Where do you get your inspiration? Do you actively search for it, or does it creep up on you? Today’s project was one of those that happened to me, rather than me deciding what to make. I’ve signed up with a few design challenge blogs to get their e-mails and that’s where it all started. The Paper Players challenge this week is to use three specific colours to create a project. I could also add one more colour of my own choosing. From there I went looking for a leafy stamp set but got sidetracked by Forever Blossoms. And the rest, as they say, is history…

FOREVER BLOSSOMS

As soon as I saw the large flowering branch in the Forever Blossoms Stamp Set I couldn’t resist trying it out. So on a piece of Very Vanilla Card I used Early Espresso ink to stamp the image.

Then I turned to my Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers and selected Pale Papaya for the open flowers and Pumpkin Pie for the buds. Of course there were leaves in the image so for my fourth colour I chose a green, Mint Macaron.

Colouring the image was a bit of a cheat. Where there was shading I used the dark marker and then I went over the rest of the area with the light one. I also left some small patches on the petals uncoloured as I liked the softness it created.

It was at this point that I decided to add more Early Espresso for a dramatic contrast. So I cut a 2″ x 5-1/2″ strip of Early Espresso Card and shaped the top using the Delightful Tag Topper Punch. Next I trimmed the sides off the stamped piece to make it 1-3/4″ x 4-1/2″. Then at the bottom of the strip I stamped “Love” using Early Espresso ink. Finally, using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow), I fixed the stamped layer onto the Early Espresso strip.

To finish I cut three 6″ pieces of Very Vanilla twine from the Baker’s Twine Essentials Pack. After folding them in half I threaded the loops through the hole at the top of the card strip, then passed the ends of the twine through the loops and pulled to secure them in place. With that my project was complete.

I hadn’t planned to make a bookmark, and I hadn’t planned to use the Forever Blossoms Stamp Set, but sometimes the unplanned works out beautifully.

COLOUR CHALLENGE

It’s funny but when I first saw these colours I’d initially planned to add Cherry Cobbler and make a project with autumn leaves. Sometimes my papercrafting takes an unexpected turn, and that’s OK with me. As it is I’m really pleased with how my project turned out.

For a card project using the same floral image see my earlier blog post Forever Blossoms for a quick wedding card. Although there are some similarities between that card and today’s bookmark, the choice of mat layer and background colour for the stamping makes a striking difference. What do you think?

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