One Layer Bauble....well almost!

     Welcome to my second project for the Creative Expressions design team, I have had some fun visiting old techniques and trying a new one, I hope you like the outcome.
     I love a large and beautifully decorated Christmas card but when we have so many family and friends living overseas it can be very expensive, so I have chosen to make a 'postage friendly' card. It's almost one layer, I had to add a small bow, it just didn't look right without one. It's only 5 3/4 inches square so it should fit through the little gauge they have at the post office as an ordinary letter.

   As I wanted to use Distress Ink and create a snowflake effect I made my card blank from Coconut white cardstock, this card works beautifully with Distress Inks. I have tried others, some work and sadly some do not. I would suggest that once you find a card that works for you keep a small piece and write what it's called and where you got it from and keep it somewhere safe.
   

    Place your die shape on the inside of the card front and tape it in place. DO NOT CUT the shape, just emboss and you will get three lines on your card like this.
     Remove the die and use it again to cut the same shape from a sheet of copy paper or thin card. Keep BOTH pieces, these will be used as masks.

     Place the paper with the hole in carefully over your embossed shape and tape down with low tack tape.
     To create the snow scene you will need to tear another piece of paper with a sloping edge to act as your mask for the snow drifts. Place this torn strip across the top third of the hole and using Distress Ink Chipped Sapphire colour in the shape.

     Move the torn strip down and change the angle, this time only colour along the edge of the strip to make a shadow effect. Do this one more time further down the shape changing the angle again.
    To get the snowflake effect spritz water on your clean fingers and flick it at the card, leave for a few seconds and watch the ink lift away from your card. Dab the water off with a clean piece of tissue, you will now have snowflakes falling, this is the beauty of working with Distress Ink, they react with water to create great effects as long as it's on the right card.

     Remove your masks carefully and allow to dry. Stamp the tree from the Snowflakes and Sprigs set using Archival Ink Cobalt Blue on your snow scene. Add a tiny shadow under the tree with a little Chipped sapphire on a damp paintbrush.
     To get the silver border around the shape place the die back over the shape and draw around it carefully.

     Now you will need the paper shape you cut earlier when you made your mask, place this over the scene to protect it while you stamp the snowflakes.  Dust  your card with an anti-static bag, this will help reduce any areas that might pick up the mica where you don't want it. Using Perfect Medium Ink and the small snowflake from the same stamp set, stamp at random over your card, leaving the bottom right corner clear. Now stamp your greeting in the bottom right corner with the same ink, I have used a stamp from the Winter Greetings set.
     Once all stamping is done dust the card with Cosmic Shimmer Mica Powder Silver, this will stick to your stamped images, dust off excess powder with a large fluffy brush. If you have some mica where you don't want it this can be removed with a soft rubber. I use a battery powered rubber, it spins which allows you to be very acurate with it. I have also given the card a light dusting of hairspray to fix the mica.

     The bauble needs a bow, I have used a bow that's on the top of a different bauble stamp also by Creative Expressions. Stamp and emboss two bows with Cosmic Shimmer Silver Shine. Cut out the bows, there is no need to leave a border around the embossing because Cosmic Shimmer doesn't crack when you cut close to it. Cut one full bow and one with no tails, turn over the no tail part and gently stretch the card with a large ball tool to give it shape. Paint the bows with Cosmic Shimmer Drawing Ink Blue Midnight and assemble, attach to the top of the bauble.

     To decorate the inside of the card use the small snowflake again with the Archival Ink Cobalt Blue and stamp around the edge of the card.
     Stamp the greeting, which is also from the Winter Greeting set, in the same ink on the centre of the card.
     You could also add a snowflake to the envelope for that little extra decoration.
   
 




Materials Used
Snowflakes and Sprigs stamp set
Winter Greetings stamp set
Spellbinder Heirloom Ornament Die
Cosmic Shimmer Embossing Powder - Silver Shine
Cosmic Shimmer Mica Powder - Silver
Cosmic Shimmer Drawing Ink - Blue Midnight (Garden Set)
Perfect Medium
Archival Ink - Cobalt Blue
Coconut White Cardstock

I would like to enter this card in the following challenges:

CraftyHazelnut's Christmas Challenge - Keep It Flat
My Perfect Life - Any Christmas Card
Stamping Sensations - Christmas
Crafty Calendar - Christmas
Christmas Cards All Year Round - No Patterned Paper
Christmas Stampin' All Year Long - Anything Goes