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Tuesday, 30 May 2017

Under an African Sky

Hi everyone.  It's our DS's birthday today and as he lives in Australia it is the first time in many years that he has been able to celebrate it here with us, which makes it extra special, and I bought these four Sheena Douglass stamp sets recently with mainly masculine birthdays in mind and I thought that he would like the African wildlife theme.


I started the card using my 7" square gelli plate which I covered in Distress inks using Tumbled Glass and Faded Jeans at the top, Spiced Marmalade and Mowed Lawn towards the middle and Mustard Seed and Walnut Stain at the bottom.  I spritzed it with some water and pulled the print using a piece of good quality smooth card.   I did have a couple of goes to get the balance of colours right and then dried it using my heat tool and trimmed the finish background down a little.  I love the randomness of these prints as you never know what you are going to get, and often it is not until you add in the stamping that you get a proper idea of whether it is going to work or not.

I continued to stamp on to the background using the African Landscape set and my misti stamping tool.  I stamped the large Acacia tree first using the Walnut Stain ink and then the background smaller tree using the same ink but second generation.  I then stamped the small group of elephants using Memento London Fog ink and stamped over them several times to get a better depth of colour, but am not totally sure that it wouldn't have been better if I had added a little brown to make them a bit more distinct, although they are better in real life than they appear herecra.  I then added the giraffes in the foreground using Spiced Marmalade and Walnut Stain, but using more of the Walnut Stain on the second to make it stand out enough against the first one.

I finished the background by adding a bit of shading under the animals and around the trees using a water brush with the brown ink, making it darker under the foreground tree to ground it.

Lastly I stamped the sentiment on to a 7" square white card again using the Walnut Stain ink, and then adhered the scene to it.

I have a new follower Sandra who I'm sure a lot of you will already know, but if you haven't been to her blog do go and take a look at her beautiful cards here, her scenic cards are very special.

Thank you for joining me here today and I hope to be back soon.







I would like to enter the following challenges:

Happy Little Stampers May Watercolour Challenge - Anything Goes (no optional twist).
Fashionable Stamping Challenge - No. 123 Let's Go Wild.


22 comments:

Sarn said...

Simply beautiful card Pat. Lovey scene.

Hugs, Sarn xxx

Janice said...

You have created a beautiful scene Pat, a lovely card.
Janice x

Mac Mable said...

Such an amazing and atmospheric background. Great colour combination and the most stunning scene you've created. Great attention to detail with the shading and second generation stamping and I think this is one stunning and special card for your son x

Kathyk said...

Like Sarn just said, simply beautiful, such rich evocative colours

Kathyk

Loll said...

WOW ... amazing card, Pat. LOVE your gelli plate background. The colours are just perfect for your African scene. Happy Birthday to you son! xx

cuilliesocks said...

Oh Pat I'm sure your Son will love your wonderful card, brilliantly designed and coloured, Kate x

Sandma's Handmade Cards said...

Wow! This is a stunning card Pat and I could just imagine it being on a wall in an art Gallery, I love it! This is absolutely perfect for our challenge this month over at Fashionable Stamping Challenges and I hope that can join us. Sandra x

Barb said...

A stunning card Pat. You've created a beautiful scene on your gelli print and the colours are gorgeous. I'm sure your son was delighted with his card. How nice to have spent his birthday with him. Barbxx

Darnell said...

Wow, this is like a dreamy painting of Africa, Pat! Your son will treasure it! Enjoy your time together celebrating his birthday!! Hugs, Darnell

Sandma's Handmade Cards said...

Only me again Pat. I've just stopped by again to say thank you so much for joining us at Fashionable Stamping Challenges. Sandra x

Jean said...

I love this fabulous scenic card you have created Pat.The colours are great.
Jean x

Leanne Harris said...

This is a great piece of artwork Pat. I particularly like how those elephants are toned down in that background but are very much still there and how that sky has been blended down and merges with the natural tones of that background. Thank you for joining us at Fashionable Stamping Challenges and good luck! Leanne DT x

Kati said...

AMAZING artwork! I love the Colors so much.

Liz said...

Fabulous scene, Pat, such gorgeous colours. This would look wonderful framed. xx

Yvonne Garner said...

Your card is absolutely stunning! Thank you for sharing it with us at Fashionable Stamping Challenge!

Paper Creations by Shirley said...

Beautiful card with a gorgeous scene :) I hope you are doing well xx

brenda said...

Wonderful inking and stamping Pat and such depth of colour, it's perfect for our current theme at Fashionable Stamping Challenges, many thanks for joining in.

B x

scrappymo! said...

This is a stunning card. I love the scene and how you created it.
The elephants look perfect to me as I think it adds an element of even further perspective.
You have fabulous perspective with your arrangement of stamps and shading!

Caro´s kreative Welt said...

WOW what a fantastic card. Great scene and and so beautifully colored.
Thank you so for joining at Fashionable Stamping Challenges.
Greetings Carola

Cathy said...

This is a stunning scene Pat! Love the colours, I'm sure your son will love it, Cathy x

Karen Dunbrook said...

wow...just stunning Pat! such great sponging, layering and layout.
xx Karen

Bonnie said...

This is a masterpiece, Pat! What a beautiful scene! The lighter stamping of the animals gives it a misty look! What a special birthday card!