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Monday 31 July 2017

Polar Mimi

Hi all.  Well another month has whizzed by and I am only just in time to get my card in for this month's Rudolph Days Challenge.  It is run by the lovely Mo over at Scraps of Life by Scrappymo and is open from the 25th to the end of each month.    I have been rather pushed for time so this was a bit hurried and flurried as I didn't want to miss it and I used a stamp from Penny Black called Polar Mimi.  I was lucky enough to win quite a lot of wooden stamps over at the Penny Black and More Challenge last month and this is the first card I have made with this particular one.


I started by die cutting a circle using a NBUS set of stitched dies from The Works and a snippet of white card.  I then stamped the image using Versafine Smokey Gray ink and added WOW Clear Gloss Embossing Powder and heat set it.  I coloured using my Lyra Brush Markers by scribbling on to my glass mat and picking up the ink with a waterbrush.  The only other colour I added was for Mimi's little red cheeks and I used a red pencil because I couldn't get the right colour blend with the inks.  I finished the topper by cutting a slightly larger stitched circle using a snippet of dark blue card to back it.

Next I cut a stitched square from another snippet of white card using another set of NBUS dies from The Works, and the largest die fits well on a 6" square base card.  I found my Falling Snow stencil and ran this through my Grand Calibur.  It doesn't show up very well and I think maybe I need to shim it a bit as the very small dots at the bottom are not easily visible, although in real life it is better than it appears in the photo.  I finished this layer by adding the sentiment using Versafine Majestic Blue ink and then added the WOW Clear Gloss EP before heat setting it.

I layered this square on to anothe snippet of dark blue card before adhering this to the white base card and then I layered up the topper.  I thought perhaps it looked a bit bare so I added a Sue Wilson Holly Branch die cut from another snippet of white card, and cut it into two pieces to fit easier round the top of the circle.  I added the berries using Berry Red Cosmic Shimmer PVA by making dots on my glass mat, leaving it over night to set, and then added them using some Cosmic Shimmer glue.  I tried putting them straight on but this particular holly branch has holes where the berries are meant to go and a lot of the glue gel just fell through and made an awful mess.  I tried to gradually build it up as it began to dry but I just smeared the stuff everywhere and had to start again, so adding them when dry works better but not sure they look as effective as straight out of the bottle.

I realised I hadn't done anything with the bit of falling snow on the stamped image, so got the Cosmic Shimmer White PVA out and used a trick to apply it which I found over at Jennifer McGuire's blog.  You put a blob on the mat and using a very small ball tool you coat it with the PVA and dot it on where you want it.  I also added some on the ground around the figures.   

Thank you for looking at my blog today and I'll see you again soon.






I am also entering the following challenges:

Pixie's Crafty Workshop  - Week 291/2 where we use our snippets of card, paper etc
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes.

13 comments:

scrappymo! said...

What a pretty card, PAt. I really like the Mimi stamps. I have a few but should use them more often. That is a beautiful die you used at the top of the image...so delicate!
Thanks for taking part in the July Rudolph Days Challenge.

Kath said...

A fabulous card and such a sweet image - love the holly and berries too.
Kath x

Jenny L said...

Hi Pat,
what a wonderful card, and that stamped image is so sweet.
Beautiful colouring in too.
Wonderful designing with all those snippets.
Thank you for joining the Rudolf Challenge.
Lots of crafty love. Jenny L.

My Card Attic: Hazel said...

This is lovely Pat! You put so much hard work into all your cards! I think that the berries look just great and I love that holly die! Have a great week my friend! Love & Hugs. Hazel xx
My Card Attic

cuilliesocks said...

Absolutely gorgeous Pat, I love the the sweet image and your colours, beautifully designed, Kate x

Virginia L. said...

So glad that you join the fun over Simon Says Stamp Wednesday “Anything Goes” Challenge! Awesome details and design! Super work!

Mac Mable said...

Such a lovely scene and the prettiest of stamps and do so love those blobs of snow xxx

Liz said...

Super card, Pat, great image. I love the addition of the sprig of holly. Thanks for the tip about using the ball tool. xx

Di said...

What a delightful card Pat! It's so pretty and I always love to read how you made your cards as well. Ha, I see you've been buying those stitched dies from The Works - fabulous aren't they? And I have that holly die here still NBUS - glad to read your tip about the berries.

One last thing, I so agree about colouring and blending cheeks, I struggled with that for ages and often use one of my chalks sets to add them rather than a Pro marker - which also isn't easy to get right! Isn't it funny what we learn as we go along - I'll try a Prismacolour pencil next time. It seems to be Penny Black hedgies where they have little rosy cheeks :)

Hugs

Di xx

Darnell said...

This is a darling NBUS and snippets Christmas card, Pat! I love all the sweet details and thanks for the tip on applying snow! Congratulations on winning a lot of PB stamps which are always great! Hugs, Darnell

Flo Langley said...

So adorable. Beautifully created Pat.
Flo x

Karen Dunbrook said...

love it Pat...totally adorable and so fun!
xx Karen

Sarn said...

Totally gorgeous little Rudolph Day card Pat. Love it. Thanks for the tips.

Come see me in the Playground Tree House for some light refreshment (aka Grog!).

Hugs, Sarn xxx