Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Peaceful Scenic Card


My mom told me last night that a good friend's wife had had a major stroke. She asked me to make a "thinking of you" card for her to give to both of them. I used Hero Arts' "Color Layering Christmas Tree" stamp set & coordinating die to help me create this peaceful scene on my card.

I began by cutting a piece of Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper to 4.25x5.5". I used a Lawn Fawn "Stitched Hillside Borders" die to cut it into 2 pieces. I cut another piece of bristol to 5.5" long, and die cut the top edge with another "Stitched Hillside Borders" die. I inked the top piece of the background with Stormy Sky, Salty Ocean, & a bit of Faded Jeans Distress inks. Then I used the base layer of the tree stamp & Hero Arts Soft Leaf ink to stamp 2 trees on one side of the "sky" portion and a third tree on the other side. I wanted a hazy appearance, to make the trees look like they are in the distance.

For the hills, I used Shabby Shutters, Crushed Olive, & Peeled Paint Distress inks to create a gradient of shades from light in the "distance" to darker in the foreground.

I stamped a total of 4 trees, using 3 of the layering stamps and Hero Arts Soft Leaf, Altenew Forest Glades, & Hero Arts Forever Green inks. I stamped the trunks with Stampabilities Khaki Green (which is really more brown) ink. Then I die cut the trees with the coordinating die.

I felt the scene needed something more, so I used Hero Arts Soft Granite ink to stamp 3 groupings of birds with Art Impressions "Migrating Birds" stamp. I adhered my sky portion to my A2 card base, and adhered the larger hill piece below it. To camouflage the white outline on the trees, I made a light pencil mark on either side of each tree, where it crossed the horizon. Then I inked around the edges above those lines with Salty Ocean & below with Shabby Shutters. Finally, I erased my tick marks, & glued my trees in place. I adhered the foreground hill with foam tape, and added my final tree, gluing it directly to the popped up hill & adding foam tape behind the upper part so it would be level.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

A Blog Named Hero: "New to Me" (the tree stamp set is new)
a2z Scrapbooking: "Anything Goes"
Simon Says Stamp's Monday Challenge: "Spread Your Wings"
613 Avenue Create: "Anything Goes"
Die Cut Divas: "Sentiment-Free"

22 comments:

  1. I like that it's a christmas stamp, but a sunny scene--nice! thanks for joining in at a2z!

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  2. Your background sky and the hills nicely highlight the lovely trees. This is a beautiful scene. Thanks for dropping by 613 Avenue Create.

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  3. Beautiful scene Andrea! Love how you make the rolling hills and stitch them. Watercolor background is awesome! Thanks so much for joining us this week at Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge! hugs, Maura

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  4. It is serene scene indeed!! Thanks for linking up to our Sentiment Free challenge at Die Cut Divas.

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  5. Wonderful design for a sentiment free card! Thanks for playing along with us at a2z.

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  6. What a great card; my favorite part are the tree shadows - AMAZING! Love the birds and rolling hills. Beautiful creation!

    Thank you for joining us at a2z Scrapbooking! ~Michele, DT

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  7. So pretty, and so sweet of you to make this for you mom's friend. I'm sure it will cheer them up when they receive it! Thanks for joining us at a2z!

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  8. I love that you used the Xmas stamp for a beautiful summery scene. LOVE it. I think it will be well received.

    So glad you joined us at Die Cut Divas and at A2Z Scrapbooking.

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  9. I love how you used a Christmas stamp to create a beautiful scene for a thinking of you card. Thanks for sharing at a2z.

    sue n.

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  10. This is a gorgeous scene you made! Thanks for sharing it with us Die Cut Diva's

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  11. Wonderful project, great scene! Thanks for playing along in the 613 Avenue Create Challenge.
    Hugs Natalie
    INKognito

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