Silent Night

Hello!

Today's card has me stepping out of my comfort zone and making a "fancy fold" card.  I've gotten into a rut of just making the standard A2 or square cards and really need to step it up a bit, so I've made a Z-fold card, thanks to the excellent instructions by one of my favorite crafting peeps, Catherine Pooler over at StampNation.  (Members go here, non-members go here.)

 

What looks like a very complicated piece of paper is actually a breeze to make.  By the way, if you're wondering about the less-than-Christmassy color scheme, it's for this week's challenge over at Drunken Stampers, which is to use only black, white and grey (the Christmas part was my idea).  Now THAT is a challenge for this colorphile.

I thought the stamp was perfect for the colors.  The stamp is from Alota Rubber Stamps called Trees In the Night.  Doesn't it emanate the feeling of a "silent night?"  You can just make out the addition of Dazzling Diamonds to the snow on the trees, the ground and the primary star.  THE Star, as I choose to think of it, though there were no pine trees in the usual renderings of that most holy of nights.  The papers are SU Basic Black, Basic Grey (embossed with my favorite winter SU ef, Snow Burst) and Whisper White as that's all that's needed in such a color challenge.  

The inside has an interesting story.  I used the Sissix Top Note die for this card, also punching a layer for the inside and stamping it with a no-name stamp and some Memento London Fog.  I neglected to set it aside while stamping the greeting (SB Labels 20), and I accidentally dropped the lid of the Tuxedo Black inkpad onto the pristine white/gray layer, leaving a black line to mar the surface.  WELL!  I wasn't in the mood to restamp it, so I "stamped" with the inky lid some more over the entire piece which gave it a more uniform, randomly-inked appearance, then I adhered the greeting.  I liked the look and decided to keep it.  (I didn't invent this solution, had read about it awhile back but don't remember where so I can't give credit where credit's due, but thank you mystery stamper!)

Here's a closer look. 

And this is what the card looks like from above.

Of course I had to "garnish" it, because that's how I roll.  The bow is hand-dyed seam binding, the result of trying to dye it black but having no success.  I'm still trying to figure out how to dye seam binding jet black without using a gallon of ink, so if ANYONE has any suggestions, please put them in the comment section.  I'll be eternally grateful.  I've used water-base and alcohol-based, but so far no luck.

The stick pin is one of my creations - white and grey pearls, silver spacers and a black bicone.  Add to that a computer-generated greeting punched and layered with SU Word Window and Modern Labels stamps  and a few rhinestones and you have a serene, snowy Silent Night.

By the way, I want to thank my dear friend Kimie who I met on StampNation for sending me the wonderful Snow Burst embossing folder.  I have used that folder on the last three cards and will no doubt use it many more times this season.  It's just PERFECT for snow-themed cards!  Thank you, Sweetness!!

Well that's all for today.  I'm about to head to my DD's apt. for the rest of the day.  We need to pay a quick visit to Hobby Lobby for "just a few things," (uh huh, NEVER happens), then back to her place for dinner and a movie.  It's our mid-week tradition which we get to do every couple of weeks or so.  In the meantime, have a lovely afternoon and evening, and Happy Crafting!

Challenges entered:

Drunken Stampers #105 - 50 Shades of Grey
Oozak #8 - Winter Vibes
TSG181 - Let It Snow
Delightful Challenges - Let It Delightfully Snow
Crazy4Challenges C4C162 - Favorite Christmas Carol (Silent Night)
Divas By Design Challenge 61 - Anything Goes