Happy Scene of Christmas - On Stage Melbourne swap 2015

Our first On Stage Local event in Melbourne, November 2015.
I wish I'd had more time to prepare myself...& more sleep too. It can get tricky when you're working full-time and have a family.  But I did get about 20 swaps made...better than none I guess.
One of the only stamp sets I managed to get from this seasonal catalogue was Happy Scenes, so I thought I'd better put it to use.

Stamps: Happy Scenes & Oh,What Fun.

Card Stock: Basic Black, Whisper White, Tip Top Tuape & Envelope paper.

Ink: Daffodil Delight, Bermuda Bay, Tempting Turquoise, Pacific Point, Elegant Eggplant, Old Olive, Mossy Meadow, Always Artichoke & Memento Black.

Tools: Hearth & Home Framelits, ¾ Circle punch + Decorative label punch.

Extras: Dotted Lace Trim, Silver Metallic Thread, Crystal Effects & Dazzling Diamonds.

Techniques: Masking & Sponging, Colouring with Markers (trees), 3D Crystal Effects (Christmas lights).

Stamps: Happy Scenes & Oh,What Fun.

Card Stock: Basic Black, Whisper White, Mint Macaron & Envelope paper.

Ink: Daffodil Delight, Bermuda Bay, Tempting Turquoise, Pacific Point, Elegant Eggplant, Old Olive, Mossy Meadow, Always Artichoke & Memento Black.

Tools: Hearth & Home Framelits, ¾ Circle punch + Decorative label punch.

Extras: Dotted Lace Trim, Silver Metallic Thread, Crystal Effects & Dazzling Diamonds.

Techniques: Masking & Sponging, Colouring with Markers (trees), 3D Crystal Effects (Christmas lights).

I had made one white version because I had not cut enough black windows, yet had a spear white window handy. After I put this one together I decided I actually liked the white one better but I'd forgotten to add the Christmas Lights.

Sponging the Happy Scene.

Stamp image onto Whisper White cardstock with Memento Black ink.

Stamp the same image on to a post-it note to create a mask. (be sure to stamp over the stick portion of the post-it note)

Cut the post-it note along the horizon of the image. (you should get a bit of sticky under both the land & sky portions). Here I have just added an extra bit of post-it note because my mask was a bit short.

Next stick another post-it note to a piece of cardstock and punch out a 3/4" circle. (the cardstock makes it easier for the punch to get through the post-it note with a clean cut)

Stick the 3/4" circle to the sticky edge of the post-it note to allow you room to feed it back into the circle punch while still hanging onto it

.

Punch off roughly half a portion of the circle, This creates the crescent moon shape.

Peel off the post-it note crescent from the cardstock and place the moon mask in the sky.

First colour for sponging, Daffodil Delight.

Start by inking the sponge (I press the sponge firmly onto the ink pad).

Then tap off the excess ink onto scrap paper  (this helps eliminate the grainy texture).

Softly sponge the daffodil delight ink around the moon ( it helps to follow the shape of the moon to avoid ruining the mask).

Next colour Bermuda Bay. Ink up, tap off and again softly add the colour around the moon. Start with a wide large circle, gradually bring it in closer to the moon, slightly over lapping the yellow. You may need to use a smaller circular motion to bring the Bermuda Bay into the crescent side of the moon.

Next Colour, Tempting Turquoise. Same as above, ink up, tap off and use soft circular motion. I always find it easier to work toward the colour I'm about to overlap.

(Remember, you can always come back and add more colour)

Next colour, Pacific Point. Same as above. Ink up, tap off & soft circular motion.

(In real life you can see the colours starting to build up a nice intense depth, yet still softly glowing around the moon). 

Last sky colour, Elegant Eggplant. Same method as above, ink up, tap off and sponge in soft circles.

This colour really brings depth to the inky night sky.

Sometimes if I want to get a really nice blending of the colours, I will go back over the whole thing in reverse, so the lighter colours fill in any tiny gaps the darker colours may have left behind. You can skip this step if you like, but I think it works better and almost always go back over with the lighter colours (except the yellow in this case).

Remove the moon mask.

Remove the land mask.

Add the other part of the mask to cover the sky.

I started with Old Olive for the grass (because it doesn't snow at Christmas time in Australia, I'm doing a green grass land), I didn't bother to tap off the excess ink for the land, just ink up and sponge straight on using a downward sweeping motion. 

I couldn't just use one green now could I? :)

I sponged Mossy Meadow around the bottom and edges using a circular motion.

I figure the moon would shine down on the lighter patch of grass. 

Remove the sky mask.

To colour the trees green, I used an Old Olive Marker on the tops and the side I thought the moon should shine on. (Brush on in a flicking stoke motion) 

I also added a little to the horizon line and the shadow of the tree. (This is useful to fill in any spots missed while sponging)

Next colour, Always Artichoke. this green is darker than Old Olive therefore can fill in the rest of the trees nicely. (I didn't have Mossy Meadow in a Marker, or I would have use that instead)

Sponging colours: Sky- Daffodil Delight, Bermuda Bay, Tempting Turquoise, Pacific Point & Elegant Eggplant. Ground- Old Olive Mossy Meadow.

They are all just a little bit different.

To create the Christmas lights around the window I just added some tape to the back, took off one side at a time, and wrapped the silver Metallic Thread around it. Once the window was adhered to the card front, I then dabbed little dots of Crystal Effects over the sliver thread, then sprinkled with Dazzling Diamonds. That looked good at first, but as it dried I think the glitter flattened it out, so I added another dot of Crystal Effects on top for the 3D Effect.

Shari and myself taking some happy snaps.