Simon Says "We Can See Clearly"

Over at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog this week the theme is "We Can See Clearly" and the idea is to use a transparent or semi-transparent "medium" on your project.  For me, most of the time, it will be vellum.  I love the effect of getting a softer shade of the same color family that using vellum provides.

For this card, I used a piece of Papertrey Ink Stamper's Select Vellum with the Anna Griffin Acanthus Embossing Folder.  This is a thick vellum that will hold up to embossing although some care is required.  If you use a thinner vellum, it essentially "breaks" the vellum into pieces making it unusable.  The effect of embossing this vellum is that it gives a raised outline in a soft white to add texture to your card or project.

I especially liked it on this card because my Mondo Magnolia Die leaves a narrow white outline to match.  This magnolia is part of the Essentials By Ellen Collection and was designed by Julie Ebersole for Ellen Hutson, LLC and is a favorite of mine.  One of the things I like best about it is the size. Once you have that image colored how you want, it is very quick to pull a card together. No fuss, no muss as it does the talking for you (mostly).

I also used my Totally Fabulous Die, from Ellen Hutson, LLC. Mine was a gift with purchase from Black Friday, but it is available for purchase now. The die comes with a pop up "Totally" but I cut my words apart so I could use just the "Fabulous" by itself.

For the Mondo Magnolia image, I stamped the image using Versamark and heat set it with Ranger Gold Tinsel Embossing Powder. I watercolored it using Worn Lipstick Distress Marker in a few layers to get the depth and interest in the petals. I finished it off with a coat of Wink Of Stella Clear Shimmer Pen.

I have lots of projects up to do this week so I will be back very soon with another.  Thanks so much for stopping by!

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.