Stampin’ Up! Still Night Thank You

Stupendous Saturday Everyone! I hope your weekend is off to a great start. I am getting ready to go look for some birds in the next hour or so, but it is frosty this morning, so hope the birds are out and about!

Speaking of birds…my card for today is based on what I have to believe is my all time favorite stamp set. The Still Night Bundle is, oh, my gosh! There are no words for how wonderful this set is. I have made several cards with it and will do many more.

My inspiration for this card came when I was on the road home from the retreat. I was back in Iowa, where, despite what some think, is a beautiful state. Our sunsets will rival those anywhere. As I said, I was driving home, back in Iowa and this was the scene out my window. I quickly snapped this shot with my cell phone. No worries, I was on a side road and there was NO traffic. The only danger would have been driving off the road into the ditch. I didn’t.

It also fits with TGIF challenge #179

At any rate, this served as my inspiration for today’s card. God is good, all the time, and this was an example of His goodness….the beauty of His creation. I give thanks for those moments. Here is my card.

The ink colors are not as vivid as the real sunset, but I didn’t want to make the card too dark. I am pleased with the way it turned out. So, how did I do it?

I began with a panel of Very Vanilla and my Stampin’ Sponges cut into sixths. (I have these labeled with a small piece of card stock to match the ink color. The card stock is stapled to the sponge, giving me a ‘handle’.) Using a strip of Post It Removable Labeling Tape to mark the horizon and mask off the ground, I began with the sky, sponging Balmy Blue over it all. Next, some Grapefruit Grove was added, then Pacific Point. I just kept layering color, adding a small amount of Highland Heather here and there until I was satisfied with the result.

I removed the tape and began sponging the lower portion with Mossy Meadow, sponging up into the sky a bit to blur the horizon line.

Winter Woods is another of my favorites from the Holiday Catalog. There is NOTHING to dislike about this bundle. (Remember, you save 10% when you purchase the stamps and dies as a bundle) The large conifer was stamped full strength first, extending up into the sky. I stamped another without re-inking, then a couple more shorter ones. Using the bare trees stamp, I stamped them in Soft Suede, after stamping off once.

I then added a few smaller conifers from the Rooted in Nature stamp set, placing them at random as though they might be in a real forest. This completes the background.

I used the branch die from Still Night Bundle to cut a branch from some Wood Textures DSP, then cut another using the branch die from the Seasonal Layers Thinlits. I dry fit these, then cut off one of the branches from the Still Night branch and added it below where I wanted the owl. These were then adhered to the background using Liquid Glue. I left the ends of the lower branch free to add some dimension.

The owl is stamped in Early Espresso on Soft Suede card stock and cut with the die from the Still Night Bundle. I colored his eyes with my Daffodil Delight Stampin’ Write marker, but it didn’t show up very well. With owls, the eyes have it, so what to do? I used my  Dark Daffodil Delight Stampin Blends Marker to color a couple of Clear Rhinestone Basic Jewels and attached them over his eyes.  My Basic Black Stampin’ Write Marker made a couple of dots for the irises, but they don’t show in the photo. Perfect! My finished owl was adhered over the Seasonal Layers branch with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

There are 4 pine bough dies in the Still Night Bundle, so I used all of them to cut some Mossy Meadow. These were Liquid glued to the branch.

To finish the front, I sponged a 1/2″ strip of Very Vanilla with Mossy Meadow. The sentiment is Soft Suede using a stamp from All Things Thanks. I snipped the end with my Paper Snips Scissors and adhered this also with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

The finished panel was attached to the card base with Liquid Glue.

For the inside, I used the same Mossy Meadow sponge I had used on the front, but did not add any ink to sponge around the edges of the liner. I stamped the sentiment in Soft Suede using another of the All Things Thanks stamps. The trees are stamped off once before stamping on my liner. Liquid Glue was used to adhere this into the card base.

The envelope simply has trees from Winter Woods on both the flap and the front. The flap is stamped full strength and the front is stamped off once. I hope you enjoy this card as much as I enjoyed making it. Please leave comments below.

Card Cuts are below, as are the products I used for this card.

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Host Code: RKS93T47 (Good through the end of September) Use this code when ordering from my online store to get a free gift from me. There are also other goodies you can earn. Check it out here.

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Don’t forget to check the Clearance Rack when you order. There are always great deals there. Click on the image below to see what is available.

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Host a party with total sales (before taxes and shipping) of $250 and earn free Designer Series Paper in addition to the usual Stampin’ Up Rewards.

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AND DON’T FORGET TO REDEEM YOUR BONUS DAYS COUPONS. STAMPIN’ UP SENT THESE TO YOU VIA EMAIL AFTER YOUR AUGUST ORDERS OF $50 OR MORE. September 30 is the last day to be able to redeem them.

CARD CUTS: Very Vanilla: front 4-1/4″ x 5-1/2″, inside liner 3-3/4″ x 5″, front sentiment 1/2″ x 2-1/4″; Mossy Meadow: card base 5-1/2″ x 8-1/2″ scored at 4-1/4″, pine boughs scraps, or one piece 1″ x 4″; Wood Textures Designer Series Paper Stack: branches 6″ x 6″; Soft Suede: owl 2″ x 2-1/2″
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