Wednesday, March 23, 2011

Blossoming Trees

We received about 5 inches of snow today, right on top of the rain and ice that fell last night. To say it was a difficult ride to work this morning, is an understatement! So the card I want to share today was created in hopes of blue skies, warm temps and brand new blossoms on the trees.

I had no idea how this card would turn out when I started it. All I knew was that I wanted to use the Hero Arts Tree Trunks stamp and add some pretty pink flowers. The background was shaded, using distress inks and I first stamped the image by coloring the stamp with a gray, Marvy marker. I then stamped the trees again, onto a separate piece of white cardstock with Hero Arts Latte, Chalk Ink and I wanted to make them look more rough and textured. What I did next is a bit hard to explain, so please bear with me.



You can see that I added a layer of glossy accents on each trunk to make them shiny, but I used the glossy accents to do something else before that. I added some blobs, splotches and smears of it, up and down each trunk. Then I used my heat gun on them, until the glossy accents bubbled and boiled. I let it cool just a bit and pressed each of these bubbly areas with my finger, then colored them with a dark brown Copic marker. After that, I covered each trunk with a shiny, smooth layer of the glossy accents. I hope that made sense!

After the image was all dry, I cut out each tree and adhered them onto the gray, stamped trees, offsetting them a bit for a shadow effect. The little flower I used is from the Hero Arts, Thinking of You set, and was stamped several times, colored, cut out and added to the trunks. The birds are from the Flower Bird Garden, white embossed and also colored and cut out.

Sorry about that long explanation, but I thought some of you might want to know the techniques I used.

Thanks so much for coming by! Hope you're in a warmer place than I am! I'll just keep ~dreaming~ of spring. . . . . .

39 comments:

Joy said...

Love love love your card Barb...just gorgeous and really loved how you used the glossy accents...oh and have to say WOW! on your blog banner, is that one of your photos? because if it is WOW! love! hugs!

Virginia L. said...

Isn't it fun that you really don't know how the card might turn out!? This is soooooo gorgeous, Barb! Your tree trunks had such special treatment with the blobs of GA and heat gun and more GA! No wonder they look MARVELOUS!! It really is so neat and whimsical-looking! Thanks for sharing the process! I'm with you about SNOW!! WE had a ton of them today! This winter doesn't want to leave, huh? Sending warm hugs!

Brenda said...

This is a beautiful Spring scene Barb! And I love what you did to the tree trunks, wow, a lot of work! Thanks for telling us how to do that! I really hope it starts warming up for you soon!

Nancy said...

You are so clever...who knew you could do that with Glossy Accents?!! I love your creative card design, it truly conveys the hope of Spring brilliantly!
blessings~

Ulina / Apricot Bubbles said...

You used very clever and interesting techniques - thanks for sharing! Your card reminds me, that it´s high time for making a spring card myself...
Oh, yes, it´s so nice that spring is here again!!! LOVE your blog banner! It´s gorgeous!
Have a great day!

Dawn T said...

what a wonderful technique. I took a closer look and it is stunning Barb. You should do a tutorial

Lynn said...

I appreciate the long explanation...what a fantastic way to make the texture of the trees really pop...you are so talented! Awesome card!

Isha Gupta said...

Gorgeous card Barb. Love what you did with Glossy accents. TFS

Sarah J Moerman said...

Wow! Love how you used the trunk stamp, Barb! Beautiful!

Tanya said...

So pretty Barb, love the blossoms on the tree! Wishing you get some warmer weather soon! We already had to turn the AC on, ugh! But it's suppose to cool down again!

Lin said...

WOW, Barb, this is GORGEOUS! Love how this looks! Beautiful, beautiful!

Cris said...

Wow! What a great card! Love what you did with the trees. A lot of work, but soooo worth it.

Sanne said...

Great inspiration you found Barb - love the card you made :)

Rosemary said...

fabulous card, barb! its kinda fun to start a card with no idea where it will take you, isn't it??

Tiffany Ervin said...

What a truly 3-dimensional effect you've achieved on this, WOW!!! This has to be a fave of mine!! I'm going to go back and read again how you made the tree trunks glossy! Perfect card! So much depth!

Vera Yates (Ling) said...

This is gorgeous, Barb! The tree trunks really pop out! Great technique! :)

Sue McRae said...

The trees are fantastic Barb, so much texture! I love your technique, so cool! I'm glad you shared it with us because I definitely want to try it out!

Maureen Morton said...

This is so great, Barb. The dimension is so real - I feel like I could walk right in that forest. You did a great job, especially with the inking. I think you developed your own new technique! What's next? A video? Thanks for sharing and for your eternal sweetness.

Anonymous said...

Wow! This is so gorgeous Barb! Love those trees! Such a gorgeous card :)

Jacqueline said...

You had snow again?! Keep dreaming of Spring Barb, it WILL come!! You have created some serious dimension on your card, just amazing. You have created your own Spring here!!

walchowDesign said...

So sorry to hear that you are still getting so much snow, Barb and hope that spring will come to your way soon! (I'm enjoying mine already, oops!)

Love your cards and the idea of the "boiled" glossy accents, they look terrific on the trunks! The distressing coloring is wonderful!

alexandra s.m. said...

such a beautiful scene here Barb!
so much dimension.
I saw this stamp at the store yesterday but couldn't think of what might look good with it.
now, thanks to you, i Know!!

xox

Robin K. said...

A lot of work but well worth it Barb - the result is amazing! I keep thinking spring right along with you!! The temps are back in the high 20's and we can't see the ground again:(

Kathy (krolski) said...

So stunning! Love the technique you described. The trees look so real! Love this card Barb! Stay warm, my friend.

ivy said...

so so pretty!!

Leni said...

This technique works out great! The trees are very "real". (Hope you understand what I mean) Love how the birds are flying around the trunks.

Anne said...

Wow Barb- your trees are just amazing- love the look you got here and I hope Spring comes soon!

Karin Åkesdotter said...

WOW! So creative and sooo beautiful -really love your card!!!
+ I wanted to let you know that your comment on Moxie Fab and HA this week made me very, very happy! Thank You so much!

Clare said...

Oh my goodness Barb, this is AMAZING! I LOVE the tree shadow idea - if I ever get my hands on that stamp, I will definitely be trying out that technique! TFS!

donna mikasa said...

Hi Barb! Your card turned out fabulous!! Thanks for sharing the technique with us. I just received the tree trunk BG stamp and you've inspired me to ink it up!

Karina Beck said...

So gorgeous! Thanks for the explanation!

Unknown said...

Love this Card Barb! the birds flowers and glossy accents are a perfect touch!

Donna B. said...

Wow, it took a lot to make that card!! The result is amazing!

Michelle said...

Really cool effect! Love the dimension and texture! Those trees are great!

Alice said...

this is so pretty, Barb! love the beautiful background! thanks also for spreading the word for Lily Pad and for hopping with us! =)

Tina said...

Oh, what a beautifull card. And I totally love how you made the trees, just marvelous!

Suzanne C said...

Love what you did with the trees! The background distressing is perfect and the flowers add such a pretty touch!

shirley said...

WOW! Love this card!
Love the technique you used on the trees.

78thistles said...

Hi Barb. So love what you did with that great tree background stamp. I haven't been stamping much lately though the last few cards have been with this very stamp. I find it pretty versatile and love that you added flowers to them! So cute and springy.