Another Encircled in Nature Card

 Hello friends!  I just love the Thoughtful Journey Designer Series Paper.  I keep grabbing it to make cards that I need right away.  It's so easy to create a beautiful card when you're starting out with some beautiful, printed paper to begin the process.  Today's card is sort of a mix of the window style card and the pretty paper as a focal point.  Hmmm.  The card is for a gentleman that I've never met in person but have gotten to know through mail and email over the last year.  He's one of the shut-ins at church that has been conversing with me.  He's such a sweetheart and he's turning 90 this month.  Wow, what a milestone that is!!  I can't imagine living that long and seeing all he's seen.  Amazing!  I wanted to make a special card for him that has a strong masculine look to it.  He's mentioned that he loves the outdoors, so that was a starting point.  Here's what I created to celebrate him.

I chose a print from the Thoughtful Journey DSP, which set the color scheme for my card. I decided on the new Basic Beige as a suitable neutral for the card base, measuring 8 1/2" by 5 1/2", scored and folded in half.

Next came a layer of Boho Blue cardstock that harmonized well with the sky in the DSP print. It measures 3 7/8" by 5 1/8".  On top of this, I placed a small frame of Basic White cardstock, measuring 3 3/4" by 5".  I adhered these two layers together with adhesive, then attached them to the front of the card base with adhesive.

Next is a layer of the Basic Beige cardstock that measures 3 1/2" x 4 3/4".  This has a window cut in it using one of the dies in the Stylish Shapes Dies.  It's about 2 3/8" square and is lined up about 1" from the top of the piece.  This gives you lots of room for the sentiment underneath.

I cut a 3" x 3" piece from the Thoughtful Journey DSP print to use.  I attached this to the back of the window by using Dimensionals.  The layer is then attached to the card front with Dimensionals too.

Next the row of evergreen trees die in the Encircled in Nature Bundle was used to cut some Old Olive cardstock.  I thought this matched well with the evergreen in the print but needed just a little tweaking.  Using a Small Blender Brush, I added touches of Mossy Meadow in several areas to bring in some of the darker green look.  Using adhesive on just the left tree and the bottom areas of all the rest, the trees were added to the card front.  The tops of all the other trees are loose and stand out from the print.  If you're looking for this bundle, you can find it only in the Online Exclusives area of the shopping sight.  You don't want to miss it.

Next comes the sentiment.  Okaaay.  I was sure I wrote all the information down for the card while I was making it.  But somehow, I missed adding the sentiment stamp set to the list.  I just spent 20 minutes looking through stamp sets to figure this out and came up with nothing.  Nada.  Zilch.  There were several similar sentiments, but just not the one I actually used.  Sorry!  I have absolutely no idea what set this sentiment comes from.   I would suggest finding a stamp that fits the space and the occasion and use it.  I stamped the sentiment onto Basic Beige with Boho Blue ink.  There is a Boho Blue piece of cardstock that is layered behind this.

I wanted a bit of bling but not too much because this is a guy card after all.  The birds from the Brushed Brass Birds and Dragonflies I added were a nice touch.  Just enough to draw the attention, but not too girlie.

Big reminder here!  Free Shipping on Tuesday May 21st only.  Your order must total $75 or more to qualify for the free shipping.  Enjoy your shopping and stock up on some basics or even new sets or bundles.

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon