Joy to the World

I am in major holiday card making mode now. Even so, I have only about 10 more cards I have to make to meet my goal. I made an almost one-layer card, with the only additional layer being the focal image. I based my design on Sketch #SC726 at Splitcoaststampers.com.

For the image, I used a technique I learned from a woman at Splitcoast during last summer's Dare to Get Dirty challenges. I used an A2-size sheet of glossy photo paper I got at Dollar Tree. I applied Shaded Lilac, Stormy Sky, Salty Ocean, Blueprint Sketch, & Chipped Sapphire Distress Oxide inks to my non-stick craft mat. I spritzed each color with a bit of water, and smooshed my panel into the resulting puddles. I used my heat tool between layers to dry the ink on my panel, being careful not to melt the paper. When I had applied enough layers of ink, I used Black Soot Distress Oxide ink to stamp the image, from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps' "O Holy Night" set, onto my panel. I actually stamped the image two separate times, to make two cards, and still had some of my panel left over for other cards. Then the magic part--I wiped over the panel with a baby wipe. I'm not sure of the chemistry involved, but that took it from dull, chalky, and frankly ugly, to bright & beautiful. It also revealed the ink colors in all the different layers. Finally, I die cut my image with a circle die.

The sketch called for paper strips behind the focal image. I decided to keep it simpler, and did ink blending & stenciling instead. I thought the "Pointed Star" stencil from Jenni Bowlin (discontinued) was perfect to go with the image. I taped off the vertical strip area on my white panel, & inked it with Salty Ocean Distress ink. Then I taped my stencil in place, keeping the original masking tape in place, and inked through the stencil with Chipped Sapphire Distress ink. I repeated the process to do the horizontal strip. Where they overlapped ended up a bit darker, just because there was more ink, but the image covered it, so it didn't really matter. I stamped my greeting, also from "O Holy Night," in Versafine Onyx Black ink, and that finished this card.

I'm entering my card in Creative Knockouts Challenge #326: "Winter/Holidays."