Cracked Glass Cardinal

This technique works great for the antique look but can work well with most any image. This is the Cardinal Christmas set from Stampin' Up!





Materials needed:

• Cardinal Christmas stamp set
• Always Artichoke, Bravo Burgundy, Brushed Gold, Vanilla cardstock
• Basic Black, Mellow Moss and Sahara Sand classic ink pads
• Chocolate Chip reinker
• StayzOn Black ink pad
• Versamark resist ink pad
• Glassy Glaze embossing powder
  
• watercolor crayons

Directions:

1. Stamp the mistletoe branch repeatedly around the vanilla cardstock with Mellow Moss ink.
2. Stamp the verse over and over around the mistletoe branches in Sahara Sand ink.
3. Stamp the cardinal in the center with StayzOn and color in with watercolor crayons.
4. After the image is dry, press the Versamark pad over the entire front of the image and sprinkle with embossing powder. Repeat this 2-3 times until the image is completely coated evenly (no paper shows through and no bumps). Set aside to COOL completely.
   
5. Fold the Always Artichoke cardstock in half to form the card, attach the brushed gold piece vertically on the front as shown. Stamp the "Merry Christmas" in the bottom-right corner of the card in Basic Black ink.
6. Bend the cardinal embossed piece to form cracks in the surface of the embossing. Repeat for the effect and number of cracks you want. Place one drop of Chocolate Chip ink on the front and rub around with a cotton ball, letting it seep into the cracks. (Sometimes it's easier to get in the cracks if you bend the cracks open a bit while sliding the cotton ball across them.)
7. Wipe off the excess ink from the cardinal piece with a clean paper towel and mount on Bravo Burgundy. (I find that heavy embossing like this needs a strong glue to hold it, as the cardstock has been warped and does not like to lay flat; So, I use the Tombow Multi Liquid Glue, especially in the corners, and hold it together with clothespins on the corners until dry.
8. Affix this to the front of the card as shown.