Skating Together - Hello Bluebird Stamps

Hi!  I do hope you've enjoyed a Happy Holiday?   This card today might seem a little late but I made it in very early December and couldn't reveal it until I'd given it to my intended recipient (victim).  Still, there are ideas and inspiration to take away from this.



This was another of my slimline cards.   Finished card dimensions are 3 1/2" wide x 8 1/2" so from an A4 sheet of cardstock cut the length at 7 inches then score and fold in half (4 bar).  My panel is cut from the remainder of the A4 sheet and the dimensions are 3.2" x 8.2".  A simple online search for coordinating envelopes for this size of card will yield you many results.   Contact me if you have any issues and I'll share a link or two with you but these are #9 envelopes or Size 9, also called slimline or invitation envelopes - there's plenty of choice out there including colours and at very reasonable prices.



For this card I formed a card base using red cardstock and made a panel from the remainder of the A4 sheet.  I ink blended the panel using a combination of red ink and Distress Oxide in Black Soot, slowly building the colour to the intensity I was wanting and creating a focal point that appears to be lit from within.



I adhered this panel to the card base and then on Bristol Smooth cardstock I stamped my characters from Skating Together using Ranger Archival Ink in Black and watercolour painted them with Kuretake Zigs, finally they were die cut and adhered into position using foam tape.  I highlight some points on them with a Uniball Signo White Gel Pen.



With Versamark Ink the 'swoosh' marks were stamped and heat embossed in white.  I ink blended the little strip of red cardstock (which is a natural remnant from your original A4 sheet of cardstock) and stamped and heat embossed it in silver with a sentiment from Typed Christmas.  I applied the sentiment strip with foam tape.



The final touch was to add a whole lot of delicate glitter in the form of Stickles in 'Crystal'.  I applied points of it on the characters and then through the 'air' around them I dotted in plenty of it and this is absolutely dazzling as the card is moved in the light - a little bit of Christmas Magic!

When a card such as this is made from coloured cardstock I always use 80lb white paper and make a writing insert for the inside - makes the card feel even more substantial and special too!

So, there it is, my final holiday card of the season.  I LOVE making Christmas cards and can't wait until it is time to start back up again .... that'll be about August/September'ish? :D :D :D

Enjoy your New Year's Celebrations!

Nicky x

Skating Together - Hello Bluebird Stamps

Hello!

I've got some inspiration for you today from the most recent Hello Bluebird release.  I'm using the new Skating Together stamp set with a background created using the new Skating Pond Scene Die



I stamped my Skating Together images onto Bristol Smooth cardstock using Archival Ink and watercolour painted them using Kuretake Zigs.  I highlighted some points and subtly glittered them using Stickles in 'Crystal'.  I then fussy cut them out and set them to one side.



My idea was that the characters are skating just as the sun is beginning to set in the early evening and the pink sky is tinging the snow pink!

To that end and with that vision in mind, I die cut an A2 panel of 110lb white cardstock using the Skating Pond Scene Die.  I ink blended some parts of the die cut pieces with a little Distress Ink in Victorian Velvet.  My Skating Pond portion was squished into a Versamark Ink pad thoroughly coating it in the sticky ink and then I heat embossed it using WOW! White Puff Twinkle Embossing Glitter for a lovely crusty and sparkling finish.



I ink blended the trees softly using Distress Ink in Pumice Stone then dabbed a little Versamark ink onto them and again heat embossed with the same embossing powder to make it look like the snow was stuck to the trunks and branches.   I then took a 110lb cardstock card base and I softly ink blended it again in the Victorian Velvet so that it would show through the trees when the card was assembled.  I joined all the pieces of the Skating Pond Scene back together on the reverse using a little tape then added dimensional foam tape and applied it to the card base.



I added more foam tape behind the 3 skating characters and applied them then stamped the sentiment to a little strip of cardstock with Versamark Ink and heat embossed in Antique Gold and added that too!  Card complete!

Thanks for stopping by my blog today to read, I'll see you next time!  Happy Crafting!

Nicky x