Penguins Playing in the Northern Lights

I seem to be on a roll, really enjoying making wonderful, colourful Northern lights in the sky.  I always thought it was so hard, so never really attempted it.  But as I mentioned in my first post with the technique, any one can do this.

See my other two posts here and here

This time I used the Playful Penguins.

Before I started my sponging, I stamped the Penguins on the art piece where I wanted them,  and masked them with a stamped and cut out post it note.  I also masked the 'snowy' foreground with some copy paper.

I used the same colour combinations as in the other two cards, but this time the Northern Lights were made to look more like a shimmery curtain.  I can almost hear the crackle the lights make as they sparkle and glow!

After the sky was finished, the masks were removed from the Penguins, and they were coloured with Stampin' Blends - light and dark Smokey Slate, with the beak and feet in Pumpkin Pie.  A little bit of yellow was placed on the front of one of the Penguins, although I could have done this with both of them.  Apparently there is virtually no difference in the physical appearance of the male and female penguins.  The only difference is in their behaviour.

Again, I created snow in the sky, snow drifts in the snow, and glitter, glitter wherever I could - dazzling diamonds in the snow and the entire piece spritzed with my home made spray.

The base card is Basic Black, layered with a Sparkle Shimmer Paper die cut into a frame using 2 sizes of the Stitched Rectangle die.  The art piece, also die cut with the Stitched Rectangle die, was adhered so that the edges overlapped the Sparkle Shimmer Paper frame.

The sentiment, from Itty Bitty Christmas, was cut into two words after it was stamped.  They were cut out conforming with the shape of each work, the edges were sponged and then adhered below the Penguins.

Because of the rectangle shape of the die cuts, a strip of Basic Black card front remained, so that was trimmed off, making the front 1/2" shorter.  To compensate for that, a strip of Sparkle Shimmer Paper remnant left over from die cutting the frame was adhered to the bottom edge of inside of the card.

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Playful Penguins, Itty Bitty Christmas
Inks:  Black Memento, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Rich Razzelberry, Night of Navy, and the following Stampin' Blends (both light and dark) Smokey Slate, Pumpkin Pie, Seaside Spray, Daffodil Delight
Papers:  Basic Black, Whisper White, Sparkle Shimmer Paper
Accessories:  Stitched Rectangle Dies, Dazzling Diamonds, White acrylic paint, Shimmer spray

Northern Light Technique with Winter Woods

In my previous post I used the Northern Light technique with the Snow Front Stamp set

For this card, I also created a Northern Light background, but using the row of trees from the Winter Woods stamp set.

Before starting on the sky, I masked off the snowy foreground using copy paper.

For the sky, I used the same colours as before, but instead of swiping, I created patches of colour. Instead of stars, using white acrylic paint and the end of a paint brush, I placed fluffy snow flakes in the sky.

The shadows of the snowbanks were created using both Dark and Light Seaside Spray and light Smokey Slate

The sentiment, from "Itty Bitty Christmas" is matted with Night of Navy and adhered just below the trees.

Snow has to sparkle, so I added Dazzling Diamonds to all the white areas, then spitzed the entire art piece with my homemade spritz (made with Shimmer Paint and alcohol).

On a Night of Navy card base, I added a frame of Sparkle Glimmer Paper which was made using the largest of the Stitched Rectangle Die with  third largest of the dies, thus cutting out the center and making the frame.  This saves on paper and the center rectangle can be used for another project.  The art piece was die cut with the second largest Stitched Rectangle die and then adhered to the card front with the edges slightly overlapping the Sparkle Glimmer frame.

Supplies Used:
Stamps:  Winter Woods, Itty Bitty Christmas
Inks:  Black Memento, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Rich Razzelberry, Night of Navy, Seaside Spray Smokey Slate
Papers:  Night of Navy, Whisper White
Accessories:  Stitched Rectangle Dies, Dazzling Diamonds

Northern Light Technique

When I worked in the North I looked forward most evenings to seeing the Northern Lights, also known as Aurora Borealis.

The bright dancing lights of this Aurora are actually collisions between electrically charged particles from the sun that enter the earth's atmosphere.  They are usually seen above the magnetic poles of the northern and southern hemisphere. although I have seen them in southern Ontario.  Alaska is apparently the  best place to see them.

The display is seen in many colours although pale green and pink are the most common.  Shades of red, yellow, green, blue and violet have also been reported.

They appear in many forms, from patches or scattered clouds of light to streamers, arcs, rippling curtains, or shooting rays that light up the sky with an eerie glow. - source - Space center.

Pinterest is displaying a number of cards made using the Northern Light Technique, so today I thought I would give a hand at it.

It was not as difficult as I thought it would be. Anyone at any level can do it as long as you don't mind getting your hands covered with ink.

This is the first card I made using this technique.

I used mainly swaping motions at an angle, using Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Rich Razzelberry and Night of Navy around the periphery of the colours.

Images from "Snow Front" were stamped in silhouette using Black Memento ink, and stars were placed in the sky using the end of a paint brush and white acrylic paint. Then I sprayed the entire scene with a spray comprising of Shimmer paint and alcohol.  This left a lovely shimmer.

Using a stitched rectangle die, I die cut the Whisper White card front with the largest of the die, and the art piece 2 pieces smaller, leaving this nice frame, which was mounted on a Night of Navy card front.  The sentiment, from "Itty Bitty Christmas" was stamped in the lower frame.

Supplies Used:

Stamps:  Snow Front, Itty Bitty Christmas

Inks: Black Memento, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Rich Razzelberry, and Night of Navy

Papers:  Night of Navy, Whisper white

Accessories: Stitched Rectangle Dies, White acrylic paint, Shimmer spray