Stamp-It Australia - Riverbank - Father's Day card

Hi blogging friends  

Sorry I haven't been around.  My mother was rushed to hospital with severe chest pains and of course, the first thing I thought of when I received the phone call, was that she was having a heart attack, but thankfully, it wasn't and she is home again now and the pain is gone.  The doctors still don't know why she was having the chest pain so it's all a bit of a mystery.   She has had a ton of tests, CT scans - you name it, she's has had it - but nothing came up.  I am not sure whether I am more worried now or less worried - at least if we all knew why she had such severe pain, we could deal with it and of course, we don't want her to be sick - it's just, not knowing is stressful for Mum and for the rest of the family, and it robs Mum of her confidence for going out to do shopping or just hop in the car and drive down the street.   Needless to say, I have not had my mind on cardmaking or even had time to nosey around blogs.  Thank you for all your wonderful comments you left on my last card - they really made my day.   I shall hope to catch up on visiting you all very soon!

I suddenly realised 2 days ago that it was Father's Day this coming Sunday and I hadn't done a card for my husband.  I even thought about buying one (eeek - oh, the horror - not to mention the how expensive they are!) and then thought that maybe sitting down doing some colouring would be good therapy and take my mind off things now that Mum was home and seemingly OK.  So, I dug out a recent purchase of a stamp by Stamp-It Australia which is a typical Australian country scene with the river red gum tree and a creek/river and attacked it madly with my watercolour pencils.  I have never coloured a "scene" before so it was a quite a challenge and certainly was stretching my abilities with watercolour pencils that's for sure!!  Waaaay out of my comfort zone!  It nearly ended up in the bin numerous times!

I did actually add a few extra lines/squiggles with a fine .005 waterproof black pen to widen the scene at the horizon and a little bit around the river bank here and there because once I trimmed the scene down, it had little blank areas that looked unfinished which didn't reach the edges of the watercolour paper.  I was so tempted to draw in a few cows or a bird but thought better of it in case I made a mess of it.

I have to say that when I ordered this stamp on-line, I didn't realise how HUGE it was until it arrived!  Oh my gosh - it's massive!   I bought it unmounted and I struggled to find a stamp block large enough to fit all the design on - so my card is definitely NOT your average-sized card by the time I added the designer paper and cardstock borders.  Just as well I am not posting it in the mail - I would be paying extra-postage that's for sure LOL!

The sentiment is by Lili of the Valley (UK) and was stamped with Versafine Vintage Sepia ink.  I masked out the 3 flowers underneath the word "Wonderful" when I inked it up and added 3 brown rhinestones to fill the gap.  I diecut the pale olive and brown cardstock with my Cuttlebug and Spellbinder Scalloped Circle Nestabilities and arranged the diecuts so that the scallops look like they are kind-of-intertwining (if that makes some sort of sense!).  It also adds a bit of extra colour to the sentiment but you are not making the sentiment any bigger in diameter.

I attached the ribbon in 2 separate pieces and the double-bow was made with my Bow Easy (LOVE this thing - so cool for making double-bows!).

Challenges:

I am entering my card in the following challenges:

Crazy for Challenges - C4C102 - Male themed cards

Cards for Men - G is for...... - and in my case, G is for gum tree.

Thanks so much for stopping by - I really appreciate it!

 

If you are in a rush to leave a comment, scroll down past the Card Recipe on click on one of the "Reactions"! 
  

Jocelyn

Card Recipe:

Stamps:  Stamp-it Australia - Riverbank 662I, Sentiment from Lili of the Valley (UK) - Circular Sentiments - For You

Ink:  Versafine Onyx black, Versafine Vintage sepia

Designer paper:  Crate Paper - Static Collection - Gravity

Accessories:  140lb watercolour paper, Faber-Castell and Derwent Inktense watercolour pencils, small #2 round paintbrush, Cuttlebug, Spellbinder Circle and Scalloped Circle Nestabilities, .005 fine waterproof black pen, Kaiser Rhinestones SB776, Bow Easy, gingham ribbon, Cardstock:  pale olive, raw umber