Blooming Birthday Wishes

Hello!
I'm surrounded by a winter wonderland today and it's so so pretty. We don't usually get this much snow, but having several inches suits me just fine today. Nowhere to go but upstairs to do a little stamping in the craft room. 
It's always a good week when I get to create with the 
CAS(E) This Sketch Challenge and the sketch is such a fun one today!

I had stamped and die cut the floral spray when I was having play-time with the Fill In Blooms stamps. If you missed it, those posts are HERE and I give a brief tutorial HERE. If you don't have this set yet, I hope to give you good reasons to get it! If you have it, I want to inspire you to use it! I guess you can tell it's at the top of my list right now.

For today's card, the background was stamped with Dapper Denim from Stampin' Up! For the flower details and small die cut branches I used Flirty Flamingo. I love navy and pink together! 

I'm glad to be getting this post going in the last hours of the challenge, so I'll list the other supplies used below.
Thanks for visiting! 

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Supplies used ~

Stamps: Banner and sentiment are from WPlus9 

Paper: DSP from MFT

Accessories: Dies used for circle frame is from PTI - Don't Forget to Write Kit

More with Fill In Blooms

Hello, welcome!
As I shared in yesterday's post (see it HERE) I focused over a period of several days on exploring with the Fill In Blooms set from Concord and 9th. In just playing around I made a few observations that I found helpful. So that I don't forget what I learned, I need to WRITE it down (aren't we all that way?) I'll write it here so that you can share it too! 

This is a different kind of post for me, so bear with me.
My samples are in the come-just-as-you-are state. Nothing fancy here.

The essence of this stamp set is the background color that fills a complete A2 card.  The first step is to experiment with different inks. Which types of ink give the best coverage? I tried dye inks from Stampin' Up!, Hero Arts and PTI with similar results. But I discovered the BEST inking I got was with the Distress Oxide Inks, as in the medium blue sample below. See how crisp the floral details are?

My second bit of advice is to choose whether you want bold contrasting colors in your floral pattern, or softer complimentary or monochromatic shades, as in the soft green and light gray samples. For an even sharper contrast, I used black and navy for the background color. This is dramatic and beautiful! 
The great thing about this set is how user friendly it is and forgiving.There's no way you won't have a great result no matter what you stamp it with.

 

Try combinations you've never used before and have fun! I found it helpful to search online for fabrics/swatches that inspired me with different color ideas. 

Lastly, I found that added details with colored pencil gave depth and interest as in the light blue flowers above. 

The best thing about this set is that you don't have to color in all the images. Leaving lots of the images white as in the yellow sample makes it fast and easy to complete and it looks great!

Thanks so much for visiting!

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

Fascinated with Fill In Blooms

During the Christmas holiday I would use spare minutes here and there exploring the wonderful possibilities of the Fill In Blooms stamps and dies. Kudos to Concord and 9th for creating stamps that are uniquely innovative and allow the user to create inked floral patterns. 

Fascinated, I spent time playing with different ideas and color combinations every chance I got. Finally it's time to complete a card, and here are two for you.

My first card uses Tomato Red ink for the background, with cantaloupe and greens added to the blooms. I added berries, a leaf cluster and the sentiment that were embossed in gold.

The background color for the Hello card was stamped with Vintage Photo Distress Oxide Ink. 

Keeping the leaves a soft green, I popped in bold colors of red and blue for the flowers. I'm having trouble with my photos lately, but I have to say how bright and pretty these colors are in real life. This card measures 3.5" X 5".

Thanks for visiting today!

Be yourself

     Delight in your craft 

        Make something beautiful!

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