Friendly Hello Bird Card

Hey there!  Glad you're back again for another shot of stampin' goodness.  Well, that might be an exaggeration, but hope you like what I've been sharing lately.  I'm not getting many comments, so I really don't know what you're thinking.  Hey friends, keep in touch, okay?  Since it's been so cold here (and getting colder this weekend) I was drawn to making a card that has more of a wintry feel to it - even though there are flowers on it.  Is that too much of a contradiction?  Nah, just put on your creative hat and it's all good!

See what I mean about a wintry feel with the blues and grays?  Can you feel the chill?  This card is kind of a mix-up of different images with some solid, bold ones and then the bird and flowers which are line-art images.  Maybe a little schizophrenic-ness going on here.  I just can't seem to decide if I love it or not.

The card starts with Misty Moonlight cardstock cut to 8 1/2 x 5 1/2", scored and folded in half.  A layer of Smoky Slate cut to 5 1/4" x 4" is added to this using adhesive.

The Basic White layer is cut to 5" x 3 3/4" and this is where the bold stamping comes in.  I had a piece of this stamped already left over from making Christmas cards, so I just appropriated it for this one.  To do this stamping, draw a light pencil line across the middle of the cardstock.  I used the Merriest Moments stamp set for these images and Misty Moonlight ink.  The leafy image was stamped 3 times above the line, and 4 times under the line.  The stems are overlapping the line you made as a guide.  It's not pretty at all and kind of messy.  But you won't see this because it's hidden behind the sentiment layers.  No worries.  Next is the fern (or evergreen) stamp.  It's stamped with Shaded Spruce ink and tucked in between each of the blue leafy stems.  To finish, the speckles are tucked in around the images and stamped with Smoky Slate ink.  Don't add too many of the speckles or it just gets muddled looking.

The bird image is from the Friendly Hello Bundle in the Sale-a-bration catalog right now.  You can choose to get this one free when you place a $100 order of merchandise from with the 2021-2022 Annual Catalog or the 2022 January - June Mini Catalog.  The stamps and DSP are both awesome when used either together or separately like with this card.

When coloring the bird, I wanted it to look similar to some that are outside my windows lately.  They are darker gray with almost white bellies.  This little guy was colored with Stampin' Blends Smoky Slate both Light and Dark.  The Color Lifter Blends marker was used to lighten up his belly.  Crumb Cake Light & Dark was used on the branch with Just Jade Light used on the leaves.  Misty Moonlight Light & Dark was used on the flowers with So Saffron Light for the flower centers.  After coloring, I used Paper Snips to fussy cut it out.  Surprisingly it didn't take long at all.  It always seems like it's going to take forever to cut out these images, but it really goes quickly.

The sentiment banner starts with Basic White cut to 1 1/4" x 4 1/2".  I'm not sure which set the sentiment comes from.  Usually, I try to write down everything I use to make each card, but this time I didn't.  So sorry!  It is stamped with Misty Moonlight ink on the right side to leave room on the left for the bird. It's layered onto a Misty Moonlight piece that's 5" x 1 1/2".  Then layered onto Smoky Slate that's cut 5 1/4" x 1 3/4".  This is layered across the center of the card using just adhesive to keep it less bulky.  

The bird and flowers are positioned on the left of the sentiment banner, then attached with Dimensionals.  To finish the card off, I sprinkled five of the Holiday Rhinestone Basic Jewels around the card.  These Night of Navy rhinestones matched up nicely with the colors here.

For all of my friends from Michigan, you'll be surprised to hear that the prediction is for SNOW this weekend, both Saturday and Sunday.  Oh boy!  The grandsons are so excited.  They have Monday off from school and are hoping the snow lasts so they'll have several days to play in it.  We'll see...  I guess if we have snow, I should just stay inside and stamp, right?  Always looking for the silver lining among the clouds.  

Stay warm and keep creating,

Sharon