Friday, November 13, 2009

Christmas Cardinal

One of the things I love about Asela Hopkin's newest stamp set, First Christmas, is how versatile it is. Although it is perfect for those "first Christmas" celebrations, all of the images can be used for any Christmas or seasonal occasion.

Today, members of the Gina K Design Team, Center Stage Spotlight Team and friends are having a special blog hop featuring First Christmas. Are you ready for some more Eye-Candy!? Stop in at Asela Hopkin's blog (our featured Illustrator tonight) and see what she has prepared for us.

Then, check out these GinaK Designer's blogs for their projects:
as well as our CenterStage Spotlight Designer's blogs:

Remember, the Idea Center has lots of tutorials, photos, and links that will provide even more ideas for you with this stamp set!

And, if you haven't already done so, be sure to leave a comment on GinaK's blog for a chance to win this stamp set tonight too! If you have already purchased this set, you may swap it out for any other GinaK stamp set valued at $23.95.

I did a Google image search to look at cardinals before coloring and I came across this picture and loved it so much I just had to case it for my card.

To start, I colored the cardinal from First Christmas, using an R29 Copic Marker.

Added R27.

Added R24.

I wanted a warm look for the highlights, so I used YR02 to fill in.

Then went over that with R22.

Used my blender pen to lighten some areas.

For the beak, I used YR02 and YR12.

To create my background I used Weathered Wood Distress ink and sponged from the center of my Pure Luxury White cardstock.

Next I stamped the branch from Winter Foliage using Memento Tuxedo Black. Then inked up just one side of the mountain scene stamp from Happy Camper, using Gable Green ink and stamped that on the left.

Then I inked up the other side of the mountain scene stamp, using the Weathered Wood Distress ink again. I stamped that side repeatedly, re-inking each time.

I used G28 and E35 to add some color to the branch, then added some shading to the rocks using N3. I thought the foreground looked a little plain, so I used Post-it Notes as masks and sponged a little more Weathered Wood to look like snow banks.

The cardinal was popped up using Pop Dots and I added a sentiment from Festive Frame. The button is from the Autumn Button Assortment. I layered with Pure Luxury Black Onyx and Moonlit Fog and used White heavy base weight for the base.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great weekend!

33 comments:

Donna Baker said...

oooh, this is so gorgeous! I still need to ink up my cardinal!

Sharri said...

Wow! Theresa this is stunning! I love the scene you created!

Karen V said...

Theresa - another beauty - it's stunning!

JenMarie said...

OMGosh, this is absolutely STUNNING! WOW!

Scrapacat said...

Gorgeous!! Thanks Theresa, once again, for a great tutorial. I need more practice!
~ky

Karen (TLgirl353) said...

Love this, Theresa!!!

Wordbird said...

Beyond beautiful, Theresa! You are a wonderful artist! ;D Diana

Cathy said...

I love cardinals, I actually have some that live in the evergreen in the neighbor's yard. Your card is gorgeous. Love all the elements. Wonderful as usual!!!

Susan White said...

Wow!!! You talent astounds me. This card is beautiful!!

Deb said...

Yep, another STUNNER! This definitely is art! Sooo beautiful!

Dawn said...

*gasp*...it's gorgeous!

Cody Tessmer said...

That is absolutely amazing and adorable :). Feel free to swing by for some christmas recipes http://chirstmasrecipeideas.blogspot.com/

Elena said...

Wonderfu card, Theresa! I agree it is a real art!

Melanie said...

love that background! like a snowy foggy morning :)

joy said...

How pretty and serene. Your art always amazes me. This is a beautiful card.

Carolyn King said...

*gasp* this is a stunner girl! wowza!

Christi said...

Oh, wow! This is so stunning! The cardinal looks gorgeous and you created such a beautiful scene! Absolutely amazing card!

Nana Griffin said...

This is so beautiful! I love that you give us such wonderful details on your putting the card together and the coloring of it. Thanks for all your hard work in posting.

Gloria Westerman said...

Again, Theresa your work is stunning. This is just gorgeous!!!
Thank you for showing us how you do it.

Melissa said...

Theresa, this card is gorgeous! I love how you combine sets and create such beautiful scenes.

connie said...

This is BEAUTIFUL!! Thanks for the tutorial too.

Tina said...

YIKES!!! HOW beautiful is this!!!! I wondered where you got the background trees from and that is PERFECT!!! LOVE the colors of the cardinal.

redwasher1 said...

This is the most beautiful Christmas card ever!

Laurie said...

I love the serene mood it creates.

Jodi Collins said...

This is magnificent Theresa! LOVE this!

Lee said...

Oh wow Theresa!!!! It's truly a beautiful artwork!!!

Vicki Dutcher said...

Theresa - breathtaking of my favorite bird! Just beautiful!!

Carla S. said...

What a gorgeous winter scene you created, Theresa! Awesome coloring and background! This should be framed!

Cat Tidwell said...

Awesome T! I am so loving this winter scene! I can feel the cold!

Judy McMullen said...

Absolutely gorgeous! TFS!!!

theneon said...

This is absolutely brilliant -- and thanks for showing how you did the glorious job of creating this.

Sue VanDeVusse said...

This is breathtaking! Such amazing coloring and I love how you created your background scene. Thanks for listing the instructions.

Deebi27 said...

A relaxing feeling for the holiday season...you did it just perfect!