Beauty-ful Cards

Hello fellow stampers.  Barbara here with a couple of cards I've been dying to make using this new stamp set called Big Bold Blossoms by Daniella Hayes.

In example #1, I colored directly onto the stamp with Distress Markers in Dusty Concord (flower), Peeled Paint (leaves), Wild Honey (stamen).  You can take your time coloring onto the stamp because you are going to rehydrate the inks by misting water over the stamp.

You want to mist very lightly, just making the ink look wet, not runny wet, although you can get a very watercolor effect by doing that.  Of course, your image will not be crisp like this one.

I brushed these same colors onto my craft sheet and picked each color up with a water brush, applying it to the image.  I used less water for a deeper color and more water to gain some light highlights.  However, when coloring the stamen, I picked up Mustard Seed from my craft sheet and colored the center in.

In example #2, I simply misted the stamp once more, without adding any more marker colors, and stamped again.  This time, my image is a bit lighter, but still quite visible.

This time, I am going to color the image with Copic markers in V01-Heath andV04-Lilac (flower), YG03-Yellow Green, YG23-New Leaf, and G99-Olive (Leaves), and finally a light application of YG00-Light Mimosa (stamen).  I found this to be an easier and quicker coloring technique because the Copic Markers are alcohol-based and will not affect the image stamped with water-based Distress Markers.

Here is a comparison!  Which one do you like best?  No need to answer, of course, as this is a personal preference.

Now, in this next example (#3), I stamped the image once more, still without adding color to the stamp, just more misted water, and this is where you can see the watercolored effect better.  

But what I really want to do with this is cut out the flower and use the negative space as a mask so that I can stamp inside my flower image.

I cut the leaves and stamen out and, with some removable tape added to the back of these pieces, I covered these areas to protect them from my next step.

I wanted to add some script to my flower, but not to my stamen or leaves.  I used the script stamp from the Art Journaling with Terri Sproul 2 stamp set with Black Soot distress ink.

I used this same technique for both of my flower images, and here is the result when I remove the masks.

I fussy cut the flowers and embossed them with a stylus to give them some added dimension.  Emboss the outline of the flower on the stamped side.  Then turn it over and emboss the centers between the embossed lines you made on the front.  

You can see the purple one, on the left, is more shapely than the very flat pink one on the right.  Set these aside.

Let's put the first card together.  

Stamp striped butterfly from the Terri Sproul's Wish stamp set twice onto scrap white cardstock.with black StazOn.  Color one butterfly with Twinkling H20s in Blue Grass and Golden Opal.

Adhere the two wrong sides together and outline with a black marker.

Stamp "Beauty" onto a scrap of white card stock with Peeled Paint distress ink.  Die cut a label shape around the image.  

I used the two colors of Twinkling H20s to color the label, spritzing with water and allowing the colors to marbleize.  I curved this label when adding it, and used the metal studs to appear as if it is holding the label down on each side.

I decided to add the Golden Opal Twinkling H20 to the stamen on this flower, as well as outline the kraft doily with it, for extra shimmer.

Adhere all the pieces to the card, as shown in the photo above.  

Card number two is layered over the die cut cream doily that I distressed with Antique Linen distress ink.  A few decorative swirls were die cut from the same die and added beneath the flower.  

Supplies used:
Sin City Stamps:  Big Bold Blossoms by Daniella Hayes; Art Journaling with Terri Sproul 2; Terri Sproul's Wish stamp sets
ColourArte:  Twinkling H20s - Blue Grass, Golden Opal
Distress Markers:  Dusty Concord, Peeled Paint, Wild Honey, Mustard Seed, Antique Linen
Copic Markers: V01-Heath, V04-Lilac, YG03-Yellow Green, YG23-New Leaf, G99-Olive, YG00-Light Mimosa
5"x7" pre-folded kraft card
5.5" x 5.5" square green card
Cream card stock for die cutting
Marianne Design LR0236 die
Kraft doilies (Recollections)
Country Road paper pad (Paper Studio)
Two metal studs

I hope you enjoyed my card projects today and that you will check out the new stamp sets that are arriving at Sin City Stamps.  We are also sponsored by ColourArte with a selection of their gorgeous Twinkling H20s, which are so versatile and easy to use.  Please check both shops out for some fab products.

If you are interested in seeing more of my work, I would love for you to stop by my blog at Black Hole Art Studio.

Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful, creative weekend!!!

Barbara