Distressed Nature Walk

Hi there and Happy Wednesday! I wanted to share a card today that I really had some fun creating. The design inspiration came from the sketch over at Our Creative Corner. They also challenged participants to "Distress to De-Stress" on their projects, too. I was pretty excited to rough up the edges of this one, as I usually do not use distressing a whole lot in my projects.

I also paired it up with the fabby color combo from Friday Mashup! I don't know about you, but when Cherry Cobbler is involved, I'm always ready to play. As soon as I saw these colors, I knew that my Nature Walk stamp set was going to be inked up for the first time today. 

Here are a few of the details:

• I distressed the edges of all of the cardstock layers on the card using the Cutter Kit. The 7-Sided Distressing Tool in that kit makes it easy-peasy to get a little rough around the edges. Then, I sponged the edges with Early Espresso ink to help them show their age a little more. :)
• I used Botanical Gazette DSP and decided to emboss a few of the pieces with the Square Lattice embossing folder for some more texture. 
• I inked up the image in Early Espresso ink, wiped off the ink on the little flowers and colored them with my Cherry Cobbler marker. After stamping the image on Very Vanilla, I used my blender pen and ink pads to color the flowers in Cherry Cobbler and the leaves in So Saffron. 
• The distressed edge around the main image was created using the Color Spritzer and a Crumb Cake marker, then sponging So Saffron ink, then Early Espresso ink, on the very outer edge. It was a lot of steps but I love how it turned out. 
• I know I have used this little, cut-out bee before on another project. He fit so perfectly on this one that I brought him back for an encore performance. Of course, I didn't foget to glitter up his wings! ;)

 One last shot of the inside of the inside of the card, with more distressing 

(that DSP took on an odd color in the photo but, trust me, it's Cherry Cobbler): 

That's all for today! Thanks so much for stopping by. Be sure to visit again really soon. My 2 furry felines (<---see the side-bar) helped me clean up my craft room the other day and they have decided that "Benny and Tomas' BIG Give" will be coming up soon. It's their catchy name for blog candy. They completely stole the name from Oprah, too. While there will NOT be a car given away, we will have some fun, crafty-goodness to share. (Sorry, I do not have Oprah's budget, lol!) Stay tuned! Have a HAPPY day! :)


Stampin' Up! Supply List: 
Stamps: Nature Walk, Teeny Tiny wishes (sentiment)
Ink: Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler and So Saffron Classic ink
Papers: Botanical Gazette DSP, Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, So Saffron and Very Vanilla card stock
Accessories: Word Window punch, Dazzling Diamonds glitter, Cherry Cobbler Seam Binding, Blender Pens, Crumb Cake Stampin' Write Marker, Color Spritzer Tool, Sponges, Basic Pearls, Scallop Border punch (inside), Square Lattice Embossing folder, Antique Brad, Cutter Kit (distressing tool) and Stampin' Dimensional
Non SU! Accessories: circle and scalloped circle die cut