Finished size:  5" x 7”

Supplies:
Stamps:
Manger scene (Serendipity Stamps)
Starry Night (Rubber Stampede)
Gift of Christmas (Stampendous)
Gift with Stars (Unknown) 
Papers:
8.5" x 11” matte coated white cardstock (Marco’s Paper)
8.5" x 11” Glossy cardstock (Marco’s Paper)
3.125 x 2.5” scrap black cardstock (Marco’s Paper) 
Ink:
Coal Black Ancient Page dye ink (Clearsnap) or
Jet Black Staz On (Tsukineko)
Onyx Black Versafine ink (Tsukineko)
Chile Pepper and Lime Green Pinata brand Alcohol inks (Jacquard)
Lettuce Alcohol ink (Ranger)
Galaxy Gold Brilliance ink (Tsukineko)
Other:
5" x 7” Canvas Board (Michaels)
Mod Podge Hologram Gold Glitter Decoupage Glue (Plaid)
Alcohol inks applicator (Ranger)
Alcohol Inks Blending Solution (Ranger)
18kt Gold Leafing pen (Krylon)
Black, Brown, Red, Yellow, Rust and Green markers (Tombow)
Blender Pen (Tombow)
Heat Gun (Milwaukee)
Superfine Detail Gold and Clear Embossing Powders (Ranger)
Yellow, Crystal and Frosted Lace Stickles Glitter Glues (Ranger)
Scotch brand Paper Adhesive (3M)
Cutterbee Scissors (EK Success)
1” and .75” Circle Punch Duo (We Are Memory Makers)
1” Foam Brush
Ruler
Paper Trimmer (Fiskars)
3 x 3.5” piece of Chipboard
Tweezers (Optional)
5 x 7” Picture frame Optional (Optional) 

Directions: 

1. Use the foam brush to seal the canvas board with two coats of the Mod Podge, letting it dry in between coats.  I used the new glitter version to add a little extra sparkle, but the regular Mod Podge will work as well.  I actually put two of the new Mod Podge glues on mine to see how they would show up under the inks.  The second one is Gold Shimmer, which actually got ‘lost’ under the alcohol inks.  The glitter version does still show through.

   

2. Once the glue has dried on the canvas board, apply a few drops of the Chile Pepper Red alcohol ink with a little blending solution to the applicator.  Dab three dots of the gold leafing pen directly to the applicator and then pounce the ink color all over, adding inks and solution as needed, until you’re happy with the coverage.  Set the inks for a few seconds with the heat gun. Note:  I prefer to add the gold leafing pen directly to the applicator rather than the cardstock because I think it spreads out with the inks better and avoids the ‘dotted’ look you sometimes get from the gold ink settling into the paper surface.

   

3. Stamp the gift with stars image with Coal Black ink all over the canvas board without overlapping the images.  Make sure you stamp the image over the edges of the board also.  Once the images have dried, edge the entire board with the gold leafing pen and set aside. 
4. On a half sheet of the glossy cardstock, do the same polished stone technique as done on the canvas board, this time using the Lime Green and Lettuce alcohol inks.  Cover only half of the sheet to start and then finish the other half with just adding more of the blending solution.  This will give you a lighter version of the greens and you should end up with a two-tone sheet of color. 

   

5. Cut two .5” wide strips from the long edge of this sheet , and then cut a 3.5" x 3.75” panel from the lighter green and a 3.125" x 3.5” panel from the darker green.  Punch out a 1” circle from the darker green section as well.  Edge the lighter panel, both strips and the circle with green marker and set aside.
6. On the darker green panel, stamp the Starry Nights with Gold Brilliance on the top two thirds of the panel and heat emboss with the gold powder.  Edge this panel with the gold pen and set all the green pieces aside. 
7. With the remaining half of the glossy cardstock, do the same polished stone technique with the Chile Pepper as it was done on the canvas board.  This will be trimmed to 3.25" x 3.625" to be used as a layer between the green panels.  Cut a .125" x 3.125" strip from the red sheet also and on a scrap piece of the red, stamp and emboss the Starry Night in gold and punch a .75" circle from it.  Set all the red pieces aside. 
8. On a half sheet of the white matte cardstock, stamp the manger scene twice and the text once with the Onyx Black ink and clear emboss all three images. 
9. Closely trim one of the manger images.  Cut out the lamb, the dove and the star from the second manger image (see image elements below in Photo 4).  Carefully edge all these pieces with the black marker.

   

10. Color the trimmed manger scene with the yellow, green and brown markers, using the blender pen to shade as shown.   Add yellow glitter glue highlights to the ‘straw’, the halo and the little beams from the star.  The remaining glitter glue accents will be added after everything is assembled. 
11. Cut the text into a 3" x 2.375" panel and edge with the red marker.  Add green and red shadows to the words as shown in Photo 4.  Stamp the Starry Night around the edges of the panel, being careful not to stamp on the words.  Layer this panel with the black panel and set aside. 
12. Stamp the manger scene again, this time on the piece of chipboard.  This will be added to the back of the manger image to give it some dimension.  Cut out the image, cutting inside the lines about .125” from the line so the chipboard doesn’t show.  Don’t worry with the star, but do cut enough of the star beams to provide support under that portion of the image.  Cover the entire image side of the chipboard with the paper adhesive and attach it to the back of the manger image.  Note:  This is the only piece that will be covered with glue.  The remaining pieces only need the adhesive around the edges. 

    

13. Carefully glue the cut out star, lamb and dove to the manger image, being careful not to use too much glue to avoid seepage.  (A pair of tweezers will help to make this part easier!)  I also added a tiny piece of chipboard to the back of the dove’s wings for dimension. 

Assembly:  

1. Layer the manger scene panels in this order – Light green, red and then the dark green with the stars.  Add the small red strip across the bottom of the stars.  Adhere the layered panels to the top left corner of the canvas board.  
2. Glue one green strip to the right side and the other to the bottom, with the lighter portion intersecting as shown.  Wrap the ends of both strips around the edges of the board and secure to the back. 
3. Attach the text panel so that it overlaps both the layered panels and the green strips.  Glue the green and then the red circles to the intersection of the strips and on top of the text panel as shown. 
4. Glue the manger image to the center of the layered panels.  Add the glitter glue accents as follows: Yellow on the star, Frosted Lace on the lamb and Crystal on the dove.  
5. Once the glitter glues have dried, you can either put your little masterpiece in a frame (with no glass) or display it on a tabletop easel.  If you decide to put it on an easel, you could cover the back with either a piece of felt or cardstock.  This would also make a fabulous gift. 

Enjoy your hard work, have fun making it and don’t forget to sign it!!!  Just don’t sign it close to the edge.  You’ll want your signature to still show in a frame.  (Framer’s tip!)