IC227 Northern California

I started working on my card for the inspiration challenge over at Splitcoast yesterday morning, and then received a call from a friend who wanted to take a walk together.  As much as I love spending time in my craft room, losing myself in my creative endeavors, I love my friends more, so I left my card for later and had a wonderful time at the farmer's market and walking the hills near my home with my friend.  I ended up finishing my card this morning, and here it is.

The challenge was to create a card that represented the things you love about your state.  Well, I have to say there are so many things to love about living in California, but my favorite things are the redwoods and the ocean.  Driving through a redwood forest can really transport you to another time and place, and when you combine the gorgeous Pacific ocean with those beautiful trees...well, it's just awe-inspiring.

I tried to capture the ocean beyond a grove of redwood trees on my card with the sun cascading through.  I used two stamp sets to achieve this:  Lovely as a Tree from SU, which is one of my all-time favorite stamp sets; and a Close To My Heart set, but, I'm sorry, I'm not sure of the name of that set.  I used lots of the techniques that Michelle Zindorf teaches.  See my sidebar for her blog.  I also added some faux stitching, punched triangle border and a cuttlebugged background.  The pinecones were handmade by using a heart punch (more on that in my next post), and greenery was from a MS punch.

I'm glad I was able to complete this card and still have time to spend with a friend.  Now, I'm off to do some much needed housecleaning.  Hope you are all doing something fun this weekend.

Til Next Time,