I am a die hard fan of die cutting.  I love that with a few great shapes that I can cut whatever I need when I am crafting.  With a great flower die, some ink and an assortment of surfaces, I always have the perfect flower embellishment on hand.  Or maybe it is the perfect label, photo frame, or even tag shape.  Since I also love stamping, having dies that work with my favorite stamp designs makes my crafty world a pretty happy place to be!

Today I want to share a tag with you that I created to celebrate the fun part of winter- playing in the snow and building snowmen!  There are lots of steps to this tutorial so I decided to share it in two parts.  To learn how I created the inked background and textured snow using embossing powder, visit part one on my blog. Part two of the tutorial showing how I created the die cut elements is shown below.

Cut a piece of manila cardstock roughly this size of the snowman image.

 

Create a Distress Paint and embossing powder background as shown in part one of the tutorial.   For the snowman, I omitted the glitter layer (the third layer) so that it would be easier to stamp on.

Stamp the snowman image on the prepared background using Jet Black Archival Ink.

Use the snowman shaped Framelit die (the one without the arms) to cut out the the snowman shape.

Using the new Sizzix Magnetic Platform with the Framelits die makes cutting the shape out quick and easy.  No more post-it notes to keep your die in place!

Stamp a second snowman on a piece of manila cardstock.  To color my pieces quickly, I used my ink blending tools to apply color to the three shapes I planned to cut out.  I wanted really soft color so I used the ink that was already on the foam pads without re-inking.  Be sure that your stamped image is dry before using the foam to apply color, otherwise it can smear.  A quick blast of heat from a heat tool will do the trick.

Use the included Framelits dies to cut out the carrot, scarf, and hat.

Use an ink blending tool to ink the edges of the pieces with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  Use Distress Ink markers to accent details on the images.

Stamp the hat portion of the image on manila cardstock.  Use an ink blending tool with green ink to color the holly leaves.  Use Distress Ink Markers to accent the leaves and color in the holly berries.  Cut holly leaves and berries out using the matching Framelits die.

Stamp a snowman again on another piece of manila cardstock.  Use a Ranger Inkssentials Embossing Ink Pen to color in the arms with clear embossing ink.  Apply Walnut Stain Distress Embossing Powder to the ink.  Use a heat tool to melt the embossing powder.

Die cut the arms using the matching Framelits dies.

Use the snowman shaped Framelit die (the one without the arms) to cut out the the snowman shape from the scrap.  Use this piece as a base to make the assembled snowman more sturdy.

Adhere the base snowman to the back of the stamped snowman.  Adhere the hat with holly leaves, scarf, nose, and arms to the snowman.

Use adhesive foam squares to adhere the snowman to the background created in part one of the tutorial.

Cut a piece of manila or heavy white cardstock so that it is two times the size of the size of the Tim Holtz One the Fence die (approximated 5 1/2″ x 3″).  Fold the cardstock in half so that it is the size of the die.  Place the fold of the paper on the die just above the bottom edge of the design.  Die cut the piece of cardstock.

Unfold the cardstock.  Die cutting the fence on the fold will create a taller fence that has both a top and bottom edge.  Using an ink blending tool to apply Vintage Photo Distress Ink the the edges of the fence.

Adhere the two end pickets to the back side of the tag.

The fence will curve outward on the front of the tag creating lots of extra dimension!  Stamp the label and sentiment from the set onto manila cardstock.  Adhere the stamped label to the front of the fence to hide the folded edge in the fence.

Dye a piece of Crinkle Ribbon using Distress Stains or Inks.  Tie a bow with the ribbon and attach to the top of the tag.

I hope you enjoyed seeing how to create this fun dimensional snowman scene!  I think it is such a fun little inky project.  This little snowman makes me smile!  I love the way all of the techniques in this project combine together to create so much texture and dimension.  I plan to hang this tag on my Christmas tree.  I can’t wait to see how the lights reflect on the glitter in the snow!

SUPPLIES: