Hello everyone! With the weather cooling, I am reminded how soon Christmas will be upon us! I make many Christmas cards ... not only for myself but for family members to share. I am always on the look out for those special stamp sets that can be used efficiently for multiples ... AND Simon Says Stamp’s Slimline Scene Builder is perfect! I am using a printmaking technique that is quick and easy. 13 cards (a baker's dozen!) were created in an assembly line fashion.
Supplies
For this technique, you will need a surface for your paint, (I used an acrylic plate), a brayer and acrylic paint. A stamping platform is more time efficient but not necessary. I tried a few brands of acrylic paint but found Tim Holtz’ Distress Paints produced the best result. The Distress Paint is a little more fluid leaving a softer textural background that I liked.
Printmaking
I began with panels of Neenah Classic Crest 110lb card stock sized 3 ½" by 8". Using a stamping platform, the large sky stamp was centred on the panel making sure there was enough room for the small ground stamp. I worked with the following colours; Salty Ocean, Hickory Smoke, Twisted Citron, Peeled Paint and Broken China. Two or three paint colours were placed on the acrylic plate and rolled out with the brayer. To ensure the paint was evenly distributed on the roller, the paint was rolled off on copy paper. More paint was picked up from the acrylic plate and a thin layer rolled over the stamp. Too much paint will result in a loss of the snow detail. When all 13 panels were stamped (in no time at all!), the small ground stamp was lined up on the panel. I used a combination of Antique Linen and Spun Sugar for this smaller stamp. The panels were cut with the smallest die in Pinkfresh Studio's Slim Stitched Rectangles.
Tip ... To prevent the need for a rigorous clean up, I used a baby wipe to clean the paint off the stamp every 2 or 3 stampings ... a great opportunity to change up the colours!
Stamping
In assembly line fashion, the two small trees and lights were stamped. Distress Oxide Ink Hickory Smoke was used for the trees and various colours for the lights. The large tree and the sentiment were inked with Versamark and embossed with white embossing powder.
Card Assembly
The panels were mounted on white sheet foam. Frames were cut using the two stitched rectangles from Pinkfresh Studio's Slim Stitched Rectangles. The frame was adhered with glue to white glitter paper and mounted on a card base that measured 3 3/4" by 8 3/4".
Tip ... Putting some weight over the card will help the panel and frame adhere to the glitter paper.
