Peaceful Wonderland

I love when an idea plays out on paper the way I dreamed it would in my head.  While thinking about ways to convey winter on paper, I challenged myself to create the appearance of frost on a window pane.  Hmmm…I searched over my stamps looking for tiny snowflakes or textures that could offer the look I was going for.  I was about to give up when I came across the thatched background from the You’ve Got This stamp set.  Perfect!  Here’s the black-and-blue Christmas card I made with that thatched background stamp:

Wonderland, You've Got This, Happy Scenes, Stampin' Up!, Brian King

Tips, Tricks and Reminders

  • Arbor-ific!  I can’t get enough of this grove of trees.  Hey!  I did some research for this post – wasn’t sure there was an official word for a small collection of trees, so I looked it up.  I was prepared to call it a bundle of trees, but grove is a better term.  I also liked copse, but that’s most appropriate for small trees or bushes.  These trees are not small.  The point is…I can’t get enough of these trees.  They are gorgeous when stamped alone or when you stamp the grove of trees to create a forest of trees (see an example of that here).  I should be an arborist!
  • Choosing a Card Base.  More often than not, I choose a dark, grounding color for the base of my cards.  I tend to believe that it grounds the card and pulls the eye toward the focal image of the card.  In this case, though, I chose to mount my simple panel on a base of Soft Sky.  I think it lightens the image and contributes to the airy, soft feel of the project.
  • Soft and Bold.  There’s nothing spectacular about this combination of colors.  At the same time, there’s something very spectacular about it.  The crisp white is softly touched by the Soft Sky ink and then boldly attacked by the Basic Black.  I love that these images capture so much contrasting texture that looks so good together.  If you like this combination, too, feel free to save this:Stampin' Up! Color Inspiration: Basic Black, Soft Sky, Whisper White

Stamp Sets:  Wonderland, You’ve Got This, Happy Scenes  Papers:  Soft Sky, Basic Black, Whisper White  Inks:  Archival Basic Black, Soft Sky  Accessories:  Stampin’ Dimensionals

Thanks for stopping by today!

Brian

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31 Comments

  1. Nice card, Brian. I love how you always find a unique way of putting colors together and finding the perfect element to convey your idea, i.e., the thatched background. Have a great Sunday. Can’t believe it is November already.

  2. Hi Brian,
    I am a beginner and wondered if you could give the measurements for this card please. I have tried to recreate your posts, sometimes without success. I am trying to have a few formula cards I can use to recreate my own cards. Do you trim back the A4cardstock to 29 cm so that it is even in size. Therfore making it easier to cut layers.
    I am Australian so I think in cams rather than inches!

    • Robin, Yes, I generally trim back my cardstock from the A4 size (equal amount on each side so that I have a consistent border around my panel). The base of this card is 4-1/4″ x 5-1/2″ (Soft Sky), and the next panel is likely 1″ shorter all the way around to create a 1/2″ border on all sides. I hope that helps.

  3. So sorry I mean centimeters not cams! Not good at typing either!

  4. I think “grove” sounds good, Brian … more elegant than a “clump” which might be a descriptive MN word for a small grouping like these. Living in FL now, grove makes me think of an “orange grove”! Whatever you choose to call these lovely trees, the card is beautiful and peaceful. Soft Sky is the perfect choice!

  5. Gorgeous card Brian! Your color combo is downright frosty!!

  6. Brian, your card is so beautiful and, like Pam said, so serene.
    Thank you for sharing.

  7. The soft sky base contributes to the frostiness as well love
    Y card

  8. Lovely card, Brian! It definitely gives the feeling of frosted glass! Great job!

  9. Love the simplicity of this card yet it is huge in appeal! Great job! 🙂

  10. Looks like Maine mornings the past week…beautiful!

  11. Wow, love that background! Lovely.

  12. Love the calmness that this card brings…and it definitely is a “Maine” card!

  13. Lovely card with great color combination.
    BTW, how about a “stand” of trees. I think I’ve heard that, sounds somewhat poetic.

  14. The “frost” is pure genius!

  15. Absolutely stunning card Brian. You achieved your goal for sure. Simplicity in both color and image is often so much more striking then using lots of images. This card is simply superb.

  16. That’s a great idea to use the stamp from “You’ve Got This” for the background!! Very pretty card. Thanks for sharing your ideas!

  17. GORgeous, Brian….love the color combo, the big splotch behind the grove of tresses….everything’s!

  18. Brian I do believe that you have attained perfection with this card! I look at it and feel the frost in the air yet the whole scene together feels warm and cozy! Thanks for sharing your genius with us mere mortals!

  19. Ok, now you’ve done it! I MUST get the trees!

  20. GORGEOUS and so very peaceful! Frost is a great idea and super background for those beautiful trees. Colors are great. Maine, again!.

  21. Really pretty! I love Soft Sky and that cross hatch is my favorite background . Softly serene just as you imagined !

  22. Lovely card. I’d have bought that stamp set awhile ago, but not done so because it’s not the photopolymer type…

  23. Thank you Brian. I am making some very nice cards, I have made and sent 88 cards so far this year. I’m loving it.

  24. Pingback: Let it Snow for CYCI96 and GDP012 | STAMP WITH BRIAN

  25. I love trees – this is a great card.

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