Festive Flurry/Winter Frost Swap Card

I might’ve said it before, but I’ll say it again: I’m a sucker for snow: snowflakes, snowmen, snowshoeing, snowmobiling, snow angels…if it involves the cold, fluffy, white stuff, I’m in!!!  So this past spring when Stampin’ Up! retired their snowflake die from last year, I was a bit disappointed.  Until I got to thinking about it and realized that SU! Is hardly ever snowflake-free, so perhaps that meant something bigger and better was in the works.  And boy, was I right!  The holiday mini catalog that was just released on August 1^st has not only a set of snowflake dies, but a set of snowflake stamps that coordinate well with it. The good thing? It’s different enough from previous snowflake products that I could justify adding it to my collection! The best thing? If you buy it as a bundle you save 15%!!!  The bonus? It also pairs beautifully with the new Winter Frost Designer Series Paper.  So the first thing I did was create this card for a swap that I was in.  I hope you enjoy it!  This may be the first card I did with this bundle, but it won’t be the last, so check back to see what else I come up with! 

This card brought me a little out of my comfort zone...which is always a good thing! I had never used glitter on a stamping project before...can you believe that?  So, after stressing a bit, I sought some advice from some stamping friends and learned how to use our Heat 'n' Stick Powder.  As it turns out, that was really fun and not worth the worry!

Stamps: Festive Flurry
Paper: Winter Frost DSP, cardstock in Whisper White and Island Indigo
Embellishments: Silver Glitter
Ink: Versamark, Pool Party (for the inside)
Tools: Big Shot, Apothecary dies, Festive Flurries dies, ovals dies, heat tool

Tips:

• The white die cut shape behind the oval was created by cutting out the die from the Apothecary die set and then cutting the die cut shape in half and adhering one half to each end of the oval.
• To use glitter, stamp your image with Versamark ink onto your desired background paper.  Sprinkle Heat 'n' Stick powder over it.  Tap off the extra back into the container for re-use.  Heat it using your heat tool.  You want to heat it just until the powder turns shiny and liquidy.  Do not overheat it or it won't work.  You'll know you overheated it if it turns from shiny to matte and/or if it turns brown, like it's burned.  While it's still liquidy, sprinkle your glitter onto it.  Tap off the extra back into the container for re-use.  Quickly reheat the glittered image to set it. You will see the glitter glisten as it settles into place.  Let it cool, and then you can die cut the image.  I use a fine paintbrush to remove the extra glitter that is clinging around the image.
• Save 15% by ordering the Festive Flurries bundle (you get the stamps and coordinating dies for 15% less than it would cost you to buy them individually).