Hi Creative Friends,
It is the eve of Thanksgiving in the U.S. and the official kick-off of the holiday season. I have chosen my very favorite of the new Alexandra Renke dies, Pen Pal. I love this little girl and vintage post box! And, the very special thing is that you can use it year-round too!
I started with a 5″x7″ hot-pressed card panel and a matching cream card stock card base. The sides of the panel were taped 1/2″ on all sides. My favorite tape for this is the Spellbinders Best Ever Tape, but the Pixie Tape is a great option (both are in the supply list below)!
From there, I made stamps from the Fir Forest tree die by cutting the trees out of a foam sheet (you know, the ones you use to pop a card panel up – the thicker the better). I ran tape onto an acrylic block with my tape runner and mounted a tree.
Hint: if you have a favorite tree stamp, it would work beautifully too.
I inked the tree with Faded Jeans and a dash of Chipped Sapphire distress inks, then lightly stamped the trees. I stamped a few trees without reinking to give an even lighter impression of the tree.
Next, I ripped a piece of copy paper in the shape of a snowbank and used it to mask the bottom of the panel. Then, I blended on Faded Jeans for the sky. The mask was removed, and a faint outline of the taped edge was added by gently and lightly adding a little more Faded Jeans ink at the snowbank edges. When done, I splattered Dr. Ph. Martin Bleedproof white ink over everything.
Now, onto the postal box and the little girl. They were all cut out of cold-pressed watercolor paper and painted using a few distress inks. the mailbox was colored with Lumberjack Plaid and a little Aged Mahogany. The girl was painted with Faded Jeans for her dress and socks, her satchel with Lumberjack Plaid, and her hair with Rusty Hinge and a hint of this same ink for her legs and hands.
When all was dry, I mounted the girl and mailbox with foam squares, sprinkled a few more envelopes on the ground, and very lightly splattered more white ink to complete the card.
I love serene Christmas cards like this one. If you love the same, then this die set is a real winner! ♥
Goodies Used:
