Inspiration: Simon Says Stamp Wednesday (Bling It On) + Hand Stamped Sentiments #379
I was happy to spot the Santa sleigh in the inspiration image as I was really looking forward to using the Dash Away All die from Tim Holtz. I have wanted a small to medium size Santa sleigh die for the longest time and the ones that I've seen in the past were not what I was hoping. I remember one in particular from a year or two ago where the deers' antlers were shooting straight up above their head and were not delicate at all. Good things come to those who wait and I love the look of this one. The delicate moon and star trail included in the die set are the cherry on top.
When I started the card, I had two ideas I wanted to implement: overstamp some kind of graphic text in the sky and use Chibitronics to light up the stars.
I started by inking a piece of Bristol with Milled Lavender, Seedless Preserves, Dusty Concord and Chipped Sapphire inks. I spritzed with water, then splattered with Liquid Stardust. I die-cut the sleigh out of Misty Moonlight cardstock, the moon out of gold glitter paper and I die-cut the star trail, which I backed with vellum to diffuse the light from the Chibitronics. I had not done a lighted card in a long time, so I went back to YouTube to find a video to refresh my memory and make sure I didn't mess up. I used white lights. In hindsight, I think I should have tried yellow lights (and three instead of two) to get a warm glow, but it still looked good enough to keep as is.
Once the lighting part was put in place on the bottom piece, I went back to my inked cardstock. I pulled out the Music & Advert background stamps from Tim Holtz and I was trying to decide which type of ink to use for it. I kept thinking it would look amazing in gold foil. A while back, when I started getting the supplies to try out foiling, I had purchased a bottle of toner from Heidi Swapp. I wasn't that keen on the stamp set idea, because you basically have to trash it out every time you use it and buy a refill pad. But during the pandemic, Tim paired with Heidi for a Instagram Live where he showed how he was using a brayer to apply ink to stamps instead. Heidi's mind was blown by this idea - and so was mine! I didn't want to work from memory and risk ruining any of my supplies, so I searched for the video and watched it again to be able to follow the steps. I have to admit that I'm not a messy crafter so any kind of mixed media that leaves your work space looking like a kindergarden kid went to town with craft supplies is not my fave, but this went surprisingly well and I was able to get everything cleaned up pretty quickly and easily. I have the travel-size media mat which worked perfectly for this. For foiling, I used Heidi Swapp's gold stars foil. The result is beautiful, but because this foil is holographic, the shine is a lot. I might have preferred straight-up gold, but considering that this was my first ever try at this technique, I'm still really pleased with the result.
I was loving how the top of the card was turning out, so now I was left with the dilemma of what to do with the bottom. I tested out creating snow banks out of glitter paper. I first tried with pure white glitter paper, but the result was too flat. I pulled out Dazzling Diamonds glimmer paper and it was pairing with the purple sky much better. I had to find a way to let the recipient know where to push the activate the lights, so I used the Snowflake Embosslits on Purple Posy cardstock and I inked it with the ink pads I had used for the sky to give it dimension. I added a smaller punched snowflake in the center, and a Say It in Crystals gem. I punched a small tag from my leftover inked paper and handwrote "push here" in French. I pulled out my ribbon box and I liked how the Magenta Madness organza ribbon was pairing with the Seedless Preserves ink and the delicateness of it, so I added a bow.
The card is pretty thick due to the Chibitronics, so I made an oversize envelope for it. I repeated the sleigh die and snow banks on it, and I added my niece's name spelled with the Wonderland alphabet Bigz die. Megan just turned nine this fall and she has been spotting the cracks in the Santa Claus story for a few years now, but she's also smart enough to know that if she announces that Santa is not real, some of the things we do in his name might disappear as well, so I know she is keeping up the pretense (and for her younger sister's benefit as well). When she was explaining her Santa logic to me this fall, I asked her if she was still expecting to receive a card from Santa in my little Christmas mailbox and she said "Yes..." while cracking a knowing smile. So here we are and this Santa card will be waiting for her in my little Christmas mailbox on Christmas Eve.
Supplies
Stamps: Music & Advert (Tim Holtz for Stampers Anonymous)
Cardstock: Bristol (Canson); Gold Glitter Paper (Unknown);
Misty Moonlight, Dazzling Diamonds Glimmer Paper, Purple Posy, Vellum (Stampin' Up!)
Ink: Dusty Concord, Chipped Sapphire, Seedless Preserves, Milled Lavendar Distress Oxide (Ranger)
Dies: Dash Away All, Snowflake Impresslits (Tim Holtz for Sizzix);
Slimline Stitched Hillside Borders (Lawn Fawn)
Accessories: Brayer, Envelope Punch Board, Mini Tag Punch, Magenta Madness Organza Ribbon (Stampin' Up!);
Toner, Gold Stars Reactive Foil (Heidi Swapp); Snowflake Punch (EK Success);
Pretty Pale Say It in Crystals (Prime Marketing); Blender Brushes (Taylored Expressions);
Liquid Stardust (Lawn Fawn); Spritzing Bottle (Tim Holtz for Ranger);
Lights, Battery, Copper Tape (Chibitronics)
So amazingly awesome, Cindy! I love it all, the card, the colors, the story, and the LIGHTS! I've always wanted to play with those, lol, what a perfect setting for them! Thanks so much for playing at Hand Stamped Sentiments!
Posted by: Heather Heroldt | December 21, 2021 at 12:16
Oh, how beautiful!!! I love the elegance mixed with the bright, cheerful colors! This card so so striking! Thanks for playing along with us at HSS!
Posted by: Jenny Engelke | December 21, 2021 at 12:39
You're card looks like something out of a storybook. So lovely! How fun to make it light up! Thank you so much for sharing it at HSS.
Posted by: Patti | December 21, 2021 at 18:33
So pretty with that lovely background! So dreamy and the light-up fixture is AMAZING! I just got this die too and couldn't wait to use it as well! TFS!
Posted by: LeAnne Pugliese | December 22, 2021 at 13:52
Absolutely gorgeous card! I love the color of the magenta sky and the background stamp with words. Thank you for joining us at Hand Stamped Sentiments.
Posted by: Genevieve Valdes | December 27, 2021 at 22:02
I LOVE your colour combo on this card and that you were inspired by the santa silhouette. Thanks for joining us at HSS!
Posted by: Leah D Dixon | December 27, 2021 at 23:41
Such a pretty card! The die-cut is perfect for the theme challenge and the color choice is so rich. So glad you chose to share your card with us at HSS. Cheers, Jolanda - DT
Posted by: Jolanda E Johnstone | December 28, 2021 at 13:01