Magic of Christmas – Moonlit Sky Tutorial

Hello Friends! It’s time for a new challenge on the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge. Our theme this week is, All Creatures Great and Small. I created a peaceful winter scene with dainty deer and glistening snow all under a shimmery moon. My tutorial this week focuses on the background of the moonlit night sky. See all the steps below. Enjoy!

Stop by and visit, Wanda Hentges, from Art By Wanda, our guest designer for the month of October. She’s amazing and this week is her last week with us on the Challenge. All of her projects are beautiful and fun, so please stop by and send her some love!

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Handmade Christmas Card

 

Step 1 - Creating A Moonlit Background

To create a moonlit night sky, cut a 4-3/4″ x 6-3/4″ piece of Bristol watercolor paper. For the moon, cut a 2″ circle out of masking paper.

 

Step 2 - Creating a Moonlit Background

Peel backing off of masking paper of the moon and adhere it to the watercolor paper.

 

Step 3 - Creating a Moonlit Background

Begin by inking the outer edges of the watercolor paper with Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink with a mini ink blending tool.

 

Step 4 - Creating a Moonlit Background

Moving toward the center of the card and closer to the moon, ink the paper with Faded Jeans Distress Ink.

 

Step 5 - Creating a Moonlit Background

Gently go around the moon with Stormy Sky Distress Ink and a mini ink blending tool. This will blend the colors together around the moon but be careful, use very light pressure and a swirling motion.

 

Step 6 - Creating a Moonlit Background

Now go back over the same inking process starting with the outer edges and Chipped Sapphire Distress Ink. This will deepen the colors of the night sky.

 

Step 7 - Creating a Moonlit Background

Again, go over the inner portion of the sky with Faded Jeans Distress Ink.

 

Step 8 - Creating a Moonlit Background

Now gently go over the moon again with Story Sky Distress Ink to blend the colors together. Remember, gently.

 

Step 9 - Creating a Moonlit Background

To create the stars in the sky, mix together white acrylic paint and water on a craft sheet and mix together with a splatter brush.

 

Step 10 - Creating a Moonlit Background

Flick the bristles of the splatter brush over the sky.

 

Step 11 - Creating a Moonlit Background

Spray some water onto the background using the Distress Sprayer or you can put some water in your hand and flick it onto the background with your fingertips.

 

Step 12 - Creating a Moonlit Background

Dry the background with a heat tool or let it air dry for about a minute or two.

 

Step 13 - Creating a Moonlit Background

Now peel off the masked moon and your moonlit sky background is complete.

 

Snowy Hills For Background

To create the glittery, snowy hills, cut two hills from the Tim Holtz Home For The Holidays die set and brush with multi matte medium. Immediately dust with Distress Dry Glitter Clear Rock Candy and set aside to dry.

 

Creating Snow Capped Trees

To create the snow capped trees, mix together Glossy Accents and Distress Dry Glitter Clear Rock Candy and brush on trees. Set aside to completely dry.

 

Creating Deer for Card

To create the deer, Cut three deer from the Tim Holtz Winter Wonderland die set out of brown Kraft-Core paper and distress with a sanding tool. Ink the hoofs and antlers of the large deer with Black Soot Distress Ink.

Handmade Christmas Card

 

 

To finish the card, I adhered all the pieces to the card where I wanted them to go and added a few presents from the Home for the Holidays die set. I cut them out of paper from the Tim Holtz Tidings and Christmas paper stash. I tied a bow with a little jingle bell around the neck of the large deer. The sentiment is from the Simon Says Stamp Christmas Toys stamp set. I stamped it onto clear vellum paper with Versamark Ink and Black embossing powder. I adhered that panel onto a 5″ x 7″ piece of Tim Holtz Christmas Kraft Stock and then onto a 5-1/4″ x 7-1/4″ piece of Simon Says Stamp Black cardstock.

I hope you enjoyed seeing how I created my “Magic of Christmas” card for Simon’s All Things Great and Small Challenge and that you got some inspiration for your next project. Thanks so much for sticking with me to the end. I appreciate you taking time out of your day to spend a little of it with me. Have an awesome day!!

Don’t forget to link your project to the challenge and you could win a $50 gift voucher to Simon’s amazing store!

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12 Comments

  1. Pingback: Simon Says: All Creatures Great And Small - Simon Monday Challenge Blog

  2. Cathie, this card is so beautiful. The scene is like an oil painting. So real and true. The moonlight background is awesome, I did something similar once and need to repeat someday. The trees and deers are so sweet and so perfect for your winter scene. Lovely! Hugs, Marzena

  3. Beautiful winter scene!!! I love this card!!!

  4. darling card!! really beautiful background!

  5. Holy cow! My jaw dropped when I saw how realistic and beautiful that moon is! I love that technique and how skillfully you created your gorgeous night-time scene!

  6. Beautiful Christmas card, Cathie! I really love how you did the background around the moon – totally awesome! Snow on the trees adds a nice touch to the lovely scene. hugs,Maura

  7. such a beautiful card-the scene is so peaceful looking.

  8. A really beautiful scene, so serene and tranquil and just so pretty…this is a wonderful piece of art, Cathie and a truly gorgeous Christmas card! <3

  9. Really fabulous card, Cathie!!! Thank you for your wonderful comments to me!!!

  10. The scene you’ve created is amazing! Your moon give life to this card and blue background is perfect! Fabulous work as always! barbara

  11. Wow…. this is such a gorgeous Christmas card! Cathie. The background and all the winter elements are fantastic! 🙂

  12. What a gorgeous card, Cathie! Love everything about it, and love to see how you’ve created that stunning night sky! Hugs, Sandra

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