Handmade Southwestern Sunrise Card in Peach & Colorful Jet Trails

Peek at Handmade Southwestern Sunrise Card

Sunrise and silhouettes with a Southwestern flair were on my mind when I set about creating my handmade Southwestern Sunrise Card. I wanted to use rich colors like those I remember seeing in the early morning when traveling throughout the Southwest. I also wanted those colors to be the focus of my handmade card so I decided to utilize a clean and simple design (at least clean and simple for me). Since my thoughts were on Southwestern landscapes in the rising sun, I used dark silhouettes against the colored skies. I think these silhouettes enhance the richness of the color in the sunrise background. I used a combination of digital and non-digital techniques to create my handmade Southwestern Sunrise Card.

Since I have sunrises on the brain, here's a couple of interesting pictures that I captured from my window during a recent sunrise. I found the jet trails in the sky to be unique and beautiful.

Jet Trails in the Sky at Sunrise

They look like lasers slashing across the sky.

Colorful Jet Trails at Sunrise

Beautiful Trails Left from Jets in the Sky

My Love of Papercrafting Challenges

I follow many challenge blogs and my Southwestern Sunrise Card reflects the following challenges:

• Mark's Finest Papers Speedy Fox and Friends Challenge to create a clean and simple design. My Southwestern Sunrise Card is a very clean and simple design for me.
• Make it Monday where you can showcase one of your cards and I have selected my Southwestern Sunrise Card as my showcase.
• The Poodles Parlour where this week's challenge is anything goes and I have elected to include my Southwestern Sunrise Card in this challenge.
• Digital Tuesday Challenge has the current theme "Life is Peachy" and my Southwestern Sunrise Card has lots of peach coloration and I think watching a beautiful sunrise while drinking my morning coffee makes life quite "peachy". You also must use a digital component in your project and I used 3 different digital stamps on my card (saguaro cactus, grasses, and woman).
• My Mum's Craft Shop Challenges has the current theme "Let's get digital" which requires digital images only. My Southwestern Sunrise Card meets this challenge since all three of my images (saguaro cactus, grasses, and woman) are digi stamps.

Handcrafting My Southwestern Sunrise Card


Card Statistics

• Final Card Size: 5.5" tall x 4.25" wide
• Tools: oval dies, inverted scalloped circle dies, cuttlebug machine, scoring board, paper cutter, blending tool, sponge pieces, non-stick craft mat, computer
• Digital Stamps: saguaro cactus, grasses, woman
• Materials: cardstock, scrapbook paper, cover stock, adhesives, spray sealer, inks, glossy cardstock, ribbon
• Card can be Purchased in My Polished Moxie Etsy Shop: Southwestern Sunrise Card

Front View of My Handmade Southwestern Sunrise Card 

Handmade Southwestern Sunrise Card

To begin my card I created my sunrise on a 4" x 6" piece of glossy cardstock using a blending tool, sponge pieces, and ink. Once the ink was completely dry I added the silhouettes (saguaro cactus, grasses, and woman digi stamps) digitally by printing them on my inked background. After adding the silhouettes I used die cuts to create two separate image panels. I cut an oval around the cactus and an inverted scalloped circle around the woman. The inverted scalloped circle reminds me of the sun and I found it appropriate for the theme of my sunrise card. To complete my images I sprayed them with matte sealer to protect the inks.

I selected the color palette for my card based upon the colors used in my sunrise. The light and dark peach cardstocks highlight my sunrise and I found a piece of scrapbook paper that integrated both colors.

For the base of my Southwestern Sunrise Card I used dark peach cardstock and scored it across the top so that my card opens vertically from the bottom. I created the front panel from light peach cardstock and affixed a piece of the variegated paper on the lower portion of the panel. Before attaching the panel to the card base I added a dark peach ribbon at the interface where the two papers overlap and wrapped the ends of the ribbon around to the back of the light peach cardstock.

To finish off the front panel of my card I matted both of my images with dark peach cardstock and popped them from the surface of the card to give it some dimension.


Angle Views of My Handmade Southwestern Sunrise Card

Left Angle - Handmade Southwestern Sunrise Card

Right Angle - Handmade Southwestern Sunrise Card

These views of the front of my card give you an idea as to how the popped image panels add dimension. I use silicon adhesive to achieve the dimension.


Inside Panel of My Handmade Southwestern Sunrise Card

Inside Panel of Handmade Southwestern Sunrise Card

I elected to leave the inside of my card blank. The panel base is light peach cardstock that I layered with cream cardstock. I embellished the panel with a strip of the variegated paper.

I also constructed a handmade envelope from heavy cover stock to complement my handmade card. I embellished my envelope down its left side with a strip of the variegated paper.


Final Handmade Southwestern Sunrise Card and Coordinating Handmade Envelope

Handmade Southwestern Sunrise Card and Envelope Ensemble

I like the simplicity of this card and that the richness of the sunrise really shines against the subdued background.

This card set is available in my Polished Moxie Etsy Shop: Southwestern Sunrise Card

Here's a tip: I scanned the glossy cardstock with my completed inked sunrise (before adding the silhouettes) into my computer so that I can use it on other cards and digital projects. 


Card Recipe Specifics for Southwestern Sunrise Card

• Cardstock: Hammermill, Ocean State, Wausau
• Paper: Paper Essentials
• Cover Stock: Staples
• Dies: Nestabilities classic ovals large and small, Nestabilities classic inverted scalloped circles large and small
• Digital Stamps: saguaro cactus from Digi Doodle Shop; grasses and woman silhouettes from All Silhouettes
• Inks: Colorbox pigments
• Tools: cuttlebug machine, scoring board, paper cutter, blending tool, sponge pieces, non-stick craft mat, computer
• Misc: adhesive, silicon adhesive, ribbon, spray sealer
• Techniques: sponging, die cutting, digital stamping

Thank you for visiting my blog and allowing me to share my handcrafted items with you. I hope you enjoyed your visit and will come back soon!

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