. All I had to do then was adhere the panel to a white A2 card base. I am sending this card to the parents of the little girl I created this card for, as part of Jennifer McGuire's "card shower."

I'm entering my card in Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday challenge: "Christmas."