P retty handmade Christmas card using Stampin' Up! products and the salted background technique.
Project Recipe
Cut cardstock and Watercolor Paper pieces to the following sizes using a Stampin' Trimmer:
- card from Old Olive Cardstock at 5-1/2" x 8-1/2" and scored at 4-1/4"
- 4" x 5-1/4" from Watercolor Paper
- 2" x 3-1/4" from Basic Gray Cardstock
- 1-1/4" x 7" from Basic Gray Cardstock
- 1-1/2" x 2-1/12" from Whisper White Cardstock
- 1-1/2" square from Whisper White Cardstock
Open the Pool Party Ink Pad and leave the lid sticking out to the side. Squeeze several drops of Pool Party Ink Refill into the lid.
Fill the Aqua Painter with the large brush tip with water. Squeeze the Aqua Painter over the open pad lid to add several drops of water to the puddle of ink. You want a lot of water! Swirl the ink and water together with the brush tip of the Aqua Painter.
Place a paper towel on top of your Grid Paper and place the Watercolor Paper in the middle.
Use the brush tip of the Aqua Painter to pick up a lot of watery ink from the lid of the Pool Party Ink Pad. Paint it all over the piece of Watercolor Paper, getting it very wet.
Sprinkle salt all over the inky, wet Watercolor Paper. The coarser the salt chunks, the larger the "bleached" areas will be. Let the salt sit on the paper for a minute or two. Shake off excess salt and water. Set the painted, salted piece aside to let it dry while you work on the rest of the card.
Pick out the set of two diamond shaped lamps on the bracket thinlit and the single diamond shaped lamp thinlit from the Christmas Lamppost Thinlits. Place the piece of 2" x 3-1/4" Basic Gray Cardstock on the Precision Plate on top of the Platform on the Big Shot. Place the two thinlits on top, making sure they do not overlap. Place a Cutting Pad on top and run through the Big Shot a couple of times. Use the Die Brush to remove the cardstock.
Pick out the lamppost thinlit and the curly banner hanger with the arrow pointing to the right when the curls are on top thinlit from the Christmas Lamppost Thinlits. Place the piece of 1-1/4" x 7" Basic Gray Cardstock on the Precision Plate on top of the Platform on the Big Shot. Place the two thinlits on top, making sure they do not overlap. Place a Cutting Pad on top and run through the Big Shot a couple of times. Use the Die Brush to remove the cardstock.
As you are ready to stamp on each piece of cardstock using the Brightly Lit Christmas stamps, place the cardstock on the Stampin' Pierce Mat. Using the mat will help you get a cleaner image each time you stamp.
Mount the "We Wish You a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year" banner image on Block C. Ink it up with the Old Olive Ink Pad. Stamp in the center of the 1-1/2" x 2-1/2" white rectangle.
Pick out the matching banner framelit from the Chistmas Lamppost Thinlits. Place the stamped banner image on the Cutting Pad on top of the Magnetic Platform on the Big Shot. Place the banner framelit on top so it is centered over the banner image. Place a Cutting Pad on top and run through the Big Shot.
Mount the large gift image on Block A. Ink it up with the Old Olive Ink Pad. Stamp it in the center of the white square.
Mount the ribbon and bow for the large gift image on Block A. Ink it up with the Pool Party Ink Pad. Stamp it over the already stamped gift image so it fills in the ribbon spaces.
Pick out the matching large gift framelit from the Chistmas Lamppost Thinlits. Place the stamped gift image on the Cutting Pad on top of the Magnetic Platform on the Big Shot. Place the large gift framelit on top so it is centered over the gift image. Place a Cutting Pad on top and run through the Big Shot.
If the Watercolor Paper is dry, brush off excess salt using a dry paper towel. If it is not quite dry yet, you can speed up the drying process using the Heat Tool after brushing off the excess salt.
Put strips of Tear & Tape Adhesive on the back of the Watercolor Paper as close to the edges as possible. This will help stick the Watercolor Paper to the front of the card without having the edges curl up.
Add some SNAIL to the middle of the back of the Watercolor Paper and remove the protective backings from the Tear & Tape. Adhere the Watercolor Paper to the front of the Old Olive card.
Use Paper Snips to cut about 3/4" off the top of the lamppost cut out.
Place the lamppost cut out upside down on one side of a Silicone Craft Sheet. Cut a Stamping Sponge into quarters and clamp the triangle edge of one quarter in a large binder clip. Squeeze a small amount of Multipurpose Liquid Glue on one corner of the Silicone Craft Sheet. Dab the sponge into the glue and then lightly onto the back of the lamppost cut out. Flip the lamppost cut out over and adhere it to the card front so the base is about 1-1/4" in from the left side and about 1/8" up from the bottom of the Watercolor Paper.
Use the same gluing method to adhere the set of two lamps cut out to the top of the lamppost.
Use the same gluing method to adhere the single lamp cut out to the top of the lamppost between the set of two lamps.
Use the same gluing method to adhere the curly banner hanger cut out to the lamppost so the curls are on top and the arrow end is pointing off to the right.
Use Stampin' Dimensionals to adhere the banner to the card front so it appears to be hanging from the banner hanger on the lamppost.
Use a Stampin' Dimensional to adhere the present to the card front so it is at the base of the lamppost on the left side.
Cut an 8" piece of the silver tinsel trim from the Mini Tinsel Trim Combo Pack.
Put a Mini Glue Dot in the center of the lamppost just under the center lamp.
Put a loop about 3/4" long in the center of the tinsel trim. Adhere it to the Mini Glue Dot. Put another Mini Glue Dot on top of the end of the loop over the center of the lamppost. Create another 3/4" loop on the other side of the tinsel trim and adhere it to the second Mini Glue Dot. Trim the ends of the tinsel.
Tip: Creating the bow this way helps it to lie flatter on the card front, otherwise it gets kind of bulky in the center.