Summer Blossoms

Thursday, July 12, 2012

Hi Friends! My DD is busy with her Barbie dolls and Legos, so I'm sneaking a few minutes to post a birthday card. I can't say who it's for, though, because she reads my blog. ;)
I recently got the Summer Blossoms stamp set from Flourishes, and have been dying to ink it up! The image area was small, though, so I masked off the edges of the Floral Oval die cut, then stamped a portion of the largest floral image in the set. I colored it with Copics, then added some Stickles to the centers of the blue flowers. (I'm nature-challenged, so I can't tell you what kind of flowers they are!)

If the layout looks a little familiar, it's because I used the same Flourishes sketch that I did for the Tiny Miracles wall hanging last week. I'd really like to win the new releases this month at Flourishes!!! There's still time for you to enter, too, if you hurry. You have until tomorrow, July 13, at 5PM EST.


And, Color Throwdown is celebrating their 200th color challenge this week with a fantastic color palette. Congrats, CTD! That's quite a milestone!!! Isn't that cupcake display adorable? I just couldn't resist playing along this week!

 Here's a close up of the pearls I used on one of the layers. I love the shape. They were white, but I colored them with my Copics. I tried using my darkest brown, but it just wasn't dark enough, so I ended up coloring them black first, then adding brown over that. Worked great!


This metal flower almost didn't make the cut for this card. I really liked it, and I felt like the buttons definitely needed something else, but everytime I put the flower on top, something was off. So I got out those trusty Copics again and colored the silver metal to get a more coppery color. Perfect!  

I lifted several of the layers. For the two rectangles, I used pieces of paper that I crimped with my paper crimper. I really prefer crimped paper to foam dots for layering, when the area is large enough, because it gives a lot more stability and strength to the layer. If you try it, just be sure the pieces are layered perpendicularly, or they will nest together and you won't get much lift. For the long ribbon layer, I knew it was going to sit up high on the card, so instead of wrapping the ribbon around the card, I cut a piece of chipboard the correct size, and covered that with my ribbons, then put a large foam dot at each end to pop it up, and glued the center of the strip to the bottom of the highest rectangular layer. Oh, and the chipboard was gray, so I just used Walnut Stain Distress Ink to ink up the edges before attaching the ribbon.

I love the dp on this card, so I used it inside, too. The polka dot pieces were cut with an oval punch, cut in half, lengthwise, then glued to the edges of the floral dp. A few Stickles dots finish it off.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a fab day!

I'd like to enter this card in the following challenges:

~Hugs,
 
Stamps: Summer Blossoms, Botanical Bookplates (Flourishes)
Paper: Fabulous (Simple Stories); solid cs in Brown & Stella (Taylored Expressions)
Ink: Memento; Copic markers; Distress Ink; Colorbox
Dies: Rounded Rectangle Die, Rounded Scalloped Frame (Verve); Floral Ovals, Fleur de Lis Squares, Labels One (Spellbinders)
Accessories: 3/4" x 1-1/2" oval punch (EK Success); ribbon; metal flower; Corner Chomper; rhinestones; pearls; brad; buttons; Stickles; twine; sewing thread; foam dots
Size: 4.25" square
Thanks for visiting my blog!
To have Ink Up delivered to your inbox,
subscribe in the box at the top right of the page.

10 comments :

ChristineCreations said...

What fun accents, and what a vibrant color combination! Great use of the sketch Cheryl! Thanks for playing along with us at Flourishes!

Stacy Morgan said...

How lovely! These colors are inviting, great embelishments. Thanks for playing in Flourishes challenge.
p.s. My kids have been playng legos all day too. hee hee

Bernie said...

Oh Cheryl this is absolutely fabulous. Love the bright cheerful colors, it is sure to put the happy in her birthday.
Hugs
Bernie

Maria said...

What a beautiful birthday card with beautiful colors! Love the flower image and the metal flower! I'm sure your friend will love this card! Have a wonderful weekend, hugs!

Jessi Fogan said...

I love all the teeny elements - the gems, pearls (those neat cat's eye shaped ones - clever way to get them to match!) - and that metal flower is amazing. Glad you kept at it until it worked, because does it ever work!

Melissa Craig said...

WOW!! What a STUNNING card! You are so amazing. Glad to see you're squeezing in a little crafting.

Conniecrafter said...

Beautiful, lovely coloring, great sketch and pretty papers. like what you have done with that metal flower!

Theresa said...

Cheryl, this is gorgeous. I love the blue flowers. Look at that beautiful stitching. Simply stunning. Thanks for joining us this week at There She Goes.

Lori said...

How pretty! Love all the details you included in your design. Thanks for joining us for our 200th CTD celebration!

Broni said...

What big, beautiful flowers and what a pretty card!! I'm so glad you could join in our CTD200 festivities!!