Stampin’ Up! Sneak Peek Still Night Sympathy

A Good Saturday to you all! And, Spectacular September! Yep, it is September already. Launch of Stampin’ Up! Holiday Catalog (Sept. 5th), Back-to-School, Colorful leaves, end of the garden, Football, Apples-and cider, YUM! It is also the beginning of preparedness for all the upcoming holidays-Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year. OH, MY! Will I ever be ready? I should have begun preparedness months ago!

Obviously, there will be many reasons to make and send cards, and that does not include the birthdays, get well, sympathy, etc.

My card today uses a stamp and die bundle from the Holiday catalog that I knew I MUST HAVE as soon as I saw it. The Still Night Bundle includes the Still Night Stamp Set and the Night Owl Thinlits. This set is special to me for several reasons, not the least of which, as a photographer I was privileged to observe and photograph a Great Horned Owl family this spring for several weeks.

If I could only have 3 Bundles from the Holiday catalog they would be Still Night, Winter Woods and First Frost. All these can be used throughout the year for purposes other than specific holidays, which means my dollars go further. YAY!

But, I am sure you want to see how I made my card. I have not made an envelope for it yet….too many cucumbers to make into pickles, and tomatoes to can whole and diced, and as salsa, juice, and part of my end-of-the-garden soup mix. (Remember, I mentioned the end of the garden earlier in the post.) So, no envelope until I need to send this card. Oh, and did I mention that the inside isn’t finished either? I started the inside, but haven’t had time to finish it and get it in the card.

I really just wanted to give you a peek at this fabulous bundle before the catalog goes live on Wednesday.

This card also uses my favorite Woodlands Textured Impressions Embossing Folder, Winter Woods stamps and Rooted in Nature stamps. I think they all combine wonderfully to make a great card.

I began with stamping a few of the wintry bare trees in Gray Granite on a panel of whisper white card stock which I then ran through the Big Shot in the Woodlands TIEF.

Using a Sponge Dauber I then highlighted the woodland embossed trees with Gray Granite. Since the trees I had stamped sort of looked like they were hanging in the air, I used the curvy die in the Winter Woods Bundle to cut a scrap of Whisper white to make a snowbank. This made a perfect way to ground the trees and provide a place for the sentiment from Rooted in Nature, stamped in Gray Granite.

This panel was Liquid Glued onto my Mossy Meadow card base.

To add depth to the scene, I cut a square of whisper white, stamped a row of the bare winter trees in Gray Granite (after stamping them off twice) and some small conifers from the Rooted in Nature (annual catalog) stamp set. These were stamped off once, also in Gray Granite. I was going for a snowy evening look here, but I have other great ideas for this set, so stay tuned for more in upcoming posts.

I did a little Gray Granite sponging to take away the stark whiteness of the background, and am not totally happy with it. Do as you like here.

Then I stamped off the large spruce tree from Winter Woods once in Mossy Meadow and stamped it as the tree closest to the owl. The backgrounds are finished. Now for the fun part, Ollie, the Owl himself. He is so handsome.

Ollie (my name for him) is stamped in Early Espresso on Crumb Cake card stock and colored with my Stampin’ Blends Markers. I used Bronze, Crumb Cake Light, Daffodil Delight Dark (eyes, bill and talons) and Smoky Slate Light. Using the outline die from the Still Night Bundle, and the magnetic platform for perfect placement of the die, I cut him out and applied Stampin’ Dimensionals to the back.

The tree branch, cut with the die from the same bundle, is cut from a panel of Wood Textures Designer Series Paper. I love this paper as it is SO very versatile. I just wish it came in larger sheets. A white Gel pen made the snow on the branch.

I did stamp some snowflakes allover the background panel and the square with Craft White and the stamps from Still Night, but they don’t show up at all.

Liquid glue the branch to the square stamped with trees and adhere the owl in place. Stampin’ Dimensionals were used to attach this art piece to the card front.

The card front is done. Easy Peasy, and oh, so nice! Card cuts and product list below.

Thanks for stopping by. Don’t forget to leave a comment.

Host Code for September: RKS93T47

Please use this code for orders between $50 and $150 (before taxes and shipping) placed through my online store to earn free stuff and wild bird egg points for even more free stuff. Go to my rewards page to get the details. Request my free online tutorials for September with any order from my online store of over $50 (before t & s).

All that ordering you did in August is about to PAY OFF!!  It’s time to start redeeming your Bonus Days Coupons!  Of course – you CAN wait until the 5th and redeem them on 2018 Holiday Catalog goodies! You will have received an email with your bonus codes.

Here’s the details: