snow far, snow good!

we're about halfway through this fortnight's ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ challenge, making cards which feature snow in any size, shape, color, or form, and thus it seems like a good time to show you this guy:

(patterned paper, tag, cardstock stickers and brads: basic grey; christmas words stickerz: EAD designs; tape: 7 gypsies; black pearl eyes: kaiser; rub-on snowflakes: fancy pants; cardstock: dcwv; ink: colorbox; adhesives: staples brand glue tape runner, 3m foam tape, sewing machine)

i've used the right-hand side of this week's (2-page, layout) sketch from the basic grey blog:

one of my favorite things about basic grey is how well all of the various lines, past and present, work together. i've got some figgy, some jovial, that beautiful (ancient!) snowflake from fruitcake, and even some white from the basics line (possibly the most practical and truly useful collection ANYONE has made, EVER?!) and it all goes together perfectly, and to me, every bit of it looks as cool as the day it debuted!

here's a closer look at the layers; you know how i ♥LOVE♥ for there to be a bit of dimension and depth to everything-- when i work digitally i use drop-shadows; IRL, foam mounting tape is my best friend! there's some under the right side of the big snowflake (though the left edge is sewn flat); another layer under mr. snowman; and a bit more attaching the two small snowflake stickers to the larger one; thus, the tag, which is stuck to the snowman layer on its left side, has TWO layers of foam tape under it's right edge, adhering it to the white dotty background paper.

here's my top tip for making less look like MORE: how many blue snowflake rub-ons do you see? five, right? nope! there are only three, and they aren't very large, either, but by cutting two of them unevenly in half, they really go a lot further, don't you think? it's cool to put things right on the edge of the frame, as well, for a more dynamic look; the snowflakes at the top appear to be falling onto the card!

speaking of falling snow, that was monday's theme (day 208) on the 365 cards blog, so i'm popping this in over there; and it wouldn't be friday without checking out what miss patrice is up to on her blog, the old back porch!

if you have a couple of minutes, this week my ♥JINGLE BELLES♥ partner, stephanie, has made an equally cool snow card that is different from mine in every possible way-- i love it when that happens! for that matter the snow gallery is chock full of amazing cards that are sure to inspire, but don't worry, of course there's still plenty of room-- and time-- to link up YOUR masterpiece before next wednesday night! :)