Nature- In All Your Ways

Hi Friends!

Spring has arrived here on the East Coast and many people believe that robins are the first sign of spring, but unknown to many in this area, robins in the Mid-Atlantic do not migrate south for the winter. They tend to congregate in large groups in wooded areas during the winter in this area and since our winter has been milder than normal, we have seen them in town (well, the suburb) all winter long :-)  

We love watching robins as they hop along and tilt their heads to listen for worms, plus we have a returning couple that nests on top of our back parch light each year :-) What a treat it is to watch this beautiful bird and wonder at the Majesty as well as the incredible imagination of our Creator-  God is so Awesome!!

I was fortunate to find several of this robin image printed and ready to go in my stash. This particular image was from the digi set, Nature from Stampin' Up! (using the retired My Digital Studio software program- remember that?).  The digi set only had a few of the images from the main stamp set, Nature Walk.

Since I am still making an effort to use up my stash, I went ahead and hand colored four of the images that I had found along with four different layouts and sentiments.

For this card,  I added a sentiment from the retired Scripture Medley 2 stamp set from Verve Stamps and used the SC355 Sketch Challenge from Splitcoaststampers for the layout.  Many of you know that I am slowly working on trying to complete a card for every one of the 795+ Splitcoaststampers' Sketch Challenges- this sketch was from 2011 so thankfully they do not expire :-). 

I wanted to participate with Joanne’s PP484 Tic-Tac-Toe Challenge at The Paper Players (top row across  Ribbon, Rhinestones, Patterned Paper) and am also linking to the Try It on Tuesday “Beauty of Nature” Challenge as well.

This card was fairly easy to create- in fact, the most time-consuming part was coloring the robin image.  I used several different watercolor pencils and a paint pen for the highlight in the bird’s eye and colored the four images basically in the same colors.

The different layers for this card were designer paper from my stash and were mounted onto black cardstock.  The blue polka-dot paper (behind the robin) was embossed with a retired Stampin’ Up! embossing folder Lacy Brocade.

The 1” black ribbon was added before mounting the entire panel onto a white card base and I added a few black rhinestones along with pearls from my stash as well!

Stamp Sets: Nature (digital Stampin’ Up! stamp set), Scripture Medley 2 (Verve Stamps)

Ink/Mediums: Printer Ink- Black; Memento™ Tuxedo Black, Stampin’ Write Gray Granite Marker, Derwent™ and Stampin’ Up! Watercolor Pencils- Black, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Early Espresso, Scarlet Lake, Terracotta; Sharpie® Extra Fine White Paint Pen

Cardstock/Paper:  Whisper White, Basic Black, retired Designer Series Paper (Stampin’ Up!)

Accessories: My Digital Studio, Gemini, Jr.™, MFT Stitched Rectangle A2 STAX Set 1 (for frame on background panel for the embossed panel), Lacy Brocade Embossing Folder (retired SU!), AquaPainter™, 1” Black Satin Ribbon, Black Rhinestones, Pearls

Thanks again for taking the time to stop by- I hope to share a few more "robin" cards soon!  

Praying that all of you are staying isolated and healthy and that you are heeding the state, federal and CDC warnings.  Thankfully, we have a hobby that allows us to enjoy staying home – "virtual hugs" to you and I hope you are able to visit again soon!