. . . taken up residence at my house (again). This is just one of the joys of taking care of children and being trapped inside all winter. We just pass the flu bug around and around until it's warm enough to open the windows and let the fresh air in. My husband hates the smell of Lysol and I've gone through 3 cans of it this winter lol.
This is just part of the reason that I haven't been posting or stamping as regularly as I would like. The other is that we had a new foster child placed with us a couple of weeks ago and it has been a challenging adjustment period. She's only here short term but having another teenager (she's 15) move in has pushed us all out of our comfort zones. We already have my 15 niece and 13 nephew placed with us through the Foster Child Program so it's been interesting but we're adjusting to the changes.
I did get to stamp on Saturday and this is the results. I've been trying to use the extra cardstock from classes and workshops and I struggled with this layout a bit. Anyone who knows me can attest to the fact that I am a little anal when it comes to my layering and spacing. I love symetry so placing the main image on an angle was really out of my comfort zone. I just had to walked away and after a few days I am really liking it.
I used the stamp set Touch of Nature. The base is Mellow Moss with the leaf image stamped with Mellow Moss. The saying is from Sincere Salutations and is stamped using Bravo Burgundy ink.
The matted layers are Bravo Burgundy, Always Artichoke and then Whisper White with another layer of Whisper White for the the main image. The main image was stamped with Black StazOn and then watercolored with an aquapainter and ink re-fills. The branch was colored with Creamy Caramel. The leaves were colored with Mellow Moss and then a few touches of Always Artichoke to create shading. The bird was colored with Going Gray and then I used the Creamy Caramel to shade in the wings, the top of the head and the shading on the belly area. Lastly, the edges were dragged over my Always Artichoke pad and I added Mellow Moss Taffeta ribbon.
Tell me what you think and while you're commenting let us know what pushes you out of your comfort zone.
Have a great day and keep stamping!
~ Michelle
