BPM/IBFS - May You Never Be Too Old

Hi there, crafty friends!

Thanks for stopping by Paper Play today!  The holiday season is in full swing and Christmas magic is in the air.  Today's post is all about that.  I have always loved the saying, "May you never be too old to search the skies on Christmas Eve."  It's so nostalgic for me - it brings back Christmas memories from my childhood and the good times that we had as a family.  Not to sound too corny, but those really were different, and in some ways much nicer times: spending time with family, the excitement and anticipation of Santa Claus visiting, and the magic of the season as seen through a child's eyes.

The card that I'm sharing today on the Blank Page Muse blog today captures that magic.  It has a vintage feel to it thanks to the wonderful rubber stamps designed and sold by Blank Page Muse.

Here's what I used to make it:

• Country Lane Cottage Line Art Rubber Stamp by Rick St Dennis
• Vintage Santa & Sleigh from Winter Wonderland Stamp Set
• Beyond the Border Christmas Set 1 CLEAR Stamps designed by Pam Bray
• May You Never be too Told to Search the Sky on Christmas Eve sentiment stamp from Bella Carta
• Tim Holtz Distress Spray Stain Stormy Skies
• Tim Holtz Distress Spray Mica Winter Frost
• Tim Holtz Distress Grit Paste Opaque
• Altenew Pure White Ink Spray
• Altenew Evergreen Crisp Dye Ink
• Lawn Fawn Yeti White Pigment Ink
  
• Ohuhu Alcohol Markers

Here's how I made it:

• Stamped the village in black ink onto a horizontal 4.5"x6.5" white card panel
• Made a stamping mask by stamping the village onto masking paper, fussy cut it out, and placed it over the stamped image on the card panel.
• Sprayed card panel with Stormy Skies spray ink and then with Winter Frost Spray Mica
• Used a heat tool to dry the panel.
• Sprayed some white ink spray onto my glass craft surface, spritzed it with water, and used a paint brush to add some "snow flakes" to the sky.
• Removed the stamping mask from the village and colored it with alcohol markers.
• Inked one of the trees from the Beyond the Border Christmas stamp set with Evergreen ink and stamped it next to the village; repeated this two more times for a total of three trees.
• Used a pallet tool to add opaque grit paste to add snow to the ground around the village and trees.
• Used a paint brush to add some opaque grit paste to roof tops and bushes.

• Stamped Santa & sleigh onto a piece of white card stock; colored the image with alcohol markers and fussy cut it out with detail scissors.
• Stamped the sentiment with white pigment ink in the upper left hand corner of card panel and dried it with a heat tool.
• Added double sided foam tape strips to the back of the Santa & sleigh image and adhered it to the sky in the card panel.

• Adhered double sided tape to the back of card panel and centered it onto a 5"x7" navy blue card base.

These stamps are gorgeous and work so well together!  I love this country cottage stamp and think that I'll be creating seasonal cards to show life in this village.

My hope is that this card invokes some wonderful Christmas memories for you and helps you believe in the magic of Santa Claus this holiday season.  I'd love to hear from you if it did!  Please consider sharing a comment with a favorite Christmas memory, favorite Christmas movie, or whatever you may like to share.

Thanks again for spending some time with me on Paper Play today.  Until next time . . . be well!