Joyeux Noel - Mixed Media

Awww....I miss watching kittens playing in the snow.
It's almost as much fun as watching a 5-yr old!

Hi, Friends......

All the enticing challenges with snowy themes have put me in the mood for playing with my snowy sorts of stash items.  The lovely snow outside helps, too.  :)   

Grandpa helping Little Peach onto her snow disk on top of her snowy gravel pile.

Wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!

Most amazing man....ever!

Good Grandpa   ------------------>>>>>

  <3  <3  <3 

Back in the house, I pulled out all my snowy double embossed and molten technique backgrounds that have sat in cold storage since last winter.  :)

I chose a dazzling one where I used my favorite way of embossing:  my molten technique.  For those of you who are unfamiliar with this technique, I will describe it in a nutshell.  You first dry emboss cardstock, then Versamark over it and heat emboss with layers of one or more colors of powder.  I like to use more than one to bring out the texture of the embossing.  As you heat emboss layer over layer, you achieve the delicious molten look that I totally adore.  This burns through tons of embossing powder!!!  If you have questions, please ask in your comments.  

On this particular one, I previously had inked my Darice - Snowflakes and Flourishes folder with Distress Ink in Salty Ocean before dry embossing the cardstock.  Then I Versamarked it, leaving a few parts bare so the blue would show through.  Then I heat embossed with several layers of silver powder to get the molten look.  

With inks and embossing powders this background was already sort of mixed media (maybe?), but I have been just dying to try my new Faber-Castell Glass Bead Glitter Gel. I spread it around the entire edge of the background card and let it begin drying. After an hour or so, I could see that I was going to be totally in love with this wonderfully sparkly product, but I didn't have it as thick as I wanted. So I dispensed with my craft medium spreader and globbed it around very thickly with my finger and let it dry. (I'm sure my techniques probably make the amazing artists at Design Memory Craft roll their eyes!! lol...) Anyway....I LOVE the result.

I cut the piece twice diagonally and put it on black cardstock. Love how there are bits of the medium that have dried over the edge of the panel, giving added texture. On one of the panels, I tied some crinkly hand-dyed seam ribbon I won from Karen F. over at her weekly challenge at Little Scrap Pieces. (Thanks, Karen!!!) Isn't it perfect with this?

Do you like my sparkly snowflake? This is a brand-new piece I got from Southern Ridge Trading Co. Did you know they have a wonderful monthly challenge? Check it out and you can win some fabulous chipboard shapes, too! (THANKS, SRTC!!!) It started out as a plain brown chippie. With the magic of gesso, Gelatos, and more Faber-Castell Glass Bead Glitter Gel, it turned into what you see. Soooooooooo much fun!!!

I added an anonymous Christmas sentiment from my stash that I stamped on a scrap of cardstock with Versafine Onyx Black ink and heat embossed with clear powder. I mounted everything on a glittery silver premade card base. Oh, swoon...... This is my absolute-est favorite-est thing I've made in a while!!! The shine, sparkle, and glittery-ness are absolutely amazing. Nothing like going stark, raving mad about my own card, right? Ha. (Sorry....sorta...)

I hope you have enjoyed this card.  It was a total joy to make.  I very much appreciate your visits and your lovely comments!!!

<3 
Janis

Thank you for the honor of entering this card in the following challenges:
1. Design Memory Craft - January 2016 Take the Challenge with Mou - Snow
2. Southern Ridge Trading Co. January Challenge - Anything Winter (I used SRTC chipboard snowflake!)
3. DRS Designs Challenge #208 - Weather Outside
4. Craft Rocket Challenge #6 - Happy Anything (Happy Christmas!!)
5. Pixie's Snippets Playground Week #211 - Use snippets
6. Amusing Challenges - Let it Snow
7. Creative Artiste Challenge #10 - Mixed Media Anything Goes with Twist: Use Chipboard
8. Stamps and Stencils - Mixed Media Oh, So Blue
9. Anything But Cute Challenge - Mixed Media Ring out the Old, Bring in the New (I used two new products: F-C Glass Bead Glitter Gel and the SRTC chipboard snowflake)
10. Let's Craft and Create Challenge #109 - Layer it Up (I have layers of paper AND layers of embossing powder!)