Northern Lights

by Melissa Banbury

Create a background that looks like Northern lights.

Supplies

  • White Cardstock, Stampin' UP!'s Whisper White used here
  • Sponges, or Blending Tools
  • Yellow Dye ink, Stampin' Up!'s Daffodil Delight used here
  • Green Dye ink, Stampin' Up!'s Old Olive used here
  • Turquoise Dye ink, Stampin' Up!'sTempting Turquoise used here
  • Purple Dye ink, Stampin' Up!'s Rich Razzleberry used here
  • Dark Blue Dye ink, Stampin' Up!'s Night of Navy used here
  • Basic Black ink
  • White Gel Pen
  • Silhouette (Solid) image stamp

Step-by-Step

  1. Step 1

    Using a rubbing motion apply yellow ink with a sponge randomly across the piece of white cardstock.

  2. Step 2

    With green ink and the same rubbing motion apply the ink just below the yellow ink.

  3. Step 3

    Begin filling in some of the remaining white space with turquoise ink. Use the previous two colors as a guideline for color placement.

  4. Step 4

    Fill in any remaining white space on the cardstock using purple ink. This is a good step to blend some of the ink colors together slightly.

  5. Step 5

    Sponge dark blue ink randomly just a few areas over top of the previous colors.

    This step defines the shape that the Northern Lights will take in the finished project so take time with this step! Leave some areas light and bright; others darker and shadowed for a realistic effect.

  6. Step 6

    Sponge black ink along the edges of the dark blue ink to help add further depth to the image.

  7. Step 7

    Stamp a solid or silhouette image stamp using black ink.

    Hint:
    If using an image such as a tree line, sponge black ink along the ground line before stamping the image so the images do not appear to “float” in the sky.

  8. Step 8

    Add dots randomly over your background with white gel pen.

  9. Step 9

    Finish your card.

Video!

Your Turn

You've seen the tutorial, now you try it! We've got a section of the gallery set aside for Northern Lights. Try this technique, then upload your artwork to the gallery. Show us your creations!

***Please note - Internet Explorer/Edge is not a supported browser, and will not allow you to see the videos. Please use Chrome, Firefox or Safari to view our tutorial videos.

Questions and Comments

We'd love to get your feedback or questions. Leave your comment below.

Beautiful background!!!!! Thank you so much for the tutorial! smile
Nicie Ibarra  |  Wed Nov 6, 2013 at 4:11 AM
What a unique look! It would work well with a sunrise or sunset color scheme too. Beautiful card.
Thanks for sharing this.
Ruth Cates  |  Wed Nov 6, 2013 at 4:34 AM
Wow, this is stunning! Thank you so much for the tutorial - really appreciate the detail and how easy it is to follow.
Jocelyn K  |  Wed Nov 6, 2013 at 4:45 AM
I remember seeing a gorgeous upload using this technique a while back and checking back to your blog to see how you had created it. I hope that having the tutorial here will kickstart me into trying it out!
Sabrina Friel  |  Wed Nov 6, 2013 at 6:34 AM
Thanks so much for the tutorial! When I first saw the card in the email message I thought it would be very complicated, but you've made it look very simple and doable!
Sharon Huffman  |  Wed Nov 6, 2013 at 7:15 AM
Great technique Melissa, thanks for doing the video tutorial, can't wait to give it a try.
Kris  |  Wed Nov 6, 2013 at 8:23 AM
So beautiful! I can't wait to try it!
Valli  |  Wed Nov 6, 2013 at 8:47 AM
OMG! How beautiful!! I am going to try that in a pop 'n' cut card setting!
Rosemary Paul  |  Wed Nov 6, 2013 at 9:10 AM
Beautiful. I am always looking for different and unique cards to make. This one is a keeper. Thank you for sharing.
Dottie  |  Wed Nov 6, 2013 at 9:15 AM
Fantastic tutorial and beautiful card Melissa. Your instructions are great and easy to follow!
lydia  |  Wed Nov 6, 2013 at 9:19 AM
WOW! That technique is awesome. I hope to get to see northern lights in person sometime. Thanks for the wonderful directions. Your video was great and very helpful, too.
KAB  |  Wed Nov 6, 2013 at 10:02 AM
Beautiful and great inspiration for me! Thanks for sharing!
Char  |  Wed Nov 6, 2013 at 10:20 AM
Great card/video...!
Susanne Gleason  |  Wed Nov 6, 2013 at 10:27 AM
This is totally amazing!!! At first it looks like it could be hard to do but your tutorial makes it seem so easy!!! Thank you.
Rocio Gonzalez  |  Wed Nov 6, 2013 at 1:30 PM
Beautiful card, make sure to go, thank you for the inspiration
Lia de Ronde  |  Wed Nov 6, 2013 at 2:26 PM
How did you use the die to cut out on the rightside of the base card?
Rose Dovel  |  Wed Nov 6, 2013 at 4:43 PM
OOOOH SNAP! I so have to give it a try! It's wonderful!
TFS!!!
Emanuela Zoey  |  Wed Nov 6, 2013 at 4:51 PM
I'm going to tried this with watercolors and see what will happen....love this idea...tfs
Gloria Westerman  |  Wed Nov 6, 2013 at 4:59 PM
How beautiful, I can't wait to give this a try! Thank you for the video.
Marilyn Reaser  |  Wed Nov 6, 2013 at 5:07 PM
Beautiful, I can't wait to try this!
Linda Jones  |  Wed Nov 6, 2013 at 9:02 PM

Page 1 of 2 pages  1 2 >

You need to be logged in to comment

GET OUR NEWSLETTER



Splitcoaststampers's privacy policy