Hugs & Kisses Snowman

The Penny Black Saturday Challenge this month is Anything Goes, with optional 'something new.'  I decided to go with the option, and was thinking new snowfall.  Or...new way to use a Christmas stamp after Christmas!  I love challenging myself to make my stamps go further.

I used the Penny Black stamps from the sets Jolly Friends, Special Thoughts, and Winter Whites & Greens.
I wanted the snow, and snowman, but not the Christmas elements.  So I covered them with hearts!  Now it could actually be a Valentine card!

I stamped the snowman onto bristol vellum card stock, and water colored with my favorite watercolor pencils, Derwent Inktense.  I love these pencils.  They are different from typical watercolor pencils, in that they contain actual ink, not paint pigment.  They act differently when water coloring.  Once they are activated with water, they are only workable for a short while.  They dry permanently, so once they're dry, they cannot be reactivated.  I love this about them.  I reach for my Inktense pencils more than any other.

I masked the snowman, and stamped the tree with Archival green inks.  I distressed the edges with TH distress ink, and added splatters.  I added the verse with VersaFine Claire ink, distressed it, and added it with foam tape for dimension.

I used die-cut hearts from various dies to cover the ornaments on the tree, and the mistletoe in the little snowman's hands.  All was added to a brown A2 card.  

For the finishing touch, I used an oldie-but-goodie stamp pad, The Essential Glue Pad, to stamp snowflakes and added ultra-fine crystal glitter.  I love the way these add the right amount of sparkle to the card, and snowflakes,without making it too busy.

I am adding my card to these challenges:
Dragonfly Journeys - Shiny & new - new shiny snowfall
Simon Says Monday - Something new    
Time Out Challenges - Loving
Tuesday Throwdown - Winter sparkles

That's it for today.  Thanks so much for visiting.  Check out the other design team blogs listed HERE for more ideas and inspiration.

Blessings,