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Sunday, August 6, 2017

Radiant Light in the Great Outdoors - PP356

Hi friends!  This week I am the happy hostess over at The Paper Players with our first Theme Challenge of the (new) month:
The Great Outdoors...my favorite place to be.  Whether at the beach or in the forest, I love being outside.  And when it comes to "outdoor" stamps, I would be hard pressed to find a tree or leaf stamp that I didn't love!  Every time there's a new one from SU, I say "nope, don't need it" and you can image how long that lasts! 
Today's card was inspired by one that I found while roaming around Pinterest.  This stunning card from Susan Goetter took my breath away.  I love pinning cards that inspire me to re-create them with Stampin' Up products.  Unfortunately, I needed two sympathy cards this week and Susan's gorgeous creation had just the right melancholy feeling I thought was appropriate.
The rugged texture of hot press watercolor paper was just right for the watery look I wanted with my colors.  I laid down a base of light colors for the earth and sky first using Soft Sky and Pear Pizzazz.  Once that dried, I added some streaks of Old Olive and [retired] Baja Breeze.  I kept adding more layers of color until I was happy with the look.  Honestly, I really don't know what I'm doing, I just play around with color and water until I like it!  The tree line is from a [retired] set called Happy Scenes and the trees have snow clumps on them.  I didn't want a winter look to the trees so I used my Aqua Painter to blend the ink which covered up the snow clumps and added to the watercolor look of the whole design.
Vellum adds elegance to any project and since the overall design of this card is quiet and simple, a vellum insert adds a little extra special touch.  I replicated the scene from the front on a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock with brush strokes from the Work of Art stamps.  The colors were more vibrant, without watercolor, and the vellum overlay mutes the colors.  This sentiment is from a retired set called Love & Sympathy and has always been a favorite of mine.  It's always so difficult to know what to say in a time like this and the idea of our loved ones watching over us resonates with me and, I hope, brings comfort to my two friends who experienced great loss this week.  

I hope you've enjoyed today's card.  We would love for you to play along with us at The Paper Players.  Be sure to check out all the other inspiration from my teammates and then play along before our challenge ends on Friday, August 11th at Noon (EST).

The Paper Players Design Team 

20 comments:

Linda Callahan said...

Wow this is gorgeous!

GerriK said...

Beautiful! A peaceful sympathy card - perfect.

Kristie W. said...

Beautiful card. Your watercoloring is great.

Jess said...

So sorry to hear you needed two sympathy cards. But you card is stunningly beautiful

Helen said...

A stunnning card Nance. Sympathy cards are never easy to make.

Esther Asbury said...

I saw your beautiful watercolor card on The Paper Players blog and wanted to stop by and say how gorgeous it is! Such a simple, yet lovely scene -- I like it even better than the one you CASED!

Doris D. said...

Absolutely beautiful card. Your watercoloring is grand. Did you use the Aqua Painter? And how did you attach the vellum?

Nance Leedy said...

Thank you, everyone, for your sweet comments. I did use the Aqua Painter for all the watercoloring that I did. The vellum piece (4"x 5.5") was scored at .5". I used a piece of sticky strip tape to attach it to the back of the inside panel before attaching the panel to the card base. Hope that makes sense! ;-)

stampwithsandy said...

I let out a little gasp when I saw your card Nance, so stunning! I can't believe you took that nondescript tree line stamp and turned it into this work of art. And obviously you do know what you are doing, lol! Love it.

Claire Broadwater said...

I am sorry you needed two sympathy cards this week. I needed two also! Always difficult to create! Nance, this is stunning! I am going to CAS this card. It is just lovely! So Serene and peaceful! I love the soft watercolor and and the vellum inside. I used this same sentiment yesterday. I will never get rid of that stamp set. It is such a beautiful message to someone grieving. I hope you are having a fantastic week, My Friend!

Nancy said...

Nance, this truly is beautiful a lovely sympathy card as everyone else has expressed.

Diane - oliver.mdiane@comcast.net said...

Nance this card is FAB-U-Lous!... Your coloring is gorgeous. I love the look on this watercolor paper. I have to remember to pick some up. Hugs.

laurie said...

Your peaceful scene is perfect for a sympathy card Nance. SOOO pretty!!

Have a great day!

Annie S. said...

Sympathy cards are so difficult to make but yours is beautiful and offers sincere peace and calm. Wonderful watercoloring! Hugs, Annie

Joanne James - The Crafty Owl said...

Nance your watercoloured scene is breathtakingly beautiful in its simplicity - just gorgeous. I was interested to read how you achieved it and think i need to have a go at layering colour as you described, it looks so effective. I love your heartfelt sentiment and vellum treatment on the inside too. Perfect for your challenge this week!

Stampingcountry said...

What a gorgeous watercolor look! Your colors look beautiful together.

LeAnne said...

I apologize for taking so long to comment, but this card ROCKS! I know it is a sympathy card, but when I saw your watercoloring, I was blown away! I don't care if you "don't know what you're doing" or not, it's BEAUTIFUL!!! Makes me want to go out and get some of the watercolor paper RIGHT NOW!

Jaydee said...

Nance, this is so gorgeous. Soft, serene and just perfect for a sympathy card. You captured the lightness and airiness that makes watercolor beautiful - something I find really hard to do. Stunning
hugs
jaydee

3treescreations@gmail.com said...

This is a stunner Nance! Gorgeous!

Tami said...

Wow gorgeous watercolor scene, a favorite for sure, I pinned your card to my favorites board! Definitely make more Watercolor Scene cards please!! This is awesome!