2. Fall has arrived and the crisp air is beginning to head South – time to start thinking about all of those Christmas, holiday and winter projects! And won’t YOU be the coolest chick on the block when you dress up your projects with some Winter Snow! This was my swap two weeks ago at the Founder’s Circle Retreat. I teased all my fellow demonstrators with this snow and would not tell them how to make it. They’ve all had to wait until the unveiling of my blog today! SO, thanks for visiting girls and I hope you enjoy the idea!
3. First, I embossed the Christmas tree from the “Snow Swirled” stamp set (pg. 32 of the SU! catalog) in white embossing powder onto Kiwi Kiss cardstock.
4. Next, I trimmed out the tree and “waved” the edges a bit as I cut. This gives the tree a more natural look and I think it’s more pleasing to the eye than a straight cut. The tree would look too triangular! Notice how I also left about ¼ inch of cardstock at the bottom of the tree. This is to help with assembling the card.
5. Adhere the tree to a Night of Navy card – bottom right corner, about 1 inch in from the edge.
6. Now I used the Top Note die for the new BIG SHOT Sizzix die-cut machine that SU is now offering. Take a piece of Baja Breeze cardstock, 4 ¼ x 5 ½. Center it perfectly over the die image so that it will cut centered into the cardstock.
7. Now, it’s time to build our die-cut “sandwich” and put it thru the Big Shot. OH, I just love this thing. Talk about upping the anty on swaps – wowza! And the fact that we can cut FIVE at a time – God Bless America!
8. And once you crank that baby through, here’s the prize at the end! Not only do you get the adorable “Top Note”, but you also get this fabulous frame. And that’s what we’re going to use on this card. Save the other piece for another project, another day…
9. Next, I adhered the frame over my card. Now you can see why I left the ¼ inch of blank cardstock at the base of my tree. I wanted as much tree to show as possible on the card. And having a flat bottom to the tree with “room to spare” helped to align the entire card.
10. Using Baja Breeze ink, I stamped the small snowflake from the “Snow Swirled” stamp set onto Whisper White cardstock.
11. And with the beauty of Stampin’ Up!’s punches, you can turn the punch upside down and perfectly punch out this adorable little snowflake. I used the small star punch.
12. Punch out a star in Baja Breeze (my current favorite SU color!) cardstock as well.
13. Glue the two stars together in an off-kilter fashion to create your own beautiful snowflake. This is your tree topper.
14. For my sentiment, I used this fabulous stamp from the “Punches Three” hostess-only stamp set (pg. 17 of the catalog). Ink it up in Kiwi Kiss classic ink.
15. And here’s a totally cool technique we learned at SU! Convention this summer. Use a Blender Pen to REMOVE the ink from the wording.
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17. Next, I used the brush tip of the Night of Navy Stampin’ Write marker to color the words – and the teeny star beneath them. (Oh my stars – don’t look, I need a manicure!)
18. And then you’ve got to “Darth Vadar” your stamp – you know, huff on it, brrreeaaaatthhhee on it. Like you did on the school bus windows when you were a kid to write “Beckie Loves Matt” (or at least I did; hope my Dad isn’t reading this). Huff on your stamp to remoisten the ink (that Kiwi Kiss ink will be dry by now). Then stamp it onto Whisper White card stock. And voila!
19. LOVE LOVE LOVE that technique! Thank you, SU! for showing us that blender pen trick! Now, line it up with your brand new Square Scallop punch which you all have, right? If you don’t, you cannot live another day without it and I KNOW who can sell you one! :) And punch that baby out!
21. And do you know the best little trick to get the backings off those babies? They can be pretty stubborn. Take your thumbnail and press into the center of the Dimensional. All the sides will release up and then it’s so easy to just pop that backing right off! Aren’t you just lovin’ me now?! :)
22. OK, here’s the card so far. Not bad on its own. OH, but wait – let it snow, let it snow, let it snow…
23. Are you just dying to know what I used for that snow, Girls? Hit your local Dollar Store for these oldies but goodies…
24. That’s right – good ‘ol Elmer’s glue (or equivalent) and shaving cream! Start by putting some shaving cream into a bowl.
25. Then, you’re going to add the glue. Now, I’ve made 135 of these cards – I know, I’m a bit sick in the head. BUT I have to say that Founder’s Circle swap was hands-down the BEST swap I’ve ever participated in. And in my 8+ years as a demonstrator, I’ve been in a lot of swaps! So THANKS FC Buddies! Anyway, I haven’t found a real “recipe” of how much glue to add to how many parts shaving cream. But what I did discover is that the more glue you add, the tighter the snow will become as it dries. The less glue you add, the more “whippy” it will remain and can get a cloud-like effect. So, if you want the snow to be flat so you can mail it, I’d say add more glue than shaving cream. Then it dries tight, more like a snow drift. But if you’re hand-delivering this to someone, you could use equal parts shaving cream and glue, or even a bit less glue, and then you get a super fluffy effect – and it doesn’t deflate! This stuff is da bomb! You’ll have fun playing around with it, I promise!
26. Mix it up into this dreamy, creamy consistency and refrain yourself from gobbling down a spoonful. Despite its appearance, this is NOT Cool Whip!
27. Use a plastic spoon and just start applying the mixture to your card. Don’t worry – if you add it in a place where you don’t want it, you can just wipe it right off with your finger. It won’t ruin the card at all. Trust me, I have much experience in this area.
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29. Finally, add some Dazzling Diamonds glitter! This adds such a gorgeous finish to the snow.
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31. And our Winter Snow card is complete! You will DEFINITELY want to let this dry overnight. A couple hours will not do. So, plan adequately for some good drying time. The top card is the one with the snow still wet and just completed. The bottom card is with dried snow that has been flattened from flying back and forth to Utah! But you get the general idea – it still looks great! I think this snow would be so fun to use for clouds, a bunny’s tail, Santa’s beard, the frosting on our adorable cupcake stamps… What ideas can YOU come up with? (Note: Because of the acidic properties in shaving cream, this technique will not be safe to use in your scrapbooks.)
