Looking Clearly at Clearsnap Easter Card Tutorial

If you need an idea for an Easter card and don't have a lot of specialty Easter paper, here is one using various locally purchased dies and Clearsnap inks.  I was taken with this Easter cross stamp (Stampabilities Ornate Cross JR1054) because of the metal scrollwork design it exhibits. I first stamped the cross onto white cardstock with Clearsnap Colorbox gold pigment ink and heat embossed it with gold embossing powder:

I next used a Spellbinder's oval scallop die and my Cuttlebug to cut out the cross:

I then painted the cross with Smooch inks:  Plum, Cape Cod, Siren, and Gold:

I then opened up my newly acquired Cuttlebut Embossing Plus die "Fanciful Labels" and placed a strip of white cardstock over the scroll die I wanted to use:

I closed the die and ran the sandwich through my Cuttlebug:

Now you can see in the picture that there is a peek-a-boo area of this die that shows the white card parts that will be embossed through the die.  After running the die through the Cuttlebug but before removing my cardstock, I lifted up the clear plastic covering that will allow me to ink these embossed areas:

I used a cosmetic sponge and Colorbox gold pigment to ink right on top of those embossed areas, and only those areas!!!! while the die was still in the carrier.  How amazing is that!  I then removed the cut, embossed, and inked cardstock from the carrier, covered the cardstock with gold embossing powder, and heat embossed just the raised areas of the die cut.

I then stamped and heat embossed "Happy Easter" (Inkadinkado 95348) onto the die cut with the same gold ink and powder.

I didn't have any Easter paper that would do justice the beautifully colored cross image, so I made my own. I first cut a piece of white card A2 size and used some low tack masking tape to help me ink up particular areas of the card.  I wanted a "sunburst" effect, so I strategically placed pieces of masking tape to allow me to ink only one area at a time.  I used cosmetic sponges and Colorbox pigment ink in shades of Daffodil, Heliotrope, and Glacier Ice.  I kept having to move the masking strips around, of course, to suit the areas that needed coloring.

Here is the lovely finished effect:  Of course, I did not worry about the middle of the card, because that will be covered up by the stamped image.  Those inks go on smo-o-o-o-oth!

Here is the finished card:

As pictured above, I used a Bazzill Plum Delight cardstock for the base card, which measures 5" x 7".  I also matted the die cut cross image with the same Plum Delight paper.  Here I was forced to handcut the scallop border, since I had used my largest size Nestabilitie for the image.  I used a Bazzill gold foil cardstock to encase the entire inked and stamped central image.  Very shiny!