Snowman and Mistletoe

Hi there.    I made this card to enter the Rudolph Days Challenge which is run by Mo over at Scraps of Life by Scrappymo and it runs from the 25th to the end of each month and gives us all an opportunity to get some Christmas cards made throughout the year.  I decided to put together this Penny Black stamp and stencil as they both feature Mistletoe.

For this card I used:

Penny Black Snowman from Jolly Friends Stamp Set.  (difficult to find over here).
Penny Black Stencil - Alluring (it doesn't seem to be available over here).
Snippets of White and Silver Mirri Card. 
8" x 8" White Base Card cut in half horizontally.
Simon Says Stitched Oval Die. 
XCut Corner Punch.
Versafine Smokey Gray Ink.
Cosmic Shimmer Multi-Tex Powder - mixed with water to make a paste (I am trying this for the first time).
Adirondack Inks - Lettuce, Bottle, Espresso, Sunshine Yellow and Stonewashed.
Distress Inks - Festive Berries and Mowed Lawn.
Cosmic Shimmer White Glue. 
Gold Mica Powder.
Britannia Die Cut Sentiment. 

I started with a snippet of white card the approximate size I needed and mixed a small amount of the Multi-Tex with water to make a fairly stiff paste.  This particular product is new to me and I wasn't sure how easy it would be to use.  It does say you can mix in some glue to make the finished result more flexible (1 part Cosmic Shimmer Dries Clear Glue to 8 parts powder) but I decided to use it just mixed with water.  I applied it through the stencil which I anchored with some repositionable tape.  I also masked an area of the stencil which I didn't want covered with the paste.  I removed the stencil and let it dry for about an hour as the layer was reasonably thin.  I laid the stencil back over and inked through it with the Sunshine Yellow, Lettuce and Bottle inks on the leaves.   I then added some of the Bottle with a little Espresso to the stems.  I found this quite easy to apply and I was pleased with the finished result.  I finished the background by adding the Stonewashed ink with one of my Clarity brushes which leaves a nice smooth finish and the colour tends to be paler when applied with a brush. 

I found another snippet of white card and die cut it with the stitched oval die and then stamped the snowman on to it using the Smokey Gray ink.  I then coloured it using a waterbrush with the Festive Berries mixed with a little of the yellow to give more of an orange colour, and also with the Stonewashed ink on the scarf, then Mowed Lawn on the Mistletoe as this is a brighter green to stand out better against the scarf.  I also used the Stonewashed on the sky with a little of the green mixed in to look a little like trees in the background.

Before putting the card together I applied the White PVA to the Mistletoe berries on the background and those the snowman is holding, and also around the snowman.  When dry I added little black micron pen dots to the berries, and looking at them again decided to add a bit of gold mica powder mixed with water over them as they looked a little too white.   I also applied a little to the snowman's hat and scarf and on the end of the Mistletoe leaves.   Finally I die cut the sentiment from another snippet of silver mirri card.

Thank you for visiting today and I'll see you again soon.

I am entering the following challenges:

February Rudolph Days Challenge - Anything Goes.
Pixie's Crafty Workshop - Weeks 269/270 where we use our snippets of paper and card etc.
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes.
Penny Black and More Challenge - Use Your Favourite Stamp (I adore this cute snowman and I'm sure he will be making an appearance many times more.
Penny Black Saturday Challenge - Try Something New (the Cosmic Shimmer Multi-Tex was a new to me item).