A Christmas Cardinal

I love the cardinal in the Beauty of the Season stamp set.  It's a lovely sketch and is wonderful to use for Christmas cards.  That pop of red lifts one's spirits when there is snow everywhere.

I found two challenges that seemed perfect for my cardinal.  The sketch is from the Paper Craft Crew Challenges:

While the colours from the Hand Stamped Sentiments were just what I wanted:

I began with a base of Naturals White and then added a layer of Soft Sky and another layer of Whisper White.  I had first embossed the Whisper White using my Lucky Stars embossing folder to add some texture and interest.  For my background rectangle I added an piece of Naturals White embossed with my Woodgrain embossing folder and backed with a matte of Real Red.  Then I added a strip of the Garden Green pattern from the Trim  the Tree Designer Series Stack and Soft Sky Seam Binding ribbon for the bow.

I used my sixth from the smallest circle framelit to cut Soft Sky cardstock and backed it with a hand-cut matte of Real Red.  On the Soft Sky circle I stamped the cardinal using my Memento black ink.  Then I stamped a second cardinal on a scrap of Whisper White and fussy-cut that out.  After colouring the cardinal with my Stampin' Markers, I carefully attached it over the stamped cardinal on the Soft Sky circle.  I added a touch of Crystal effects on his eye and on the red berries as well.

For my sentiment I used the "merry christmas" from the Good Greetings stamp set and then added a snowflake from the Frosted Sequins (coloured blue with the lightest of my Coastal Cabana Blendabilities).  The final touch was the addition of three Real Red Candy Dots and my card was finished.

For more cards using this sketch, check out the Paper Craft Crew Challenges.

For more cards using these colours, check out Hand Stamped Sentiments.