Sunday 9 November 2014

A Christmas Cardinal

I love the cardinal in the Beauty of the Season stamp set.  It's a lovely sketch and is wonderful to use for Christmas cards.  That pop of red lifts one's spirits when there is snow everywhere.

I found two challenges that seemed perfect for my cardinal.  The sketch is from the Paper Craft Crew Challenges:
Paper Craft Crew Card Sketch 117

While the colours from the Hand Stamped Sentiments were just what I wanted:

I began with a base of Naturals White and then added a layer of Soft Sky and another layer of Whisper White.  I had first embossed the Whisper White using my Lucky Stars embossing folder to add some texture and interest.  For my background rectangle I added an piece of Naturals White embossed with my Woodgrain embossing folder and backed with a matte of Real Red.  Then I added a strip of the Garden Green pattern from the Trim  the Tree Designer Series Stack and Soft Sky Seam Binding ribbon for the bow.

I used my sixth from the smallest circle framelit to cut Soft Sky cardstock and backed it with a hand-cut matte of Real Red.  On the Soft Sky circle I stamped the cardinal using my Memento black ink.  Then I stamped a second cardinal on a scrap of Whisper White and fussy-cut that out.  After colouring the cardinal with my Stampin' Markers, I carefully attached it over the stamped cardinal on the Soft Sky circle.  I added a touch of Crystal effects on his eye and on the red berries as well.


For my sentiment I used the "merry christmas" from the Good Greetings stamp set and then added a snowflake from the Frosted Sequins (coloured blue with the lightest of my Coastal Cabana Blendabilities).  The final touch was the addition of three Real Red Candy Dots and my card was finished.


For more cards using this sketch, check out the Paper Craft Crew Challenges.

For more cards using these colours, check out Hand Stamped Sentiments.

24 comments:

  1. Beautiful card Heidi! Great coloring and shading with the markers.

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    1. Thanks so much, Louise. We had such a dump of snow here today that I was wishing for some cardinals. They didn't come but I made my own.

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  2. Gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous! I would love to receive this in the mail this coming Christmas and would display it front and center of all my other cards. Each and every detail is pure perfection. Many thanks for joining in our color challenge at Hand Stamped Sentiments. Smiles, Elizabeth

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    1. Thank you so much, Elizabeth. What a wonderful thing to say. I'm glad you enjoyed my card.

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  3. Beautiful colouring Heidi! I love the red Cardinal against the soft sky background and the detail of Crystal Effects on his eye. And the gorgeous ribbon! Thanks for joining us again this week at The Paper Craft Crew :-)

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    1. Thanks so much, Jan. I really enjoy the sketches---they're out of the ordinary and make for an excellent challenge. That cardinal works well for cards.

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  4. Very Pretty!!! Love the blue background for the cardinal- perfect!!! Great texture and accents!!! Thanks for playing along with HSS, Diane

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    1. Thank you so much, Diane. I loved the colours in the challenge this week and found it was a "natural" for the cardinal.

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  5. Beautiful card Heidi, love how you stamped on the blue background for your gorgeous cardinal. Perfect for our sketch challenge this week. Thanks for joining us at the Paper Craft Crew. Carolyn xx

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    1. Thanks, Carolyn. I stamped it first on the blue and then on Whisper White which I fussy-cut and added to the stamped one. I liked the way it looks better layered like that and also like the way the colours look on the Whisper White.

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  6. Wow! Gorgeous Christmas card. I love how you colored the cardinal and the textured layers add so much dimension. So many beautiful elements! Thanks for playing at Hand Stamped Sentiments.

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    1. Thank you so much, Genny. I had a lot of fun getting this together.

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  7. Just stunning! I love that you chose the cardinal for the red in the color combo, that thought hadn't even crossed my mind :D So pretty, you did an amazing job on this card. Thanks for playing at HSS! Erika

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    1. Thank you very much, Erika. Funny you should say that because the cardinal was my first thought...then Santa, but the cardinal won out.

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  8. Gorgeous card! Love how you combined the embossing folders. So glad you played along with us this week at HSS.

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    1. Thank you so much, Robbie. Your colours gave me a push in the right direction for the sketch I wanted to use.

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  9. I love it. I am so bad at the challenges. I find a couple then I forget about them or things get in the way and I don't get them done. blah. oh well.

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    1. Thanks, Ter. You work full-time and have a fur-baby to spend time with when you get home. Of course you're going to lose track of some of the challenges. Don't be so hard on yourself.

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  10. Wow!!! This is beautiful! The cardinal is absolutely gorgeous! Thanks for playing along with us at HSS!

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    1. Thanks so much Breelin. I really appreciate your support.

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  11. Awesome card!! I LOVE your coloring for the bird, and the different elements to your card is SO entertaining to the eye. Thanks so much for sharing it with us at HSS. Take Care~ Erin

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    1. Thank you very much, Erin. I really appreciate your kind comments.

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  12. WooHoo Heidi. Congratulations on being selected by the HSS team as one of the Artist Picks for this challenge! and it is quite an honor for myself to be in such great company.

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    1. Thanks, Louise, I just saw that this morning. Congratulations for your pick as well.

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