Wednesday, November 12, 2014

The Great Outdoors

The current Jingle Belles challenge theme is The Great Outdoors, and I had an idea. It happens once in a while.

After much futzing, here's what came out:


I know, I know, the theme is OUTdoors, and this is obviously INdoors, but hear me out. I love looking at snow from the warmth of my couch. I don't actually mind snow, or even driving in it*, but I think the best part of Winter is snow falling OUTdoors when you are INdoors.

So, let's start with the OUTdoor part: the snowy trees. I stamped my SU Lovely As A Tree tree in an Olive ink onto a piece of Kraft card stock. I knew I wanted to put a window over them, so I masked off around the window (actually, a little bit inside of it), then stamped the trees.

Next up: the INdoors. My room needed a floor and some wall decor, so I first made a faux wood floor. I used a pencil and ruler to draw the diagonal lines, then went over them with a brown marker, and drew in some horizontal lines to make it look like wood planks. I didn't bother with a wood grain. I just went over the wood with Antique Linen, then again around the edges with Gathered Twigs.

For the wall I used a piece of paper from a pile of unfinished card parts, cut a hole in the center a bit smaller than the window, stuck it down atop the faux wood floor, then added one of the windows. It fit.

The snow was made using a glaze gel pen. I even remembered to do it before I put on the acetate layer!

I glued on a few more windows, then a piece of acetate cut from some old packaging, and topped it with the final window.

Trim. The floor needed a piece of trim, so I colored a trip of card stock with Gathered Twigs, trimmed it (I crack myself up), and glued it down. I managed to schmear some brown onto the green paper, so I thought I'd add a cat toy to cover it up. In hindsight, I could have added some car hair along the floor, thus adding a bit of realism to the piece, and getting it off of my floor, but nooooo, I didn't do that.

Instead, I took a piece of the thickest twine I could find (#FAIL), rolled it up a bit, and glued it over the smudge. It took almost as long to wrestle that piece of twine into submission as it did to make the rest of the card. I might exaggerate. Maybe.

Because of the wood floor, I added a layer of white before mounting the thing to a Kraft card base. I used a piece of Neenah Solar White Linen because it's a bit lighter than regular Neenah Solar, but this card still weights about 4.7 pounds.

For my final act, I glued the kitty's butt to the window and put a glue dot under his head so he sticks to the acetate. The end.

I will only ever make one of these cards, and I hope The Belles won't disqualify me since it's an INdoor card looking OUTdoors. That's also an indoor cat looking out, for what it's worth.

Thanks for stopping by!

* I grew up in SW Ohio, and I've also lived in MI and the Chicago suburbs, so I don't mind snow. In fact, I love it! I don't even mind driving in the stuff. Well, except for the 28 years I lived in the DC area. Those people are scary. 

Stuff I used: SU Crumb Cake/Kraft card stock (they're mixed up in my collection, so I'm never sure which one I get), SU Lovely As A Tree stamp set, mystery green patterned paper, and the following:




7 comments:

  1. Very pretty!! Love the kitty looking at the snow!

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  2. It's beautiful, but after reading what it took to make it I can see why there will be only one. It did turn out really nice, though. Maybe if you forego the floor next time, it won't be so fiddly. I love snow, too, but NOT driving in it. The people here are crazy, too.

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  3. You set a pretty scene on this card. I had to laugh about the snow info. Here in NC, we panic when it snows. I just stay home.

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  4. Omg your scene is perfect!! I love the hardwood floor and wallpaper!! My favorite part is watching from inside too but I hate driving in it!

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  5. Well now I know why my window, window ledge, and window shutters are still all virginal in my stash...never been out to play...and I have had them at least 3 years.

    Your card is fantastic well worth (at least for the viewers) the time and effort. LOVE IT!

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  6. The cat toy cover-up is oh so clever ... and I love your trim board ... I like watching the snow through the windows too ... so glad you joined us in the great outdoors at Jingle Belles.

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  7. definitely DEFINITELY not disqualified, in fact, i think you should get a special distinction for MOST SENSIBLE outdoor holiday scene... as glimpsed from the INTERIOR of a warm cozy house!!! extra bonus points for the perfect cat toy, tho i agree cat HAIR would've been even cooler!!! :) :) :)

    as always, we JINGLE BELLES are pleased and proud to count you in our number, you make the comments process sooooo much more FUN! ♥♥♥

    (re snow: i'd go one step further and say the BEST way to experience it is ON A CARD one looks at whilst sitting outdoors in... ohhhhh... let's say florida or the bahamas or somewhere realllllly warm but with low heating bills, lol!) :)

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I'd love to hear what you really think! :-)

PS: I've had to disable Anonymous comments, because the spammers were killing me. If you are unable to comment, please email me your comment and I'll get it posted for you. Sorry. (stoopid spammers)