Sunday, February 27, 2011

These Songs I Sing, I Sing For You



Inspired by  pair of new artsy, nature-theme images from Stampendous (specifically Bird Frame and Dragonfly Vine), I set out with today's card to make something a little more artsy/collage-y than my normal style. I stamped the beautiful Bird Frame image in Walnut Stain Distress Ink onto a piece of neutral patterned paper from Basic Grey's Nook & Pantry paper collection, trimmed it out, inked the edges in Frayed Burlap, Vintage Photo, and Walnut Stain Distress inks, and then roughed up the edges with a distressing tool.

The image includes a nest down at the bottom, but I wanted to make my own nest embellishment to go over top. I'll tell you real quick how I did that. I punched a circle, made one cut from the perimeter to the center and then overlapped the cut edges to form a very shallow cone. Then I rolled some hemp into a nest shape, filled the cone with hot glue, and pressed the hemp nest down into it. I also added a few short pieces of burlap string sticking out around the edges, so it would be messier looking and more realistic. Inside, I glued three pearls for the eggs. Here's a closer look:



I arranged a scrap of cardboard, some burlap, burlap string, tickets, and torn music paper as a background for the image and then adhered the whole collage to a pretty light blue paper from Melissa Frances. The edges of the background paper and the cardboard have been lightly painted with white acrylic paint and then aged with a combination of distress inks and a distressing tool.

The sentiment was inspired by a sentiment I saw in an older Stampington & Co. publication. It reads, "These songs I sing, I sing for you." It just melts my heart!  Is there a song with those lyrics, does anyone know? I really wanted to put the first half on the outside of this card and the rest on the inside, but artful arrangement of title collages is evidently not my thing -- or maybe I just don't have the right supplies. I went with plan B and added just the word "sing" out of chipboard letters from The Girls' Paperie. Right now the card is blank inside, but I'll be putting the full sentiment on a decorated inside, just as soon as I figure out how I want to decorate the inside.

Thanks so much for visiting!


Stamps: Bird Frame (Stampendous)
Paper: Papertrey Rustic White, Melissa Frances dp, Basic Grey dp
Ink: Ranger Old Paper, Brushed Corduroy, Vintage Photo and Walnut Stain Distress Inks
Accessories: distressing tool, hemp cord, Kaisercraft pearls, Prismacolor pencils, white acrylic paint, burlap, tickets (from Michelle Wooderson's etsy shop), cardboard box, The Girls' Paperie chipboard letters, old music paper, Papertrey buttons, May Arts burlap string

55 comments:

Danielle said...

Oh wow Amy, you have done this collage style card to perfection! This is just stunning ... and that little birds nest is exquisite! Such gorgeous inspiration!
Hugs, Danielle

Luanne said...

LOVE that bird nest with the pearls! Truly a piece of art! And yes, I believe it is an Elton John song... it also says "How wonderful life is, when you're in my world". :-)

Bastelfrosch's Kreativseite said...

This is a wonderful card!!!
Annette

Kim Dellow said...

Wow! That truly is stunning - just love it! Kim

Nana said...

Gorgeous card, lovin' the bird nest so creative!

Sylvia/LittleTreasures said...

Awesome.. love all the elements
it reflects SPRING and I'm all for that.

Tosha Leyendekker said...

This card just sings!! What a stunning work of art Amy!! LOVE that nest, the pieced sentiment, the cardboard...shoot...EVERYTHING!! Wish ya lived closer so I could just touch ya and steal some of that mojo of yours. If I could, I would in a nano second. Don't you doubt it!! LOL

Лилия Немировская said...

открыточка - чудо! гнездышко - классный элемент

Anonymous said...

Amy, I just love the detail in this card, the little nest is so cute.

Dina Kowal Creative said...

Perfection. Totally love this!! Every single detail is just right. I'm coming over with Tosha.......

Dina

Maureen said...

this is just pure eye candy...texture perfection :) Eek, I love it!

Vickie said...

What a stunning card, Amy! I am so enchanted with it. Thanks so much for the inspiration!
I believe Luanne is right, you may be thinking of Elton John's song called "Your Song", with the lyrics, "My gift is my song and this one's for you".

Anonymous said...

Lovely card. Beautiful texture and I love how you created the nest.

Michele Lourenco said...

Amy, this card is just beautiful. I love the shabby chicness of it!
I love how you made the nest and the pearls as eggs! simply beautiful!

Jessica said...

Do you ever run out of creative genius? You are amazing that nest is stunning, beautiful card!

