The Sky is the Limit - Happy Birthday - Paper Smooching background

The December technique challenge with the Canadian Die Exchange group is called "Paper Smooching" - a technique I have never done before.  I used a video tutorial by K Werner here to give me an idea as to what this technique was about.

The stamp set I used is from the Sale-a-bration(SAB) catalogue which comes into effect Jan. 4, 2016 . SAB is a very special time for me because I like getting free stuff.  During this time period (until March) for every $60 spent you get a FREE product from the SAB catalogue.

This stamp set "The Sky is the Limit" is one of the free stamp sets - so I'm giving you a sneak peak of what's in the SAB catalogue.

Before doing the smooching background technique, the image of the plane embossed with Early Espresso embossing powder.  Some clouds were added embossing them with white embossing powder.

Then came the smooched background.

I tried various ways to do this and finally decided on ink padswhich I applied directly onto a painting palette.

The ink was spritzed it with water,  picked up with a piece of window sheet (like picking up salsa with a salsa chip),  and applied (smooched) it to a piece of watercolour paper I had taped down to a piece of cardboard.

To make the clouds stand out more, I applied some sparkle using the new Wink of Stella sparkle brush (comes in clear and gold - I used clear).  This is a product from the up coming occasions catalogue.

The image panel was trimmed to 3 1/2 by 2 3/4" and matted with Early Espresso cardstock.  The edges of the image panel and the sentiment were sponged with Early Espresso.

The basic cardstock is Early Espresso, layered with Whisper White embossed with a retired embossing folder featuring clouds (the edges of thes was sponged with Early Espresso ink as well).

A piece of Early Espresso DSP was adhered to the left side of the Whisper White layer, and two pieces of 1/4" Early Espresso ribbon were wrapped around it.

The image panel was attached to the card using dimensionals.

At the top left hand corner I attached a bow made with Early Espresso Baker's twine.

The sentiment was embossed with Early Espresso, matted with Early Espresso.

Products Used:
Stamps: The Sky is the Limit
Inks: Early Espresso, Marina Mist, Soft Sky, Daffodil Delight, Tangerine Tango
Papers: Early Espresso, Whisper White, Watercolor paper, Early Espresso DSP
Accessories: Early Espresso embossing powder, White embossing powder, Wink of Stella sparkle brush(clear), 1/4" Early Espresso ribbon, Early Espresso Baker's twine, dimensionals, glue dots, embossing folder with clouds(retired).