Hello.....
Sometimes I don’t know what goes on in my head, but when I got this new Collection, I started writing down all my ideas in a book. One of them was to show you how you can use the letters in the Alphabet and Numbers die with the Reindeers .
I did wonder after cutting all of the reindeer out, whether they were going to fit.... but I had a brainwave - fold a piece of A4 card length ways - and so it begins :-))
Step 1
Make the background
Fold your Foundations A4 Coconut White Card lengthways.
I placed mine onto my Wendy Vecchi - Make Art Stay-tion with the Creative Expressions Sky Elements DL Stencil.
Step 2
Grab a selection of Distress Ink Pads - here I used :-
Distress Inks
▪️Black Soot and Picket Fence
Distress Oxide Inks
▪️Chipped Sapphire
▪️Wilted Violet
▪️Salvaged Patina
▪️Squeezes Lemonade
▪️Ripe Persimmon
▪️Lost Shadow
▪️Rustic Wildernesses
▪️Ground Espresso.
Step 3
Stenciling
▪️Place the large circular stencil where you would like your moon, with the landscape a bit below, securing with the magnets.
▪️With your blending brushes, start to add the colours.
I started with Chipped Sapphire, and then worked in the Wilted Violet and Salvaged Patina, also adding a little Black Soot on top here and there.
▪️Then placing the other landscape elements on top of what you have just done, start blending the Rustic Wilderness with the Ground Espresso and Lost Shadow .
(I wanted my reindeer to look like they are coming out of the dark night above, to a clear sky if that makes sense lol).
✅ TIP - You will need to move the landscape bit about as the card is quite wide.
▪️Remove the landscape section when you're done, but leave the moon up there and blend the top and bottom together gently, using a little of each of the colours for the bottom.
Now add some cloud from the landscape bit after you have cleaned it up.
I used Lost Shadow and Picket Fence on top for these; they don’t need to be white because it’s night time.
▪️Once you're happy with your background, add some stars with your Squeezed Lemonade ink.
Now remove your moon stencil, and replace it with one of the landscape bits.
Go in with your brush and Squeezed Lemonade again, but gently brush around the edges and a little in the centre.
Then take Ripe Persimmon and add a very small amount to the centre brushing outwards.
Now finish the moon with Lost Shadow over the top to tone it down.
Remember, not all backgrounds come out the same, and don’t forget your reindeer will cover most of the centre.
Step 4
▪️Cut out the reindeer using Creative Expressions Santas Sleigh Die Set.
I cut out 5 of each in Kraft card.
▪️Cut out 10 of the sleigh bars in silver Pearl card.
▪️Cut 10 large sleigh baubles, and 10 small in gold mirror card (I assumed these are jingle bells :-).
Step 5
Paint the Reindeer
I practiced on my spare one first, using a brown and black pen for the head collar straps, edging the saddles, the eyes and noses plus the hoofs .
Rudolf has a red nose don’t forget.... and he has a brown tail.
Then I painted the rest with Cosmic Shimmer's Iridescent Watercolour Paints Set 7 - Christmas.
They all have the same colour horns and tails, but just go for it on the saddles and straps.
Step 6
Place the reindeer on the card.
Firstly, glue the 4 reindeer onto the background, and then place Rudolph on with foam pads at the front.
Now stick on the silver sleigh (and extra bits as seen) and a gold bauble on the joins.
Then you can add the front 4 reindeer, but these are on foam pads.
Add a little bauble to the neck of each reindeer for a nice finishing touch!
Step 7
Reindeer names
Now using the Alphabet & Numbers Die Set - place and cut out as many as you can in white card.
✅ TIP - Always check with your machine instructions how many dies you can pass through at one time.
To be honest I put it through about a dozen times, but you will need to sort them into little bags or organise them, otherwise you will spend all day looking through them to get the ones you want!!
I always cut a large amount of things like this, as they always come in very handy.
Step 8
Stick your letters together into the Reindeer names
✅ TIP - I found it best to do this on a tile; it can get a bit sticky if you’re anything like me lol, so wipe the glue off of your fingers regularly and I'd highly recommend using tweezers.
I wanted to stick them together first as I didn’t want get glue all over the card .
Step 9
Once your names are dry, paint them with the North Star colour from the paints used above.
Try not to get them wet - I know this sounds funny, but use a paint brush and not a water brush for this. Don’t add loads of water to the paint otherwise you will dissolve the glue.
Step 10
Name the Reindeer
To finish, place your reindeer names in the vicinity of pairs - I used the poem
‘Twas the Night Before Christmas’ as it names them in pairs.
Plus you need Rudolph at the helm (of course).....
I stuck these on with my trusty Cosmic Shimmer Dries Clear Glue as always.
As I'm also a messy crafter, I stuck a clean piece of card on the back because I always forget to put a piece of paper down on my workspace. I stuck another piece on the inside front to reinforce it as it's quite wide.
Ps
It’s a wide card... so there is no envelope, however I use cards like these to pop in gift bags with the gift you can wrap a piece of paper round to protect it. Or why not get creative and make your own envelope - there is another challenge I am setting you lol!!
Hope you enjoy having a go at this fun card and remember to share with us in our
Best wishes,
Lynn x
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