North Pole Mischief

Welcome back, Stamping friends! I hope your week is going well. I just realized my Stampin’ Up!® Anniversary is coming up Monday. I knew it was late October, but I thought it was closer to the end. This will be my 20th anniversary! I can’t believe it. My plan was to spend $100/month until I had everything I wanted and then drop. And here I am – all these years later – with consistent sales, a team of awesome stampers, and some wonderful friends who have kept me going all this time. I am so grateful to all of you who have encouraged and supported me the past 20 years and for all the friends I’ve made along the way.

I created the card for today using the North Pole Mischief Stamp Set. Honestly, while I thought this set was adorable, I hadn’t planned on buying it. But then Stampin’ Up!® offered free shipping and I decided to add something fun just for me.

How cute is that little dog’s face? And doesn’t the cat look a little like Grumpy Cat? (True confession time: I darkened under her eyes a little to make her look a little more menacing.)

I usually have a stamp set in mind when I start creating, but this time, I started with a technique. One of Susan’s posts last week was Embossing with Masks, and I had to try it. (Check out her gorgeous card here.) Sadly, I don’t have any current masks. I’ve purchased all of them as they’ve been released, but I’m a little behind right now. I did have this snowflake mask from several catalogs ago, so I gave it a go.

Oh, my goodness! I love this technique. It’s so simple. Create the sandwich like you would to die-cut – the base plate (plate 1), the die plate (plate 2), cutting plate (plate 3). Now you need to add a retired product. We had a black rubber mat years ago for embossing with dies, and then several years later, we had blue and gray ones (one was thicker than the other). I could only locate the black one, but I think any of them will work. Next, add the card stock and mask, and finally, another cutting plate (plate 3). Run it through the Stampin’ Cut & Emboss Machine and you have a beautifully embossed layer. So fun!

I sponged Starry Sky, Coastal Cabana, and Bermuda Bay over mine to bring out the snowflakes, then layered it to a Starry Sky card base. Next I stamped that sneaky little dog sending the cat to the North Pole. This reminds me so much of my pets – except our dog totally ignores the cats. I think our Ashlynn would send her cat brother to the North Pole, though. Or to Antarctica, or anywhere else she could book passage for him.

I colored the image with Bermuda Bay, Smoky Slate, Starry Sky, Pool Party, and Daffodil Delight Stampin’ Blends, then adhered it to another panel of Starry Sky Cardstock. The sentiment is stamped in Bermuda Bay.

Maybe I’m trying to convince the weather fairies to send more snow this year, but I decided this card needed more than just embossed/masked snowflakes. I placed little dots of Multipurpose Liquid Glue over the card, then added Sparkle & Shine Sequins over the dots.

I don’t know why, but I just love the look of satisfaction on that little pup’s face, don’t you? He looks so proud of himself! And the cat, of course, is thoroughly disgruntled! If you read that we’re down a cat in the new year, you’ll know why.

Thanks for stopping by Stamping with Buffy. Have a lovely day!

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