This card was inspired by the 52 Christmas Card Throwdown #9-20 sketch challenge (https://52cct.blogspot.com/2020/03/m...hallenge.html). As usual, cards created with reflective metallic surfaces look SO much better in person, than they do in a photograph.
I had practiced Jennifer McQuire's Alcohol Ink Background technique (https://www.jennifermcguireink.com/2...cohol-ink.html) and thought the one using aqua's and silver would make a night "starry" background for this challenge. It uses Yupo paper, which doesn't allow ink to absorb, but can be moved around the surface by blowing through a straw. I mounted the alcohol ink background onto a shimmery white vellum piece as a mat that would let the aqua card base cardstock show through.
The star was created by first die cutting from a thin plasticized silver sheet, then with a template and paper piercing tool, poking holes all around the perimeter in two rows. I then used a smaller die and a rubber embossing mat to die emboss a smaller star inside the cut-out star. Since the thin silver star tended to curl in toward itself, I die cut 3 stars the same size from white cardstock and stacked and glued then together. Since metallic surfaces tend to show glue if it gets on it, I used thin pieces of Scor-Tape to attach the metal star to the glued stack.
The sentiment is from Stampin' Up! (SU) "Merry Christmas to All" stamp set. I used Versamark and black embossing powder to create it on a piece of white cardstock, then heat set it. Using a banner die, I positioned the die over the sentiment, then only partially die-cut from the pointed end of the die. This allowed me to then use the partial top and bottom parallel edges to extend the cut lines using a paper trimmer. A good trick if you need a banner that is longer than the dies you have.
The little silver stars were punched from scraps of the larger star, and attached using Mini Glue Dots.
I am rating the difficulty level of this card as a "3" out of a possible "5" only because of the many techniques and tools needed to create it. No single step is hard at all, but together they require more than just basic tools.
Date: Monday, March 9, 2020 GMT Views: 223
Favorited:2
Paper: SU Island Indigo, Whisper White, Ranger Yupo Paper, Unbranded White Vellum, Michaels Silver Metal Sheet
Paper Size: A2
Ink: Versamark, Ranger Alcohol Inks
Accessories: Drinking Straw, Artfully Scribed Detail Black Embossing Powder, SU Embossing Buddy, Heat Tool, Rubbing Alcohol, SU Stars Framelits Dies, SU Banners Framelits Dies, Paper Piercing Tool, SU Eclectic Paper Piercing Templates, Tombow Liquid Glue, Mini Dots
Techniques: Alcohol Ink Background, Die Cutting, Paper Piercing, Die Embossing, Paper Punching, Heat Embossing