Everyday Expressions

Hi Everyone! I’ve been working on this card for a couple of days and finally managed to complete it this evening. This is my second card for the WPlus9 Get Sketchy Challenge. I’ve had this Happy Mail set from WPlus9 for a while, but had not completed a card with it yet. The inspiration hit me after my husband flew to Minneapolis two weeks ago and could see the Aurora Borealis from the plane window. I knew that the polar bear and rabbit in this set would be the perfect match for the Northern Lights!

I watched this video from The Craft Bunny on creating a galaxy with distress inks, and then researched pictures on the Northern Lights for inspiration. I began by heavily wetting watercolor cardstock, and letting it sit for a minute. Then I used Mowed Lawn, Picked Raspberries, Squeezed Lemonade, and Faded Jeans Distress Inks for the lights, and then used a blending tool with Black soot to fade in the dark night sky.

Next I dribbled water onto the cardstock with my fingers. (This is a Kristina Werner trick! Check her out.) Let the water sit for at least 10 seconds or so, and then use a paper towel to lift off the water and some ink. Finally, I flicked Picket Fence Distress Paint and Silver Spray Stain for the stars. Doesn’t the water dibbling and flicking dramatically change the scene? AMAZING!

I cut the snowbanks using Lawn Fawn’s cuttings, and shaded with Tumbled Glass. I used foam tape on the top two layers for greater dimension, and then added the glitter using Glossy Accents.

I stamped the animals and colored with Copics before cutting them out with the coordinating dies. Once again, I used foam tape to adhere them onto the card.

Finally, I used the Merry Christmas sentiment from a large Simon Says Stamp ornament die to cut from silver tinsel embossed cardstock and craft foam. After gluing the layers together, I added them to the card. The final touches were to add the tiny sequin stars.

What do you think? I love this set and am so thrilled with the final result! What a perfect match between the polar bear and the Northern Lights! Thanks for joining me again. If you are inspired by some of my creations, please consider following me for new creations.

Love and crafty hugs!

Erin