Wetlands Happy Retirement Card

by Joanne James3. February 2015 09:34

Well, it's Tuesday and we woke to a light dusting of snow outside this morning. Not enough for a 'snow day', much to the children's disappointment and mercifully, unlike last week's flurry, the roads are all gritted so once we were clear of our side street the traffic was flowing freely. It might be winter outside, but today's card is reminiscent of warmer times as I have my card for this week's challenge over at Create With Connie and Mary. This week there is an interesting colour palette to work with, which in itself has a distinct wintery feel:

   

Before I get on to my card today, I would just like to give a little shout out to both Connie and Mary and the rest of the CCMC design team; they really are a super bunch of ladies and hugely inspiring. I love their weekly challenges and play along whenever I can. I have been lucky enough to be chosen as one of their Top 3 Picks from time to time, which is always nice, however I love the colour combos and sketches these ladies come up with and it's great to play along for fun. I didn't manage last week - I had my card all designed, just didn't get enough time at my stamp desk to put it together! - but yesterday I managed to get a few cards made, including my card for this week's challenge so I'm back 'with the program'! I'm also using the sketch from Lesley Croghan's new challenge over at Always Playing With Paper - another great challenge to play along with! Without further ado, here is this week's card:

I 'stretched' the sketch as I wanted a landscape orientation for my card, as I decided to feature those little waders from the 'Wetlands' stamp set - definitely my favourite in this set, although they are all lovely to be fair. To 'colour' my image, I used a technique I've seen lots on Pinterest and took the large swoosh from the 'Work of Art' stamp set and stamped it once in Sahara Sand, having stamped off once first, and once in Lost Lagoon, having stamped off twice first, to add just a subtle colouring behind the birds. I switched my sentiment for one from the 'Teeny Tiny Sentiments' stamp set as this card is destined for the Head Groundsman at my children's school, who is retiring at the end of next week, following many years of loyal service. I mounted my image on a piece of Basic Grey and kept my Lost Lagoon flag and Sahara Sand base plain, adding a piece of patterned Basic Grey DSP from the 'Moonlight' DSP stack for background interest. I finished with a little grey metal button, double tied with linen thread, and my card was finished.

I hope you like today's card - I'm off to tackle a mountainous pile of ironing and get a few other chores completed before rewarding myself with a catch up over a cup of tea with a friend I haven't seen in a while this afternoon. Back tomorrow with another project; until then, happy stampin'!

 

Stampin' Up! Supplies Used:

Table built using Product Table Builder by The Crafty Owl - Independent Stampin' Up! Demonstrator.

 

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Cards | Stamping

Comments (20) -

melissa davies
melissa daviesUnited States
2/3/2015 11:33:29 AM #

So glad you are able to play along with us! What a beautiful soft and subtle card - so calming and relaxing - PERFECT for a retirement card! Thanks for joining us in the Color Challenge this week at Create with Connie and Mary!

Joanne James
Joanne JamesUnited Kingdom
2/4/2015 9:48:21 AM #

Thanks Melissa - I love playing along with you ladies, you really are super and so inspirational! So glad you like my retirement card - these were great 'mood' colours for this sentiment, for sure.

~amy~
~amy~United States
2/3/2015 11:35:03 AM #

What a great mix of challenges.  Love your retirement card....fabulous colors!

Joanne James
Joanne JamesUnited Kingdom
2/4/2015 9:48:57 AM #

Thanks Amy - I loved The Challenge colour palette too, so may have to come back for another go at this one!

Deb
DebUnited States
2/3/2015 11:53:30 PM #

I love the way you used the "swoosh" stamp! Makes coloring very artsy and fabulous! The layout is great, too! Thanks for playing the challenge at Create with Connie and Mary!

Joanne James
Joanne JamesUnited Kingdom
2/4/2015 9:49:42 AM #

Thanks Deb - I've been wanting to have a go at this for ages so this week's card presented the perfect opportunity!

Rosa Cota
Rosa CotaMexico
2/4/2015 12:28:49 AM #


Thanks for Box Buster.
Muchas gracias por dejarme usarlo, es muy útil.

Joanne James
Joanne JamesUnited Kingdom
2/4/2015 9:50:36 AM #

You are most welcome Rosa! The Envelope Punch Board is a fantastic tool and Box Buster and Envelope Expert are there to make all of our lives easier!

Kim Heggins
Kim HegginsUnited States
2/4/2015 1:13:59 AM #

WOW...what a wonderful card. Love the colors and your choice of stamps. Really makes for the perfect retirement card. Thank you so much for playing along with us at The Challenge!

Joanne James
Joanne JamesUnited Kingdom
2/4/2015 9:52:03 AM #

Thank you Kim for your kind comments - soft, subtle yet masculine was definitely the order of the day for the recipient of today's card.

Nicole Tugrul
Nicole TugrulUnited States
2/4/2015 3:35:37 PM #

Beautiful!!! Perfect way to use the Work of Art stamps, so clever!  Thanks so much for joining us for the color challenge this week at Create with Connie and Mary!

Joanne James
Joanne JamesUnited Kingdom
2/5/2015 6:50:37 PM #

Thanks Nicole - the Work of Art stamps are so useful for this kind of thing!

Connie Babbert
Connie BabbertUnited States
2/4/2015 4:31:19 PM #

Ahhh, wish I were somewhere warm walking along the beach like that...my idea of a happy retirement!  Beautiful card!  Thanks for playing along with the color challenge this week on Create with Connie and Mary!

Joanne James
Joanne JamesUnited Kingdom
2/5/2015 6:51:49 PM #

Me too Connie - well, let's keep wishing Smile !

Mary Brown
Mary BrownUnited States
2/4/2015 7:17:33 PM #

Love the overall simplicity of your card and I think and overall PERFECT retirement card!  The beach looks sooo great!  Thanks for playing along this week in the Create with Connie and Mary Thursday Challenge!

Joanne James
Joanne JamesUnited Kingdom
2/5/2015 6:59:26 PM #

Thanks Mary - it is just perfect for the recipient, for sure.

Margaret Raburn
Margaret RaburnUnited States
2/5/2015 1:07:22 AM #

Joanne, what a perfect use of these colors for a retirement card!  Calm, soothing, restful... these words describe your card and what we would all look forward to in retirement I think.   The Work of Art stamp is a wonderful and unexpected way to add colors for the sand and water... so clever!  We are so glad that you join us almost every week for the Create with Connie and Mary challenges!

Joanne James
Joanne JamesUnited Kingdom
2/5/2015 7:05:54 PM #

Thank you Margaret for your lovely comments! I do try and play along with you lovely ladies as often as I can - your challenges are great and you are an incredibly talented and and inspiring group.

Nancy Salkeld
Nancy SalkeldUnited States
2/9/2015 3:53:10 AM #

This is just gorgeous!  I just love those gulls!  Perfect for a retirement card.  So glad you used our sketch and played The Challenge!  Come join us again!

Joanne James
Joanne JamesUnited Kingdom
2/9/2015 10:05:28 AM #

Thanks Nancy - I love a good sketch challenge! Now I just need to pop by and play with the colours too!

Comments are closed

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