Field and countryside

I had a hard time deciding what craft supplies to bring on the retreat; every time I decided on something, I changed my mind. I ended up packing a few hours before we left and settled on colored pencils, gamsol, and a variety of line art stamp sets to do some coloring (along with the necessities like card stock, adhesive, etc.). For the first group of cards I made during the weekend I tried out a couple of stamp sets that I've had for years and never used: Field Journal and French Countryside (both retired, Stampin' Up!). 

I love the images in the Field Journal set, but I've never been really sure how to use them. So I settled on stamping and coloring two of the images on Naturals Ivory card stock and die cutting them to use as focal points for two cards. For the chipmunk card I used Bordering Blue card base splattered with Shimmer Splash. I stamped a couple of the other Field Journal images on the background in Early Espresso ink and added a piece of neutral ribbon trim and a few die-cut sprigs.

For the mallard card, I used an Early Espresso card base embossed with the Pinewood Planks embossing folder. I stapled a bit of trim to the corner of the focal panel and embellished the card with a few clear droplets.

With the French Countryside stamp set, I tried coloring one of the images and didn't love how it turned out. So instead I made a couple of monochromatic cards. I splattered both card bases with Shimmer Splash and embellished with gold sequins and a hemp twine bow. I also added a touch of blue on each image on the kraft card for a hint of color.

As usual, I am in need of replenishing my birthday card stash, so that's how I used these cards. But they would be good for a variety of occasions by changing or omitting the sentiment.

Thanks for stopping by!