Susan’s Sunset

One of the things I love most about being a Stampin’ Up!® demonstrator is the relationships I make. About six or seven years ago, I was on the Stampin’ Up!® forum and saw a post by a New Yorker named Susan.  She wanted a decal for her car so she could advertise her Stampin’ Up!® business. While we had decals that attached to the outside of your car, that wouldn’t work for her. Susan lives in upstate New York where they have two seasons – Winter and July. Decals on the outside of her car would never work.

I had purchased some clings for the inside of windows, and after I added some to each of my cars and the door to my studio, I had a few left over, so I offered one or two to Susan. All I asked was a card from her.

Oh. My. Gosh. The card I received from Susan was over the top amazing. She is such a wonderful artist. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything she’s created that I didn’t like. Everything she creates is artistically balanced, and she has the most amazing color combinations. I CASE (Copy And Share Everything) her a lot! Susan quickly became my cyber bestie, and I was so thrilled to meet her at a Stampin’ Up!® Leadership conference shortly after.

When I found out I was going to be a grandma, Susan was a little jealous. But then, a few months later she found out she, too, would be a grandma. And then again. And again. And again. She has three granddaughters and a grandson, and they’re all adorable. I’m so happy for her, even though now I’m a little jealous. (Just a little jealous. After all, I have my one grand almost every day, and hers are a little farther away, so she only sees them every few weeks/months. But still, I’m jealous.)

Susan and I have been cyber BFFs for years now. She’s probably my closest friend – cyber or otherwise – because we share the same things in life. We hold Stampin’ Up!® classes, we’re building businesses and only buying Stampin’ Up!® products we can actually use in classes, and we’re moms, grandmas, and wives. (Ok, that list is probably totally backwards in priority order.)

Susan and her awesome husband Rob bought a lake house a few years ago. It is amazing, and they enjoy the most beautiful sunsets. Here’s a photo of one of her recent sunsets.

How gorgeous is that? I have to admit, Susan’s sunset pictures are always amazingly beautiful. But this one made me want to recreate it.

Oh, seeing them together makes me realize I cannot ever compete with God. But still my awesome Mike was impressed.

I worked on this card without writing down what I used, but…

I masked off the center of the card and added Terracotta Tile ink to the top and bottom of the mask. I used some blender brushes that aren’t Stampin’ Up!®,  but I can say they will “change your life!” The sunset wasn’t quite as magnificent as I wanted, so I added some Lovely Lipstick Ink to the mix.

Moving outward, I used some Smoky Slate Classic Ink and Basic Gray Classic Ink to the Whisper White Cardstock.

Finally, I masked the outer colors and added Tuxedo Black Memento Ink to the center of the card. Then I added some silhouettes to the mix. Honestly, I can’t remember all the stamp sets I used, but I know I used some Waterfront, Rooted in Nature, and Painted Harvest Stamp Sets. I also added more color using Poppy Parade Stampin’ Blends to brighten up the sunset.

For the final touches, I added some “waves” using Smoky Slate Stampin’ Blends. Finally, I die-cut the sentiment using the Well Written Dies and Basic Black Cardstock.

This is an obvious example of how you cannot outdo God. But I’m still happy with my results!

Thanks for stopping by Stamping with Buffy. Have a lovely day!

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