Thursday, March 17, 2016

The Legend of the Dogwood


"At the time of the crucifixion, the dogwood had reached the size of the mighty oak tree. So strong and firm was the wood that it was chosen as the timber for Jesus' cross.

To be used for such a cruel purpose greatly distressed the dogwood. While nailed upon it, Jesus sensed this, and in his compassion said, "Because of your pity for my suffering, never again shall the dogwood tree grow large enough to be used for a cross. Henceforth, it shall be slender, bent, and twisted, and its blossoms shall be in the form of a cross–two long and two short petals.

"In the center of the outer edge of each petal will be the print of nails. In the center of the flower, stained with blood, will be a crown of thorns so that all who see it will remember."


There is nothing in this world that says "Easter" to me more than seeing a Dogwood Tree and Pink Dogwoods are (of course) my favorites!  We saw lots of them on our 2015 vacation as we drove through Tennessee, Virginia, and North Carolina. My husband had not seen pink ones before and it was a definitely a treat for me as well.

As I worked on another card for the The Card Concept Challenge #51 and was admiring the inspiration image, it occurred to me that I should be using some "Kraft" Cardstock with a Pink Dogwood Bloom to create an Easter card. I have had this Dogwood Bloom stamp by Impression Obsession for a number of years but I hadn't ever used it before.  These days you can buy the cling mount version of this stamp which is fantastic. Now that I have fallen in love with water coloring, I had to try it with this stamp. It's not an outline image, but I figured I could work with it.

I stamped the image in Versamark on Canson Bristol 96# Watercolor Paper and heat set it using Simon Says Stamp Antique Gold Embossing Powder.  I love the soft white of this paper over some of the others out there on the market. Since the petals are mostly white, I painted the entire flower using a solution of Perfect Pearls & water, then let that dry.  Once it was dry, I took my lightest pink Zig Clean Color Real Brush Pen in Sugared Almond Pink and went around the outer edge of each petal and blended that with more Perfect Pearls Solution. One of the nice things about the pigment powder is that you can make your solution as shimmery as you like.  I just touch the very tip of my damp brush into the powder and mix it with a bit more water on an acrylic block.

I went back in with the same color to add depth to that area for my second and third layers. The final touch on the blooms was using Pale Rose for the indication of each nail in the petals.  The leaves were mostly covered with gold embossing powder but for what was showing, I used Mowed Lawn Distress Marker. When it was dry, I die cut it using the largest of the Simon Says Stamp Stitched Rectangles.  The mat was a scrap of Pink Pirouette Cardstock that was laying next to my die cutting machine that I cut down to be 4 1/8th x 5 3/8ths.  I adhered it to a top folding A2 Kraft Card Base.


I die cut the Simon Says Stamp Exclusive "Easter" sentiment from some gold foiled cardstock and adhered it using Ranger Multi Medium Matte.  This card is Perfect for the Classy and Elegant Category on The Card Concept #51 Challenge, AAA Cards, the CAS Mix Up March 2016 Challenge and the Double D Challenge to make an Easter Card.  I made quite a few Easter cards this year, but this one is a favorite. It was the simplest to do but really makes an impact.

Thanks so much for stopping by.  Please feel free to leave me a comment.  I really enjoy reading them.

18 comments:

  1. Beautiful--and so realistically colored! What a lovely card!

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  2. This is absolutely beautiful. You made this gorgeous image even more stunning by embossing and water coloring it. The perfect pearls ads just the right amount of shimmer.

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  3. I got so taken uo with your card I forgot to thank for joining us at Double D "Easter" Challenge and we hope to see more of your designs.

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  4. Absolutely BEAUTIFUL! Thanks for sharing the story of the dogwood with your viewers ... it's a story that is often forgotten! Your card is just stunning and perfectly crafted! Thanks so much for joining in the fun at our Double D ‘EASTER’ Challenge! We hope you’ll come back often.

    Darlene
    DOUBLE D Challenge Blog
    DAR’S CRAFTY CREATIONS

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  5. Wow...stunning card, love the technique you have used to create those gorgeous flowers. I also enjoyed reading about the Dogwood. Thank you for joining our Double D challenge!
    Diane DD DT

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  6. Oh, how beautiful with the gold embossing and your watercoloring. I adore this stamp and will keep an eye out for it. My pink dogwood is going to bloom this year for the first time since I planted it. Beautiful story you shared, too. Thanks so much for playing along in our Double D Easter Challenge.

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  7. Oh, so beautiful - love your gold embossed dogwoods! Gorgeous Easter card!

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  8. Gorgeous dogwood image that you have watercoloured perfectly. Very elegant and beautiful card. Thanks so much for sharing with us at CAS Mix Up.

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  9. The dogwoods are surely a sign of Easter. Ours is opening more each day. I think it will be in full bloom for Easter. It's white, but I love the pink ones too. Your card is gorgeous! What a wonderful job of watercoloring! Thanks for sharing that legend too. I hadn't seen that in years. And many thanks for sharing this with us at CAS Mix Up!

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  10. Love the story! And your card is beautiful!!!
    Thank you for joining us at The Card Concept!
    Lilian
    The Leaf Studio

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  11. Hi Vicki - I saw your card at AAA Cards and came by for a closer look. This is a really pretty card and I love the gold embossing on the flower stamp. The story of the dogwood is lovely!
    Hugs, Helen x

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  12. Ooh I love this one too! Beautiful soft look! Thanks (again!) for joining us this week at The Card Concept :)

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  13. Wow!! Those flowers are just gorgeous!!

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  14. This one is outstanding too! Beautiful coloring. Thanks so much for joining us at The Card Concept!

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  15. A really lovely card. Thanks for the lesson on the dogwood too! :-)

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  16. Beautiful card and thankyou for sharing the story, Cathy x

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  17. Beautiful card! love the gold embossing. thanks for sharing with us at AAA Cards!

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  18. Beautiful card! The water coloring is perfect. Thanks for joining us at Double "D" Challenges.
    Amelia (Double "D" Challenge Design Team)

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