Birds and Branches

This is the last of the Blog Hop projects, and it is the one I chose to use for a swap I participated in recently. I am hoping that everyone has their swaps by the time this is posted :) And boy-howdy, did my Big Shot get a workout with this card!

This card has many layers and lots of sponging. I made 12 of these, and I should have thought about this a little more as it took me 5 hours to make them and I started at 7pm the night before they had to be mailed! I was a little short on sleep the next day at work, but the cards were done and in the mailbox by 1am, lol!
The card base is Naturals White, then there is a layer of Very Vanilla type-print DSP from the Neutrals DSP pack. I sponged the edges and corners with River Rock ink and stamped the birds and branches image in River rock in the lower left corner. I also distressed the edges and inked them with the River Rock inkpad. Of course, I outlined with white gel pen :)
All of the other layers of this card were sponged with River Rock and edges inked with a Soft Suede marker.
For the banner, I used a ½" strip of River Rock and stamped the sentiment in Early Espresso. I also took a ¾" of Naturals White and die cut it with the Finishing Touches edglelit, then glued this to the bottom edge of the River Rock strip. Next I used a 1" Square punch to make the dovetails.  Then I paper piercer faux stitches and added white gel pen thread.

I could go on with all the steps, but I don't think there were any tips or techniques that would be helpful to list :) I hope everyone who gets one of these is at least half as pleased with it as I am!

Inside is more sponging and the birds and branches again. Can't forget the white gel pen outline, which shows up nicely with the River Rock sponging :)

• Stamps: Serene Silhouettes, Apothecary Art, Petite Pairs
• Ink: River Rock, Soft Suede, Early Espresso
• Paper: Naturals White, River Rock, Neutrals DSP pack
• Other: Big Shot with Apothecary Accents framelits and Finishing Touches edgelits, Essentials Paper-Piercing Pack with Paper Piercer and Piercing Mat, Sponge, Signo white gel pen, Pearls Basic Jewels, Vintage Faceted buttons, Naturals designer buttons, Stampin' Dimensionals, White Baker's Twine, Glue Dots