Elf with Embossed Scrap Background

Happy Monday - it's a gorgeous day here today and my chorus looks forward to singing at Como Park tonight!! While preparing my MC lines I managed to squeeze in another card for Let's Squash It! where Challenge 20 requires both dry embossing and scraps. 

Supplies: Paper - various patterns mostly BoBunny,

some Tim Holtz, Doodlebug & American Crafts;

Paper Studio red A2 card

Embossing Folder - Stampin' Up Wintry 3D (pine bough)

Dies - Spellbinders Dancin' Gnome

Stamp & Cut - Hero Arts Santa's Elves

Other - Copic Markers; SSS sentiment strip;

Antique Linen Distress Ink

I've said it before but I do have many boxes of scraps. Here's a photo of the one I dove into for the scraps I used. When I die cut rectangle backgrounds, I end up with a bunch of approximately 2" strips that are perfect to cut down for the strip technique Jennifer McGuire has shown many times.

And here's a shoot of some scrap pieces from which I'd cut strips and the arranging I was doing on a white panel. You can see how I love to cut random things from patterned papers - butterflies, tags, you name it!

After I had an arrangement I liked, I glued the strips down and trimmed the panel to fit in a new Stampin' Up embossing folder (just came in the mail last week!). It's narrower than A2 size but should've been long enough. I trimmed a bit more than intended so had to leave a border, oh well. After embossing the panel with the pines, I inked the raised parts with some Distress Ink.

Next, I looked it my bits box for a large snowflake - instead I found an elf already stamped and die cut. Quickly colored her with Copics and then die cut her a wooden stump using a scrap of brown. Gave her a sign made using a strip of black and a Simon Says Stamp sentiment strip.

The stump die comes in a Spellbinders gnome set that's finally seeing first play so I have two NBUS on this card. I'll add this to Darnell's May NBUS Challenge where I'm guest designer.

Thanks for stopping by and happy crafting!!