Papertrey September Blog Hop Challenge

It's time for the monthly Papertrey Ink Blog Hop! Here is the challenge:

One of the most fun things about this hobby is the people you meet, whether in person or online, and the things you can learn from them. Now is your chance to show off any skills you might have learned from a fellow stamper, and perhaps even give them a little shout out to thank them for the inspiration they have provided. Create a project using one of your favorite learned skills and perhaps after a little blog hopping, we will ALL learn some new tips and tricks and continue to pass on the love of this hobby!

 
First let me show you the card I created and then I will fill you in on all the details:
 

 
My inspiration came from Freedom in Creating, the awesomely creative blog of Michelle Zindorf. Now I am nowhere near as talented and I really admire her shading and varigated backgrounds so I decided to try something similar paired with PTI's Through the Trees set.
 
I used three ink colors and sponged in "strips" onto white cardstock. When the colors were the way I liked them, I stamped over the background with the image and heat embossed with black ep. I then stamped a couple of small birds in the tree branches.
 
The colors of the card were then determined by the ink colors. I used an Enchanted Evening mat under a layer of white that was impressed with the PTI Linen impression plate. The lower section was stamped with a sentiment from the set, border punched at the bottom edge and added to a Scarlet Jewel mat. The image was matted onto a Scarlet Jewel Mat Stack 4 piece and pealrs were added for the finishing touch.
 
Thanks for stopping by and, if you like what you see, I hope you will consider following my blog. Have a fun time hopping!