Pansy Punch layered Flower Shop flower

I felt it was time to make a more feminine card, so today's card features quite a lot of pink - much more than I would normally use!

This card almost created itself.  I LOVE the new Painted Blooms Designer Series Paper, so the colours were drawn from there, Wild Wasabi and Rose Red, but it all started with the flower.

I had seen my friend and fellow Crazy Crafter, Angela Lorenz's tutorial on creating her beautiful flowers with the Beautiful Bunch and Petite Petals sets and was totally inspired by her.  Since I don't have the Beautiful Bunch set, I decided to experiment with the Flower Shop stamp set and Pansy Punch.

The methodology was similar in principle to Angela's but the wider petals on the flower required a change to the method of pinching the petals together.  Here are the steps I took just in case you'd like to give this lovely technique a try with the Pansy Punch.

Layered Flowers:

I stamped two images from the flower shop stamp set using Rose Red ink on Whisper White card stock.  Then I sponged the images with Blushing Bride ink. The next step was to punch out the images with the Pansy Punch.  Then, with a pair of paper snips, I made a small cut between each petal just as far as the beginning of the centre of the flower.

I stamped one image from the Petite Petals stamp set using Rose Red ink on Whisper White card stock and sponged with Pink Pirouette ink then punched out this image with the Petite Petals punch.

Using a sponge dauber, I inked all the edges of the flowers with Rose Red.

I sprayed a little water onto the back of each flower just to dampen them a little.

One at a time,  I gently grasped each side of a Flower shop flower petal and squeezed together to form a sort of concertina effect (see the picture to get a better idea of this). 

Flower Shop petals folded and left to dry

For the Petite Petals flower, I gently squeezed the tips of the petals together to form points.

Then came the hardest part – leaving them to dry!

Once dry, I carefully unfolded the petals a bit.

Before and after unfolding flowers

Then I placed the flowers on a soft, padded surface and gently rubbed in circles in the centre of the flower with an implement with a rounded end (I used the end of pen that was smooth and round).  This lifts up the petals.

Before rubbing the centre of the flower

After rubbing the centre of the flower

I placed a glue dot on the centre back of one flower and layered it on top of the other flower, offsetting the petals.  Then I placed a glue dot on the back of the Petite Petals flower and, again offsetting the petals, adhered it to the centre of the flower.

To finish off the centre my flower I added a coloured rhinestone that I found in my stash.

Finished layered flower usisng Flower Shop stamp and Pansy Punch

What do you think?  If you have any questions, please contact me and I'll do my best to answer them.

Until next time
Stephanie

Butterfly Basics

I'm very excited (and also a bit nervous) to say "hello everyone" because this is my very first blog! Hopefully, though, just the first of many because I have lots of ideas that I'm looking forward to sharing.  I am very grateful to all the talented people who have inspired, taught and encouraged me.  I hope that I can do them justice and would love to "pay it forward".

A butterfly seemed appropriate for my first blog - I went into a chrysalis as a technophobe and emerged as a blogger!

This card was inspired by a Think Ink challenge set by the incomparable Sue Madex with this inspiration piece.  At her site Madex Creations, you'll see Sue's beautiful and very creative card.   It was the first challenge I had attempted but it definitely won't be the last.  It really stretched my creative muscles and made me more aware of my own creative processes.

So how did I do it?  
I folded my A5 Basic Grey cardstock in half to make my card.  Then opened it up again and used the fold line to gauge where I wanted to place my butterfly.  
Then I cut out my butterfly with the largest of the Butterflies Thinlets Dies.  After that I cut another butterfly (with the same thinlet) from black cardstock.  I adhered Whisper White cardstock to the inside of the front of the card (under the Basic Grey) and then stuck my black butterfly onto the white - fitting it snugly into the butterfly-shaped space in the grey.  
Having coloured the butterfly with my markers (I left some bits white for "pop"), I carefully cut around the bottom of the butterfly to remove the excess white card and drew on the feelers with the fine end of a black marker.  
To add the two borders (from the Butterfly Basics stamp set), I first masked the butterfly to protect it and stamped in line with the edge of the card.  I added one of the sentiments from the same stamp set at an angle to balance the butterfly.  
I cut a piece of Smoky Slate cardstock a little smaller than the card and adhered it to the inside of the card and in the middle, stamped the other sentiment from the Butterfly Basics stamp set.
It didn't necessarily need the bling - but I couldn't help myself!

See you again soon!
Stephanie

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