Salty Sleighride

My fingers are usually inky, but nothing like this week! I've been trying out some techniques to use for my Technique Night classes this week and they all seem to involve sponging and water and ink, which is a fatal combination if you want to avoid stained finger tips, especially when they involve dark shades of blue! This card was no exception. Pacific Point ink was heavily sponged on to some Shimmery White cardstock and misted with water. It was what I did afterwards that caused the magic to happen! I added some salt - ordinary table salt, which created the most beautiful background! It was then ready for some paper cut with one of the Sleigh Ride Edgelits to make a simple but effective Christmas greeting card.

• I used Shimmery White cardstock because of the lovely glimmer it has, but also mainly because it stands up to water really well without weakening. As you have to add a fair bit of water before adding the table salt, you need a paper stronger than Whisper White. The backing layer is a Silver Foil sheet.
• So the steps are: sponge a heavy layer of ink, spritz with water and then sprinkle salt over it. The salt draws the ink to it to leave areas of lighter and darker intensity. You can let it dry naturally, or use the lowest setting of the Heat Tool to dry it. When dry, brush off the salt crystals as they will eventually come off anyway and shower your recipient with a salty powder. Thanks to Jan Tinklenberg for the instructions and ideas for this card.
• The Sleigh Ride Edgelits are wonderful and any one or two of them would look great with this background technique.
• The sentiment is from the Wonderland stamp set. I could have used the one from the coordinating stamp set for the edgelits, Jingle All the Way, but it seemed too small in these large empty areas. I added a Snowflake Element topped with a Rhinestone coloured with a Sharpie marker.

And here's a new Technique Video from Stampin' Up! featuring the Cotton Paper, in case you were wondering what the heck to use it for:

         

Thanks for stopping by the blog today! Give this technique a try. You'll be glad you did.

Click on the links below to take you to my On-Line Store, where you can read about, look at, and purchase if you wish, the products used to make this card today!

Product List

Wonderland Wood-Mount Stamp Set [139752]	Wonderland Clear-Mount Stamp Set [140365]	Shimmery White 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [101910]	Silver Foil Sheets [132178]	Pacific Point 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock [111350]
Pacific Point Classic Stampin' Pad [126951]	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708]	Stamping Sponges [101610]	Snowflake Elements [139638]	Rhinestone Basic Jewels Embellishments [119246]
Sleigh Ride Edgelits Dies [139670]	Big Shot [113439]

Table Salt