Summer Fence Sympathy

You know how every now and again you make a card that started off as a little spark of imagination and comes out so perfectly it feels like something was guiding you, well this card is one of those.

At I Did It Creations this week they are having a nature challenge and a lot of the weeks they give away a free digi image that you send a request email for. Admittedly I don't always have time to use an image I have requested but this image Summer Fence by Toucan Scraps just seemed like a perfect image for a sympathy card.

I have used a photograph of a sunset at West Super Mare that I took at the end of the pier in February. Both myself and my husband had our camera's and took a sequence of shots whilst the sun was setting in the water and the tide was coming in too. I just love the rich colours in this picture and really wanted to try and incorporate it into a card somehow, this digi seemed like the perfect marriage.

I use a graphics program called Xara and played about with the positioning of the digi. There was a particularly large ripple in the water that provided a great straight line for the bottom of the image to sit on. The sun wasn't quite in the right place so I stretched the picture a little and just kept playing with the sizing of the images until it fit together nicely. The sentiment is a PNG from the Modern Flowers Sympathy set which is a freebie from McMahon Five Design

The base of the card has been covered with a pearlescant embossed paper from Kanban Designs. I matted the image onto dark brown card and used a Martha Stewart punch to add a punched heart border to the bottom.

The ribbon was from a challenge prize I had from One Stop Crafts and for a finishing touch I added a flower grouping made with 2 Flora Doodles fabric flowers, an opened up metal beadcap and a pearl brad.

I am truly delighted with how this card has turned out. No one likes to have to give a sympathy card for obvious reasons but would be a beautiful card for the occasion.

Materials Used in this card are as follows:-

Card Size – A5

Image – Combination of my photograph and Summer Fence by Toucan Scraps

Sentiment – Modern Flowers Sympathy set by McMahon Five Design

Paper – Kanban Crafts

Embellishments – Ribbon from Stash, Flora Doodles fabric flowers, metal beadcap, pearl brad from American Crafts

Tools – Scissors, 3D foam, Martha Stewart Heart doily punch

Techniques – Punching

I would like to enter this card into the following challenges (in Alphabetical Order):-

• 2 Cute Rubber Stamps – Anything Goes
• Bee Crafty #54 - Frames & Borders
• Cardmadfairy’s Digi Days #16 – Add a Flower
• Card Makin’ Mamas #28 – Digi Images or papers
• Catch the Bug – Anything Goes
• Craft Us Crazy #16 – Autumn Colours
• Creations by Gill M #14  - Anything That Flies (bird in digi image)
• Creative Card Crew – Anything Goes
• Cute Card Thursday #180 – Punches
• Delicious Doodles #1 – Fresh Start (used one of my own photos with a digi, 1^st time)
• Frosted Designs Fabulous Friday – Flourishes
• Fun With Shapes & More #91 – Anything Goes
• I Did It Creations #70 – Nature
• Let’s Craft & Create #27 – Blast From the Past (#25 Use a Digi)
• Little Red Wagon #96 – Border Punches
• My Time To Craft #155 – Flowers
• Paper Shelter #29 - Anything Goes
• Patches of Pink #9 – Link Up Party
• Rainbow Lady #168 – Embossing (paper has embossing in it)
• Quirky Crafts #18 – Flourishes & Embossing
• Scrapbook Sisters #50 – Anything Goes
• Secret Crafter #150 – Colours of Autumn
• Sew Many Challenges #66 – Edge Punches
• Simon Says Stamp & Show – Anything Goes
• Stamp Something – September Digi Day
• Whoopsi Daisy – Autumn Colours