I'm travelling into a new way of working, a new country, a new language, and a new hobby which I'm passionate about. Come with me for some of the journey...

Saturday 1 August 2015

In A Summer Meadow




Hello everyone!  I'm delighted to say that after a sabbatical to give me room to deal with work (for which I'm deeply grateful) I'm back in the swing of things at Country View Challenges.

And it's in at the deep end as I'm your host for the August challenge and my theme for you all is Summertime.  So whatever that word summons up for you, that's what we'd like to see on your projects this month.

My team-mates have created some fabulous inspiration for you, so do hop over and check it out and, as usual, there will be more inspiration coming your way throughout the month over at the Country View Challenges blog.  For now, here's my starter for ten for you.

Yes, I know, it's a card.  They do seem to be putting in more frequent appearances round here... but again, I've somehow got my brain on board by making a very tall, slim card - so it's almost a tag really!









It was made for my closest friend who celebrates a summer birthday, and I took my inspiration from a wonderful day I spent recently with her and her family, wandering through the countryside, and down a lane surrounded by woodland and fields of wild grasses and flowers.














There's a Distress Ink background, and then some stamping with Unity Stamps.

The flowers on the front are mostly stamped in Archival ink, though some are Distress if I remember rightly.











Some are clear embossed.

And the main flowers are stamped in Versamark and embossed with vanilla white embossing powder.












I used the Tim Holtz thinlits word dies to add a thought about the lovely time we had.












On the inside of the card, I've used the feathery grasses again, this time stamped in a combination of Distress Inks.














And the leftover cut-out letters from the kraft card on the front form part of the sentiment for the interior.












I even added some sepia stamping to the envelope (definitely in Archival, as it might get wet going through the post of course).












A simple card reflecting the simple pleasures of a sunny summer's day enjoying nature... I hope you'll hop over and see what my brilliant team-mates have been up to, and we hope you'll come and share your Summertime creations with us at Country View Challenges this month.

Summer afternoon - summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.
Henry James







Summertime
An' the livin' is easy
Fish are jumpin'
An' the cotton is high
From Summertime, lyrics by DuBose Heyward and Ira Gershwin

And just in case you missed Tag Friday at A Vintage Journey yesterday, you'll find my tag here.  It's been so quiet here lately that I'm not used to posts coming this thick and fast any more.

Thanks so much for stopping by, and I'll see you again before you know it.  Happy Crafting all!

36 comments:

Shilpa Nagaonkar said...

Beautiful tag oops Card Alison :) I love the way you use heat embossed texture in your creation, I just can't do it in proper way, till now.....I always get inspiration to try again whenever I see your marvelous post. Background distress inks colors are so lovely. TFS

Helen said...

What a wonderful card - you're getting quite good at them!! The wildflowers and grasses are just fantastic, and it's so effective to have embossed just some of them. I am sure your friend loved it.

Flo Langley said...

Gorgeous card Alison. Fabulous stamping.
Hugs Flo x

pearshapedcrafting said...

What a wonderful walk it must have been! This card is beautiful and as it will remind your friend of the time you spent together it will add to the pleasure of receiving it! I love the shimmer on some of the grasses that give such a subtle depth to the card! Have a great weekend! Chrisx

craftimamma said...

I am sure your card was received with much delight Alison. It's beautiful and definitely makes me think of the country walks around where I live.

Hugs
Lesley Xx

A Pink said...

Such a beautiful card ! Alison . Love the embossed wildflowers and grasses against the stamped ones - such a delicate touch of opulence. The internal stamping really does make this card extra special . I'm sure oyur friend will love it . x

Marci said...

Beautiful! I like the envelope, too. Wonderful stamping and embossing. Now I might need those blocky word thinlets :-))

Candy C said...

Really a lovely card, Alison. Very clever how you used the "beautiful" die cut on the outside and the letters on the inside. Beautiful envelope, too!

Jackie PN said...

Card,tag ,canvas- no matter- all of your pieces are gorgeous and the substrates are all the better for your designs! xo

cathylynn said...

I love how the white embossing shows! What a simple yet gorgeous card. I bet your friend was delighted with this beauty! Another fantastic creation by Alison!! Hugs, Cathy-Lynn

Anneke said...

Beautiful and so delicate.
Thanks for inspiring me Anneke

Anita Houston The Artful Maven said...

