SANTA WITH EMBOSSING PASTE SNOW

 After a successful session of Creative Therapythe other night, I came upstairs and popped my head into where my husband was. I asked him, "What month is it?" Smart person that he is, he immediately responded, "July." To try to trip him up after such an easy question/answer, I asked, "What do you often hear: ________ In July?" He was quick with his response, "Christmas in July." 

So, I whipped out from behind my back:

You see, all of a sudden, it had dawned on me: Hey, it's July! I should be making Christmas cards!

I love this little Santa guy. I'd already colored him with Copics, so he was just chompin' at the bit to be the star of a card. So, I obliged:

What I REALLY wanted to try out was the new Embossing Paste in the catalog. The four masks that are available to complement this technique weren't, to me, indicative of a snowstorm. So, I dug through a stash of old Stampin' Up! masks I had on hand, and came up with this polka dotted background, which I thought looked sufficiently like snow, so I ran with it:

Before I added the Embossing Paste snowflakes, I stamped my background with both the open and the closed dots from the Playful Backgrounds (page 150).

See how cute and fluffy the "snowflakes" are?

Using the Embossing Paste is really a snap. I purchased and used the Palette Knives that were pictured along with the Decorative Masks and the Embossing Paste (page 201) for my card. But, I think a plastic knife or popsicle stick would work equally well, if you want to save $5 (to spend on something else!).

There is really no need to be perfectly perfect when applying the Embossing Paste. See the difference in my dots? I like that look. Of course, if you do have a case of OCD, you may want to give it a bit more time and care when doing your own. I like the look of my imperfect imperfection.

Once I finished adding my Embossing Paste, I hit it briefly with the Heat Tool. I don't think that's actually necessary though, as it seems to dry quite quickly. Just do that portion of a card first, and set it aside while you work on the other components. By the time you come back to the background, I'm sure it'll be dry.

Just an up close and personal picture of my cute little Santa guy:

One warning though when using the Embossing Paste: AS SOON AS YOU FINISH WITH IT, CLEAN YOUR MASK AND TOOLS WITH WARM WATER. If the Embossing Paste dries in place, well, might as well order another set. It clogs up the holes in the masks and turns into cement on the tools. With this bit of caution, you'll be enjoying making all kinds of textured and dimensional backgrounds.

Another point: It is possible to tint the white Embossing Paste with a drop of reinker. 

To get the full benefits of this magical Embossing Paste and tools, watch this Stampin' Up! video here. 

Textured

Smiles.