Frosty Fox - watercolour pencil and stenciling on patterned paper

To me, on a blustery winter day, a cup of hot cocoa or hot coffee is like a hug, warm and cuddly.

This card features a digital image and stencil from Craftin' Desert Divas, paper by Doodlebug, embossing, embossing paste, Perfect Pearls, and even some washi tape.

Putting It Together

I printed the fox several months ago and tucked him into my stash of images to be coloured. While flying recently to visit family, I gave him his due and coloured him up while waiting to board a flight. It's a lovely stress reliever to have colouring supplies and images with me while I travel.

I used watercolour pencils and a waterbrush.

At home, I dry fit him on the stencil from Craftin' Desert Divas and the idea for the card started blooming.

I decided to use the stencil with a patterned paper. I used a shimmery pearlescent embossing paste for a subtle colour.

I let the paste dry overnight. I try to do things like paste with a stencil as the last thing before bed so I won't be tempted to start working with it too early.

I love how the pearlescent embossing paste picks up the light. It also has a nice bit of dimension.

I do a lot of dry fitting when I design a card because I rarely start with a total design in mind while colouring. In many ways, it's a happy accident when colours match so perfectly. I rarely even use all of one manufacturer when putting a project together.

I looked through my stash and decided to cut a card base from a 12" x 12" sheet of Bazzill cardstock in a slightly teal-y light blue and a matte from a Core'dinations 12" x 12" dark blue. I debated on using purple matting to pick up the colour of those trees more, but it just didn't "pop" as much. The dark and light blue solids actually made the purples stand out more. The blues, too, keep this card a little more on the masculine side so it would be appropriate for a recipient of either gender.

I decided the fox needed a counter-balance and looked first to my Craftin' Desert Diva stamp sets for a possible sentiment. "Sending Hugs" from Tissue Time felt just right because a warm drink on a cold day is like a hug. I had die cut the fishtail for a different project and then set it aside because it didn't fit for that one. It does, though, fit perfectly for this. I embossed the sentiment with silver to fit the feel of the card.

For the inside, I decided I wanted to use the stencil again, but I didn't want it dimensional but still wanted a silvery white-ish something that would be easy to write over.

I used the Fox head washi to mask off the top flap of the card. As I was doing so, I realised it would be a nice touch to keep in the card, as an echo to the fox on front. Talk about happy accident.

To add in the Perfect Pearls, I squished the Versamark pad on the stencil.

The Versamarked paper only looks like it doesn't have full coverage through the stencil.

Brushing Perfect Pearls on a sticky medium is like magic. It only sticks to the sticky and makes it shine.

To make sure there's no stray powder, I use a Swiffer sheet and wipe down the full panel. There's no sticky from the ink and the Perfect Pearls doesn't rub off the Versamark (you could possibly scratch some off at this point since the ink is still, technically, wet).

I used foam mounting tape to "pop-up" the fox and sentiment banner.

Inside, I trimmed the sides of the washi tape. I love the detail the stencil and Perfect Pearls give the inside. One can still easily write over it with a personalised sentiment.

Supplies

Challenges

Craftin' Desert Divas Gallery: November Mood Board (warm drink)
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday: Furry Friends
Scrapping 4 Fun: Winter Wonderland
Watercooler Wednesday: Masculine
Scribbles Designs: A Tree-mendous Time of Year
The Paper Shelter: Add Some Snowflakes
Crafty Friends: Add a Sentiment
Your Next Stamp: Colour #77
Crafty Hazelnut's Patterned Paper: Anything Goes
Penny's Paper-crafty: Anything Goes