Friday 28 October 2016

Blue Christmas

Morning.
There is a chill in the air and there was a bit of snow last night.  Brrr...I don't feel ready for this!

Today's card really has an icy, chilly feel to it using a Salted Background Technique.
When I have done this technique in the past, I used heavy cardstock but today I am using a piece of Yupo paper.  I wanted to see what kind of reaction I would get when adding the salt.

I began by watercoloring my paper using Distress inks rubbed on my acrylic block, sprayed with water and added to my paper with a paint brush.  When using Yupo, you never know how the ink will react with the paper, it has a mind of it's own.  
While still wet, I sprinkled on Sea Salt over the whole piece, set aside and let totally dry.
After it was dry, I brushed away the excess salt which had lifted some of the color and revealed a lovely, textured background.  To add even more depth and interest, I randomly stenciled with Rubbing Alcohol and a piece of drywall tape lifting even more of the color and creating a pattern. 
To create the snowflake I used some more Distress inks rubbed on my acrylic block, sprayed with a generous amount of water, pressed my white cardstock into the ink and then cut out the snowflake with a die from Lawn Fawn from that. 
I glued on the snowflake and added some clear gems for some bling.
The sentiment from MFT was stamped using black Stazon ink and my MISTI.



 Adding my card to these challenges:

Simon Says- ANYTHING GOES

Little Red Wagon- STENCIL IT

Addicted to Stamps and More- MAKE YOUR MARK

Stamps and Stencils- ELEMENTS OF NATURE

Crafty Girls Creations- ANYTHING GOES


Stay warm and thanks so much for coming by to take a look.

Supplies:  stamps- MFT/ snowflake die- Lawn Fawn/ Yupo paper/ salt/ drywall tape/ rubbing alcohol/ ink-Distress, Stazon/ MISTI 

23 comments:

Susan said...

What a wonderful frosty feeling you got on the background piece! I hadn't thought of trying the salted background technique on Yupo - will be trying it today! Thanks for the inspiration!

Sue P said...

Karen, your work is always an inspiration to me. You make it look so easy, I have to try it. Thanks for sharing!

CherylQuilts said...

Karen, this is gorgeous! While the color had a "life of its own," it sure turned out to be an amazing background! Wow! And I love the beautiful snowflake and the sentiment! Beautifully done, as always, sweet friend! xoxo

Loll said...

Your card definitely has an icy feel to it. Great mix of techniques to create a very artsy and beautiful Christmas card. xx

Verna Angerhofer said...

Beautiful wintery design and one can almost feel the chill and see how beautiful too winter can be. What a great card design.

Bobby said...

Love this, Karen. I had to stop in the middle of reading your post to make a sea salt panel myself and am typing this while it dries. It's a great technique and you've made a beautiful card.

Jeanne H said...

Thanks for the "how to". Your card is really beautiful!

Bonnie said...

Wow! Another gorgeous, wintery card, Karen! I loved reading how you did the background and the results are amazing! I've never used salt and need to give it a try!

Nstiz said...

Another fun technique and I can feel the chill here! Wow, Karen, thanks for sharing your ideas and for publishing this awesome card! Love the effect of the salt on this!

Unknown said...

I love your techniques...need to try this on Watercolor paper too. Yupo and Heavy CS I have and makes for a perfect time to try this technique. Thank you Karen. As always...I'm inspired by your style. <3

Princess Judy Palmer said...

That blue is so liquidy and chill. Snow? already? EEK!

maria's knutselplezier said...

Wow this looks wonderful!! The background seems alive to me, beautiful blues and white in between gives your card a really frosen impression!!

Have fun!
Maria

coldwaters2 said...

Wow what a beautiful festive card Karen it looks awesome
hugs
lorraine x

Paper Creations by Shirley said...

Gorgeous frosty design, I love it. I've scrolled down to other beautiful cards, your artsy/painterly style is inspiring. It's been cool here as well, a little warmer this morning. The chilly weather is a stark contrast the heat of the summer isn't it? Take care xx

Kate said...

Such a stunning card!! Wow!! Your drywall tape stenciling adds a fabulous touch!!

Thanks so much for playing along with us at Little Red Wagon!

Kate
Small Bits of Paper

Ina G said...

Absolutely stunning Karen. Love the result you got here. It's a technique I need to try out. Another beautiful creation.

Christine Alexander said...

Karen that's so pretty, love the touch of stenciling as well as the salt

Inkyfingers said...

Wow, this is such a gorgeous card Karen. I love your background technique and the sentiment really pops!
Thank you for sharing with us at ATSM and I hope you will join us again soon.

shirley-bee said...

Wow, love the effect of salt on Yupo - will definitely have to try this. Reminds me of ice or frost melting on a window.

debby4000 said...

Gorgeous, beautiful Christmas card.
Thank you for joining us at Simon says Stamp Wednesday Challenge.
Luv
Debby

Kandy's Krafts said...

Stunning card. Loving the colours and your beautiful background. Thank you for joining us at Crafty Girls Creations

SewPaperPaint said...

I still don't have any Yupo but after seeing this it is much higher on my wish list. <3 Love the sea salt effect! Thanks so much for sharing with us at Stamps & Stencils. Hugs, Autumn

I Card Everyone said...

Karen I had to stop by to see what had inspired Bobby to try a new technique ... well, now I WANT to try it, too! Gorgeous, in every single detail- I even have some drywall tape!!! Thanks for the lesson!
=] Michele