Another card...and so gorgeous too! LOVE those images, and love them peeking on the corners!

Dorthe said...

This is adorable, Alison, I totally love your white stamped/embossed flowers , what a "sky" of beauty.
The stamps are so beautiful, and your way of creating the lane filled with grasses and flowers makes this card gorgeous. A wonderful gift to be saved and to be displaied always !!
Hugs, Dorthe

rachel said...

this really is beautiful Alison - it reminds me of a beautiful meadow really early on a summers day - just gorgeous! Its great to be working alongside you! Hugs rachel x

Michelle said...

This is so pretty!
...and I love the inside, too!

Terry said...

Such a beautiful card, Alison! I can almost feel a lovely summer breeze with these cool colors! Love it and welcome back to the crafty world! Hugs!

Meggymay said...

A beautiful summer card. It looks like a wild flower garden, love how you added the images to the inside and envelope.
Yvonne xx

Deborah Wainwright said...

Your Card is fabulous Alison. I love how sutble the colours are and the vanilla white embossing is just perfect. Hugs Debsxx

Kirsten said...

A beautiful card.

Inky and Quirky Designs said...

Very eretheral and beautiful Alison in your stunning colour palette, gorgeous!
Big hugs
Donna xxx

Deb said...

Beautiful card Alison, love the white embossed flowers, they remind me of dandelions blowing away in a summer's breeze! So much thought and care has gone into creating this card for your friend, right down to the lovely envelope, she will love it. Thanks so much for sharing it with us, Deb xo

Cocofolies said...

A fabulous card Alison!!!!! Love, love, love it!!!... Just perfect... as with all your tags! :)
Wisihing you a lovely summery Sunday!
Coco xxx

Anonymous said...

Thank you so much for your visit, I know you're busy! I haven't commented in a while either - life and summer got in the way ;) Love your card (and your handwriting... I spoil cards by even writing my own name in them :P).
What a lovely theme for CVC, I've just made a few summerlike cards. Let's see if I can post them on time...
Still love your craft. Do you sell the things you made somewhere, (Etsy?) or thought about making an artbook with lots of pictures of your projects, and every few pages a more extensive writeup about how you made it? (basically, a paper version of you blog... sometimes flipping pages is nicer then a screen, or having a picture/book on the crafting desk beats looking at a computer screen. Just set up a shop on Etsy (it's easy!) and I'll promise I'll buy something! Don't mind if you only ship once a month :P.

Mona Pendleton said...

So very beautiful Allison! The embossed flowers look stunning!

Felix the Crafty Cat said...

Loving the card Allison. The colours are so fresh, it's just gorgeous. Happy crafting, Angela x

experiments in paper said...

You've captured a wild meadow perfectly, with all the lacy, elegant stems and beautiful greens and blues..... I can imagine myself there in an instant! Hope to join in this month - you and your teamies have posted such gorgeous pieces for inspiration! xxx Lynn

Lynne Moncrieff said...

This card is gorgeously fresh as though the morning dew can still be found clinging to the flowers.
Wishes
Lynne

Chrissy said...

So beautiful and refreshing Alison..love the soft colours and embossed flowers..just beautiful.

luv CHRISSYxx

Unknown said...

Lovely, Lovely, Lovely tall skinny card, Alison!! This truly does look like a Summer meadow and I'm sure your friend is going to love this beautiful b-day card :) :) Fab challenge theme for CVC!! XOXO-Shari

Redanne said...

I quite like the tall card/tag look and you really have captured a wonderful summer's day in your creation, the embossing on the front is stunning and I really love the way you finished off the inside. I bet your friend was / will be delighted with this gorgeous card. Anne xx

craftytrog said...

A stunning card Alison, and a lovely idea to decorate the inside! xox

Ellie Knol said...

Looks great!

crafty creations said...

Beautiful tag Alison and great theme for this month

Kjersti said...

Thanks for your visit! I have been quite busy myself lately, and blogging haven´t been first priority in a while. Hopefully I´ll have some more time as autumn appears. You have as always made a gorgeous card Alison! Love the flowers, and how you have decorated the inside too. I´m really in love with this color scheme, and I think you are too:) Hugs Kjersti:)

Brenda Brown said...

Soft, reflective and enchanting - love this Alison xxx

Ruth said...

Another delightful beauty, the colours with pop of white are so fresh. Ruth x