Simon Says Stamp Flickr Challenge #59

I have been enjoying playing in the Simon Says Stamp Flickr Challenges since I discovered it earlier this summer.  Heidi and the crew at Simon Says Stamp always have a gift certificate for each of the challenges which run bi-weekly.  I won one of them a few weeks ago.  There's also no limit as to how many times I can enter each challenge as long as I am meeting the other qualifications of a new project and using some of the Simon Says Stamp branded Stamps or Dies. So it's kind of a nice change of pace.  The theme this week is for Christmas/Holiday and heaven knows I've been doing plenty of those, but I have a few more for friends to do.  My family cards have all been done and mailed out, but I still have several friends I want to make one for.  

Today, I needed to make some cards for the men in a friend's life that she wants to give them for Christmas.  For this first group of cards, I used the Simon Says Stamp "Look For the Miracles" Stamp Set.  I know it isn't a Christmas set but, after all, Christmas is all about miracles so I think this sentiment works well for this style.

I started by splattering some gold metallic watercolor and some white pearl watercolor all over a half sheet length of  Night of Navy Cardstock (my last sheet by tapping my brush onto the handle of another one to make the splatter.  I do this in a shallow box lid to contain the mess and set it aside to dry overnight usually.  The size of your brush determines the size of your spatter.  My most commonly used brush is my #8 Silver Black Velvet Brush and my #4 Silver Black Velvet Brush.

I also found some metallic watercolor online that I am enjoying very much and I wanted to share my find with you.  So last year around this time I invested in a set of Finetec Mica Gold Watercolors.  I love them and I have used them several times but no one seems to carry the little refill pans you need once the pans are empty and two of mine are nearly gone.  The refills are made, but I haven't found them at all my usual places. This means that I don't use them as often as I want because it is not something that's going to be easy to replace and I am hoping I don't have to buy the full set again.

The other day, I ran across some Metallic Gold and Metallic Pearl White Watercolors in 8 ounce bottles. The price point was low (around $8.00), especially for the amount of product you get.  You can mix it with a bit of water or use it straight from the bottle. This means I can use all the Gold Spatter I want on my projects, so be forewarned that I am sure it will be in use often around here.... now that I don't have to hoard it anymore. *Ü* The Brand is Sargent Art and I found mine on Amazon.

Back to my card.  I splattered Gold Watercolor Paint on the navy cardstock, let that dry over night, then splattered it again with the White Watercolor Paint and let that dry all morning.  Next I stamped the sentiment from the "Look for the Miracles" Stamp Set in Ranger Gold Tinsel Embossing Powder and heat set it. Next I got several of the Snowflakes from the Papertrey Ink "What the Doodle Snowflake" Stamp set and stamped them randomly around the rest of the background and heat embossed them using the same Gold Tinsel Embossing Powder.  I did cut the panel with the largest Simon Says Stamp Stitched Rectangle Die and mounted it to a top folding card base made from Papertrey Ink Classic Kraft cardstock.

I made three cards in this style and then I switched it up by creating the same design on a Bazzill Whirlypop panel with Hero Arts White Embossing Powder and only Metallic White Pearl splatter. To stay with the slightly lighter colored theme, I heat embossed the snowflakes in WOW! Metallic Platinum Sparkle Embossing Powder and mounted that to a top folding card base made from Stamper's Select White Cardstock.  

That is it for today!  Thanks so much for stopping by to check out my blog.  I really appreciate all of the kind and encouraging comments you leave.  I have several other projects finished so I will be back very soon!