Leigh OBrien said...

This is just fantastic, Amy...so beautiful!

Betty Wright said...

Gorgeous, Amy! Beautiful textures and detailing! Wonderfully done!

Tami said...

Wow Amy! How do you do it!?!? This is perfection!

Unknown said...

Gf, you nailed that one for sure! Love, LOVE, did I say I LOVE this card? The style, the texture, that gorgeous stamp, and of course that awesome bird's next. Perfecto!

Anonymous said...

Beautiful card, such I candy! The song also may be by John Denver, Leaving on a Jet Plane, says "Every song I sing I sing for you." Going back a few years with that one.

Sherri said...

How creative! It just all comes together to make a gorgeous card!

Bonnie said...

Amy, This card is so gorgeous -- it takes my breath away! Love the shabby style.

Wanda Cullen said...

I kept staring at this gorgeous collage for the longest time! It's just incredible and my fave part is the little bird's nest with pearl eggs! Ingenious and so creative!

titancia said...

What a beautiful card! I love how you've used the twine and pearls to create such a sweet birds nest.

Lynne Phelps said...

I really LOVE this card! The burlap and corrugated cardboard add such great texture, and that bird's nest is FABULOUS!! WONDERFUL!

Erum Tasneem said...

beautiful! LOVE the nest!

noomiy said...

woooow! love this card... and pearls and everything! Adorable! :)

eva said...

What a beautiful card!

Anonymous said...

I really like the "collagey" (is that a word?) look and the bird's nest is just too cool!

Jerri Jimenez said...

Every single element you've incorporated into this design is perfect. I absolutely love those fibers and the bird nest is over-the-top adorable Amy! Love the music staff paper, the card board. I'll take two tickets to the concert these birds are giving!

Jane Wetzel said...

hi there Amy- FABULOUS card! Hope u r well- dont comment much but I do keep up with your posts and you are certainly a GREAT inspiration :) WOW...your cards are amazing! :) jane w.

Laura Pryor said...

Rockin' bird's nest, AMY!! WOW!

Joanna McDonald said...

This is absolutely exquisite!!
I love everything about it - a
beautiful job!

Lynn Put said...

Oh my word this is FABULOUS!!! I love everything about this and the artsy collagey look is incredible!

Diane Jaquay said...

FABULOUS card! Love the "natural" feel, and the "birds nest" is awesome! Outstanding work!

Auntie Em said...

Oh my! Your card is so artistic and beautiful! I love all the layers and that little nest is awesome!
Thank you for sharing! :)

Picture This said...

You had me at the nest, so adorable!! Thank you for sharing your creations.

DawnW

Kerry Piader said...

This card is just gorgeous Amy.......I just love this card!

Playing with Paper said...

Oh Amy this is just lovely!! I really like the birds nest your so creative!

Conniecrafter said...

So cool, love that stamp and what a great idea for the nest, just perfect, love all the textures you have going!

Yogi said...

I love the way you worked this collage. looks fabulous. all the little details.

dpkennedy said...

I love the hemp twine nest! Really pretty card!

Mackie said...

Love,love this card. The birds nest is perfect! Such creation!

Shantaie said...

gasp....utter and complete perfection!

Dawn Easton said...

This needs a frame...it's gorgeous! A real piece of artwork!

Sara Henton said...

OH MY GOODNESS!! This is too gorgeous!!

Lea L. said...

Holy wow...that nest is freaking fantastic!! What an awesome idea...I totally love it! This card is just fab!!

Star Ark Creativity said...

It is a beautiful card. I like the little bird nest. Thank you for sharing.
Have a great day :)
Delama

Christina Fischer said...

THUD. This is stunning, Amy! That nest is brilliant! :)

Kathy K said...

Amy, this is one of the most gorgeous cards I've ever seen! I can't even point out what I like most about it, because there are too many things! The colors, the distressed look, the letters, THE NEST--OMG!... I just love it all. So beautiful. You are so inspiring!

vilivine said...

Amazing card!
i love the nest:)

Unknown said...

Gorgeous card!!!!!!!!

Dina Kowal Creative said...

Hey missy... CASE'd your nest and linked it here: http://mamadinis.blogspot.com/2011/05/justrite-sketch-challenge.html
Hugs! Dina

Lizet Luna said...

Hola!!!, Haces cosas divinas, me di un pase por tu blog y encontre cosas muy bellas!!!, en verdad tus tarjetas son para enamorarse!!!! Felicidades!

tidirob said...

Can I buy this card?