Styled Woodlands Card

Hi everyone!  For those of you that follow me on Facebook you might know I took a little vacation to Washington DC.  Good to have some time away with Jay and our nieces to see our nations capital.  Jay and I have been to Washington before, but we thought it was a good age to take the girls to see some of the things they will be studying in school this year.  I thought I would share a few highlights of the trip before I get to today's tutorial.

The new Barnes Foundation Museum in Philadelphia - I saw part of the Barnes collection in Dallas about 10-15 years ago and was eager to see the new museum.  It did not disappoint.

Baltimore - Ft McHenry, where we got to unfurl a flag, the same size as the flag Frances Scott Key saw in the morning, after the battle with the British in 1814.  He then penned the words to The Star- Spangled Banner, our national anthem.

On to Washington DC - Mt Vernon (George Washington's farm).  So worth the fee to get in...absolutely stunning gardens.

And then into the city - first time for all of us to ride the elevator to the top of the Washington Monument.

A day at the National Gallery.
So much I could write about this place.  I love how the door frames of each room, frame one of our favorite paintings...4 rooms away.

 Here she is from Maddie's view point...Symphony in White No 1: The White Girl

 We even rode the double-decker bus to get around to all the monuments...that was fun.

One of my favorite photos was taken in the Lincoln Memorial...the two of them, off to the side, sitting against a column waiting patiently for Jay and I to finish reading Lincoln's speech.

On one of our walks to the metro we found this heart shaped leaf on the ground.  We thought it was a good symbol of the trip, since we loved Washington.

So today I have one more card to share that was created for Stamper Anonymous using the new Styled Woodlands Stamp set.  I created a card front using Ranger watercolor paper, the Christmas Layering Stencil and a mini blending tool.

Once I finished the stenciling, I inked the edges of the card front and set it aside to prepare the wreath stamp.  I used a variety of Distress Markers to color directly onto the rubber.

One tip I would give about coloring with markers - Don't be afraid to mix one color right over another. You might notice that some of the leaves are two colors of green.  I thought this would add more depth to the stamped image, and it did. 
Once you have the stamp colored (my favorite part), spritz a fine mist of water over the top to reactivate the ink. Then stamp on card front.

The addition of the Wild Honey really made a difference in the final stamping.

I cut an extra piece of watercolor paper so I could make a second stamping (without re-inking the stamp).  It is lighter, but it still usable so I have set this aside for another project.

 I added the small sentiment to the center of the wreath with Black Soot Archival Ink.

Then stitched the card front to a red cardstock foundation.
The stamp set comes with a bow for the wreath.  I used Sticky Embossing Powder to add the Platinum glitter to the bow, then added it to the card with a bit of foam tape to raise it up.   If you have never used Sticky Embossing Powder before and would like to know more, check out this "how-to" post from 2012.

I also used the Distress Spritzer to add fleck of the Walnut Stain Distress Ink over the card front.

 

Super simple but one of my favorites.  I love how easy it is to get this watercolor look.  If you are by chance thinking about creating multiple cards it might be worth it to create a custom stamp pad.  Tim created a great step by step tutorial showing you how, as part of his 12 tags series a few years back. 

Thanks everyone for stopping by and also enduring my vacation photos!
now carry on,
paula

InLinkz.com

The one about the really BIG flower...

I have completed all the projects I had pending on my desk and found myself with a bit of time to make something of my choosing (love those kinds of days).  I have been inspired by many of the flowers I have seen recently from Karen Hayselden and on Instagram, Aida Haron (aidaville),  so I decided give my Jumbo Tattered Florals die a try.  I admit it...I have had this die for a while and have only used parts of it.  Today is a new day, so lets see what I can do with it! 

I decided to use Ranger Manila Cardstock for the flower because it's nice and thick.  I cut 4 each of these three shapes from the die. 

Then I set about to color the pieces with Distress Stain.
You know the drill:
1. Squeeze out the 2 colors of Distress Stain next to each other (I like an S pattern) on your craft sheet.
2. Spritz with water.
3. Smooch each flower into the mix, then quickly pick up and dry with a heat tool, dabbing off excess stain with paper towel.
4. Repeat over and over to built layers of color.

Once dry, quickly ink the edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.

I made a stack of the large petals and the middle sized petals (leaving the small for later).  There is no hole in center, so I made one with my paper piercer and added a Long Fastener to secure.

I spritzed the petals with water and started rolling the petals.

I also spritzed the smaller section at the top of the flower but I wasn't sure what to do to make it look natural.

So I took drastic measures...I spritzed on more water and then crumpled the whole darn thing in a ball.

Till it looked like this.  Remember, I used the heavy weight Manila cardstock which can take a beating like this.  If you were to use regular cardstock, I'm sure the unfolding of this flower would prove to be tricky.

I left the flower to sit all crumpled up so I could concentrate on the smallest 4 petals that were still sitting on the table.

I followed the same steps as the large flower.  

Poke hole in center...

add brad to secure...

spritz with water and crumple into a ball.

I unfolded the large flower then added the small flower to the center with Multi Medium.

Once the flower was together, I arranged the petals just a bit, then dried it with a heat tool.  Once dry, the flower is super sturdy (even after all the misting, crunching and unfolding).

The final touch is to use the Spritzer tool and a Distress Marker to add a fine mist of Walnut Stain ink over the flower.

Love the texture that

I am going to be very honest - this flower is big.  About 4.5" across.  Remember, I used 4 of each size of the petals so the flower would be full.  If you choose to use fewer petals or a different configuration, the flower may turn out smaller.
So the question becomes...what to do with a flower of this size?
You will have to stay tuned to find out...i've got an idea a brewing.

now carry on,
paula

InLinkz.com