AN ICE CREAM SWIRL CHRISTMAS

Sometimes I wonder what it is I'm trying to do to myself when I create my own little challenges! If you have been following my posts this month, you know that I challenged myself to create at least one Christmas Card every week with the Stamp Set and/or Bundle that I'm showcasing for that week.

This week it was definitely a challenge.  Here is a photo of the Ice Cream Swirl Stamp Set and Dies.

This stamp set definitely does not scream MERRY CHRISTMAS!  

Here is what I ultimately came up with.

It definitely required thinking outside of the box.  The snow was made with the Ice Cream Stamp.  The trees were made with the Ice Cream Cone stamp.  The fence posts were made with the "straws" or whatever that little fancy stick is.  And lastly, the wreath was made with the donut die.

I sort of figured it out as I went along, and if I were to do it again, the order that I created the elements certainly would change.  For example, after stamping and coloring the snow, I created the fence.  That made it more difficult to color the sky as I had to now go between fence rails.  So, next time I'd definitely blend the color on the sky before stamping the fence.  That is how I wrote the tutorial.

In fact, I might even stamp the fence first and then mask it and stamp the snow over it.  Why?  Coloring the Posts and rails, which were drawn free hand, over the snow was a little challenging, because the lines of the "drifts" wanted to show through.  But all in all, I was happy with the result of my self-imposed challenge.

What do you think?  Does this Ice Cream Swirl card pass for a Christmas Card?

To see all the details use this link to download the tutorial.  Don't be afraid to change the order of my steps!  Now that you know the end goal, this is probably a better order of doing things.

I purposely kept the inside very simple!  Why?  I'd challenged myself enough for that day!

Merry Christmas in July stamping friends!  I would love to hear your thoughts about this card.