So Quiet, It Wakes You Up

I remember in college when that first snowstorm would come. I could be sound asleep (the first one always seemed to come at night), and the SILENCE of the snow would wake me up as immediately as a loud noise would.

I loved that first say of puffy, white, clean quiet too.

It's amazing how perfect everything looks under a blanket of overly chilled water.

I wouldn't go back to a snowy climate for all the brisket in the world, but there was magic in it for sure. No other weather event silences the world like snow. And silence is hard to come by.

Since snow can't get me if it's on my cards, I was squealing like a maniac when I got my My Monthly Hero Kit this month. I have wanted a snowy die for my northern lights/galaxy backgrounds basically since I was BORN! Seriously - in the nursery when I was a baby, I totally used sign language to communicate to my parents that when I grew up, I was going to need a snow die. I might sleep with this die under my pillow. I might sleep with the whole kit under my pillow. It's so pretty and I don't want anyone to steal it!

The first card was exactly what I wanted, and I'm not gonna lie, I love it. I love it a lot.

I just used my wash brush to wet the piece of watercolor paper and then I added various colors of Schmincke watercolor. Then I went back with black watercolor in spots to give it the night sky feel. Oh, if only our night skies were turquoise and green and violet!

Then I cut that down to a 3" wide strip (so I have a sky leftover for another card) and ran it through the Big Shot with the Snow Drifts Fancy Die.

I cut a white circle for some snowy ground with my Layering Circles framelits and glued that to the watercolor piece.

Then I stamped and fussy cut the critters from the Winter Time Fun stamp set (that's an add-on to the kit). They do have matching dies as an add-on as well.

I colored them with Copics (listed below under the last card).

Seriously - I know it's my card, but is that not the cutest? I love it. It will be hard to let this go through the mail to a new home, not gonna lie!

THEN I had an ACCIDENT with another add-on - the Skylines Fancy Dies - two really pretty silhouettes - a city skyline and a suspension bridge.

I had this concept in my mind for an interactive card with the skyline die, and it didn't work the way I envisioned, so I was just staring despondently at the positive and negative pieces and trying to solve my problem, when I realized that the negative die cut looked just like....

wait for it...

MONUMENT VALLEY

So I ran back to the Big Shot and cut a negative from watercolor paper and watercolored it a gorgeous desert orange, and watercolored another sheet in all blue. I put them together and nearly fainted. It looks just like my beloved, beloved desert.

EEEEEK that makes my eyes happy! And I am always thinking of the desert, so there you go! PS - the sentiment here and below is from the Prayers set.

I know that they did not intend anything of the kind with this beautiful, holiday kit, but I love things that turn out to have multiple uses - especially stuff I can use all year. So many possibilities.

LIKE THIS. SERIOUSLY I'M YELLING.

links to supplies

My Monthly Hero Kit - October	Winter Time Fun Stamp Set	Winter Time Fun Frame Cuts	Snow Drifts Fancy Dies	Skylines Fancy Dies	Layering Circle Framelits	Schmincke Watercolor
Fabriano Extra-White 100% Cotton Cold Pressed Watercolor Paper	Basic Black Cardstock	Silver Brush - Black Velvet #2	Silver Brush - 1" Square Wash	Whisper White Thick Cardstock	Memento Tuxedo Black Ink	Copic Sketch Marker C7
Copic Sketch C3	Copic Sketch Marker E08	Copic Sketch Marker E19	Copic Sketch Marker E37	Copic Sketch Marker E15	Copic Sketch Marker E33	Tombow Mono Multi Glue
Paper Snips	Big Shot Die Cutting & Embossing Machine	Ranger Alcohol Ink - Wild Plum	Ranger Alcohol Ink - Butterscotch	Ranger Alcohol Ink - Stream	Liquitex Gloss Heavy Gel Medium	MISTI Stamping Tool

The kit comes with a package of heavy duty acetate - (8) 5x6 sheets. (They also sell a package of 20, and a package of (20) 3 x 4.75" sheets if you like to make shakers) So I thought I'd try something with the actual skyline - again a negative, but right side up this time. So I ran it through the Big Shot and then dropped alcohol ink on the back in my three favorite colors. ZOWIE.

To adhere it, I used an old Whole Foods gift card and my gloss gel medium all over the inked side and then compressed it for a while to bond it. Love that look of minerals or gems. So pretty. I try really hard to use other colors of my alcohol inks but I gravitate to these. You know me and my primaries.



So they were nice enough to let me hop along with them today, and I can't wait to see what other people did with the kit! These are some talented ladies, and as usual, Hero is giving away a kit, so be sure to visit all of my friends for a chance to win!


The Hero Arts Blog
Alice Wertz
Amy Tsuruta
Clare Prezzia
Debby Hughes
Heather Ruwe
Jennifer McGuire
Jessica Frost-Ballas
Kathy Racoosin
Kimberly Crawford
Laura Bassen
Lydia Fiedler
Mariana Grigsby
May Park
Virginia Lu
Yana Smakula
Libby Hickson
Loveyameanitbye.