Seasons Greetings

Although I said that last months Christmas card was the last of the year, I just couldn’t resist this Seasons Greetings Card. It uses some elements that you may not have used before including Alcohol Inks and Spirelli. It’s really quite a simple card but very effective. We have also made other cards using the same alcohol ink and Dufex background as shown here and I think you will agree that it is a very versatile medium.

You will need the following:-

Navy blue 14cm square card
A piece of leaf design Dufex card 21cm x 3.75cm
A large scalloped circle punch
A scrap of holographic silver card
A scrap of white card to stamp on
A leaf peel off
2 straight peel off
Seasons Greetings peel off and three little silver dots (I used some waste from an old peel off sheet)
The new Bright Alcohol Inks colours:- Sailboat Blue, Purple………., and ………….
Alcohol Ink Applicator
Alcohol Ink Blending Fluid
Penny Black stamp set………………
Black pigment ink
clear embossing powder
Some silver wool or thread for winding
Double sided tape
2 & 3mm double sided foam pads
3 of 3mm extra large double sided foam pads

Place the Dufex card onto a piece of non stick cooking sheet.
Place a felt pad onto the alcohol applicator tool and hold the nozzle of one of the ink bottles against the pad for a count of 3 to allow a tiny amount of colour to transfer under the felt. Do not squeeze the bottle. It will look like there isn’t much colour on the felt as the ink runs underneath the felt, where it will not dry too quickly. Repeat with the other two colours leaving a gap between each so that the colours don’t touch. Apply the ink to the card with a dabbing motion. Don’t try to cover it completely at the first go. Just dab and then twist whilst the tool is in the air, to avoid getting a set pattern of colours. At the first pass you will still have several silver parts showing, don’t worry about that, just get a base coat down. Once you have stamped over the card if you need to reapply some more ink then try to do it by putting the same colour in the same spot on the felt, and go over the card again trying to hit any remaining silver parts.
Start by colouring the Dufex card with the alcohol inks. Do this again with the other two colours but don’t allow the colours to touch. Next, hold the tool between your finger and thumb and start randomly dabbing the applicator onto the card twisting the tool as you lift it off the card to avoid getting an even pattern. Don’t try to cover the card at the first go. Put a base layer down and move on. It takes just a few seconds for the inks to dry but if you keep stamping them in the same place you will just end up with a muddy colour. Just wait for the first layer to dry and continue layering up the colours until you get the card almost covered. Then just draw a quick line across the applicator pad with the blending solution and stamp all over the card again. This should blend all the colours and leave no white gaps.

If you have any difficulty with this or any other project, please come along to our shop and we will do our best to help you, advice is free and, as always, you can view the completed card together with other samples. Contact details can be found in our advertisement.

HAPPY CRAFTING - YVONNE.