How to use a blending pen

I'm hoping to share a few more techniques with you this month. Today this card demonstrates the use of a blending pen. Blending pens look like markers with no ink. You can use them with water like I did yesterday with the watercolors or another way is to use them with your ink pads like I'm going to show you today. For this cute snowmen card you will need to use some Magic Moments paper. Cut it using these measurements:

8 1/2 by 5 1/2 card base - colonial white
5 1/2 by 4 1/4 card front - Indian corn blue dotted pattern paper
1 x 3 1/2 strips, you'll need 4 of these - sweet leaf pattern paper
1 x 5 1/2 strip - colonial white
1/2 x 3 strip - colonial white

Distress using cocoa ink.

Attach the four identical strips as shown below. They don't have to be exactly the same amount of space apart. Don't get perfectionistic!!

Stamp the cute little snowmen from Snow Friends across the larger colonial white strip using Indian corn blue ink.

Using cocoa ink stamp the sentiment of your choice from the Card Chatter - Christmas set (first part of the sentence) on the smaller colonial white strip.

****Now you know, if you were to buy both of these stamp sets on November 3rd that you'd be able to choose a third set for free???? And because both of these sets are $22.95 that means your third set could be that much too? I'm just saying........

Stamp the second part of the sentiment inside the card, how sweet!

Now squeeze your sweet leaf stamp pad together BEFORE you open it up. Once you open it you'll see that you now have a nice coating of the sweet leaf ink on the top of the lid. You now have a little palette to work with. Take your blending pen and dip it into the ink and begin to color in the hats and buttons of your snowmen. Be careful not to go over the same area too many times or it can get your paper wet and it will start to shred. To clean a blending pen, just wipe it on scrap paper in between colors.

You can add a little Indian corn blue color under the snowmen if you like. I'm not so sure I liked it once I was finished.

Attach about a 1/4 inch up from the bottom of the card making sure it's flush with left and right edges.

Take some twill or other ribbon and glue it about 1/4 inch down from the top of the card, fold it around the back and glue too.

Attach small sentiment to the right of the twill.

Cut a piece of new twill and tie it in a knot and attach with glue to the left hand side of the card (this is much easier than trying to tie a knot from the twill lying on the card). Glue the whole thing to the card base and you're finished!