December 9, 2012

CHRISTMAS CARDINAL

I had always thought that the cardinal from the Christmas Cardinal, a retired Stampin' Up! stamp set, was so regal in his bearing.

A sight I don't often enough see is that of a male cardinal further gracing the already beautiful snowy branches of an evergreen in a Wisconsin winter. That bright spot of cheery red is a welcome sight amidst the neverending white of a snowy landscape. It never ceases to bring a smile to my face and brighten my day considerably. Sort of a sure sign of hope. Maybe it's a good thing it is such a rare occurrence; otherwise, I might not appreciate the beautiful sight as much as I should.

Never having purchased the Christmas Cardinal set for myself, I was delighted that it was available as a download for My Digital Studio (MDS), and bought it immediately.

To create this card, I brought the cardinal image into a blank MDS project, sized him perfectly
for a card front, and printed him out onto white card stock.

There! Now I had my very own coloring page of a beautiful cardinal. I decided to share this with the girls at that month's workshop, so printed out enough copies for everyone to enjoy.


We used Watercolor Wonder Crayons and an Aqua Painter to color in the cardinal and leaves, leaving the berries a shiny black to not detract from the red of the bird. Setting the bird onto 
one of the diecut shapes from the Labels Collection Framelits seemed wonderfully appropriate. Sponging the edges of the frame in red unified it all a bit more.

To further enhance the elegance of the card, the cardinal panel was set against a piece of 
our Cherry Cobbler Core'dinations Card Stock. I ran it through the Big Shot inside the new 
Lacy Brocade Embossing Folder. The top surfaces of the design were then gently sanded to 
give it an especially elegant look. It reminds me of that flocked wallpaper of years past.

Smiles.

27 comments:

  1. I totally remember the wallpaper you're talking about! I love this, my mom's favorite bird is the Cardinal, and she lives in Ohio (state bird) so that makes it extra neat to get her items w/the Cardinal on them.

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  2. That's gorgeous, I love the red! Thank you so much for participating at SHOW-licious Craft Showcase!

    http://sew-licious.blogspot.com

    Marti

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  3. What a beautiful card. I own that set and you gave me some great ideas for it.

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  4. Always love Cardinals. I have a pair visit my feeders. I don't think I have a stamp with one on but may look of for one, my other favourite is the Chickadee
    Following you
    Janice

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    1. Thanks, Janice, for becoming a follower. I really appreciate your support! :>)

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  5. That's beautiful! I've always loved cardinals. So nice to see them at (and below) my feeders. So pretty! (and a great song, huh)

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  6. Such a clean card design - love it!

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    1. Why, thank you, Vona. That is a nice compliment! :>)

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  7. That combination is lovely. The reds go so well together, and it's neat that you got to use a number of the StampinUp products. Love that new paper too...wow...gotta get me some of that some day!
    Blessings,
    Doni

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    1. Thanks, Doni! By the way, I know someone you could order some of that great paper from. {wink} :>)

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  8. Oh my this is lovely. you may want to get your entry in for my holiday giveaway (wink)Thank you for sharing at the hop xo

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    1. Oh, thank you so much! And thanks also for having me at the hop! :>)

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  9. Beautiful!

    Thanks for linking to a Round Tuit!
    Hope you have a fabulous weekend!
    Jill @ Creating my way to Success
    http://www.jembellish.blogspot.com/

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  10. The Christmas tree is my favorite but this is really pretty too. We had cardinals at our other home that we loved to watch from the breakfast table. Since we moved we have no trees and I've missed watching them. Thanks again for sharing!

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    1. Thank you so much, Jenny! I simply love cardinals also! :>)

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  11. This is beautiful! The textured background and elegant die bring this to a whole new level - awesome!

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    1. Why thank you. What a delightful thing to say! :>)

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