Simon Says "Flora & Fauna"

This week over on the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog the theme is one of my favorites, "Flora & Fauna".  I wanted to create a card with a lot of textural interest as well as visual interest for my sweet Mother-In-Law.  With all the shimmer and bling that is on this card, I know she will enjoy looking at it. She doesn't read the writing anymore so what's on the outside is far more important than what is on the inside.  I try to make it as fun as possible.

Recently, I watched a video that my scrappy friend, Yana Smakula (pronounced Sma-coo-la not Smack-u-la), had done where she showed a product that was new to me called Stampendous Boss Gloss Embossing Ink. Just the name is fun! If you ask my husband, he would tell you that I am always bossy, so this ink and I were made for each other. *Ü* If you haven't ever checked out Yana's Blog, you should.  Even though English is her 3rd language and not her 1st or even her 2nd, her videos are remarkably well done and her English is exceptionally good as well. You can click the link I provided here but I always have her linked as one of the blogs I follow in the sidebar on the right hand side of my blog.  Also, be sure to check out her YouTube Channel as she has a significant number of video tutorials there also.

So anyway, the Boss Gloss comes in a 2 oz. bottle that has a little sponge dauber top and can work on die cuts that have already been cut, stenciled, or colored somehow. You can also use it to apply embossing ink directly to your stamps for embossing or even to apply embossing ink to a die cut word.  This is going to be a handy tool in my studio and I like having a choice.  The bottle will fit in places that the ink pad will not.  I'm sure there will be other ways to use it that I haven't even thought of yet.

To begin, I stamped one of the Stampendous Pen Pattern Butterflies on a piece of Canson Bristol Watercolor Paper using Versamark and heat embossed it with Simon Says Stamp Antique Gold Embossing Powder.  I've been using this paper since I took a Watercolor for Cardmakers Class last August.  For the type of watercolor I do, it is my absolute "go to" paper.  I just got a pad of this paper in what Canson calls "Bright White", but it is truly no whiter than the Regular Canson Bristol Watercolor Paper.  It has the same smooth surface and is nearly identical in weight, but I haven't actually used any of it yet. I'll have to report back when I actually try some of it.

I colored the butterfly using Distress Markers in Worn Lipstick, Abandoned Coral, Wilted Violet and Seedless Preserves with Dark Grey Zig Clean Color Real Brush Marker for the the body.  I used the Coordinating Dies to cut out the butterfly.  I cut 2 of the Poppy Stamps Massa Leaf Background Dies from Vellum as well as a Memory Box Blushing Flower Die in Vellum. For the Blushing Flower Die cut, I colored the flowers using Worn Lipstick and the leaves in Mowed Lawn on the front side since I was planning to heat emboss. Next I used Versamark and Stampendous Embossing Ink all over all the pieces and then put a layer of WOW! Neutral Ultra Shimmer Embossing Powder on everything and heat set it. This powder looks the same as the Judikins Iridescent Sparkle Embossing Powder.  I have a box lid that is very shallow to set these things into while I heat emboss them so they aren't blowing all over my room.   There is so much sparkling goodness on these elements now.  I did my best to capture it in a photograph, but there is no way for the camera to capture all that the human eye and mind can see in a single glance.

I cut the Smile Circle Die in gold foil cardstock and a white background circle to go behind it which I also covered with embossing ink, embossing powder and then heat set. I can hardly wait until I begin making Christmas Cards to use this Embossing Ink and Powder for shimmer and sparkle on the snow or on any ornaments I might make.

I cut a Noted: Scalloped A2 card base from Papertrey Ink Berry Sorbet Cardstock, and I used a Simon Says Stamp Stitched Rectangle in the largest size to cut a white insert for the inside of the card.  I misted the card front with Tsukineko Sheer Sparkle Shimmer Spritz and let it dry for a few minutes.  Then I began assembling everything using Ranger Multi Medium Matte except for the butterfly which I adhered using Scor-Tape down the center of the body.  By attaching it this way, I can make it seem as if the butterfly might take flight at any moment.

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I hope you enjoyed this card and that you will stop by Yana's blog and check it out as well.  She makes the loveliest things. I'll be back soon with another project.