Lovely is today, well not weather-wise, it’s actually grey and wet at the moment. But things will brighten up later when I get my first look at the 2019 Holiday Catalogue from Stampin’ Up! While I wait I’ve been playing with the Lovely Is The Day Stamp Set and coordinating Lovely Leaves Dies.

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND

I began this project with the abstract background and a technique I don’t use nearly enough, ink smooshing.

To get this amazing effect I first pressed a Balmy Blue ink pad onto a Silicone Craft Sheet. Next I used a Stampin’ Spritzer to spray a little clean water on the surface. Then I took a piece of Shimmer White Card and pressed sections of it onto the watery ink. I looked at the card a couple of times to make sure most of it was inked, and then set it aside to dry naturally.

Meanwhile I cut some of the Pretty Peacock Foil from the Noble Peacock 12″ x 12″ Foil Sheets to back the finished piece.

For the card base I chose Thick Whisper White Card. This would ensure that all eyes would be on the finished panel.

Once the ink smooshed piece was no longer obviously wet, I went back and repeated the process. This time though I speeded up the drying using my Heat Tool set on 1 (low). This created hard darker lines that added some depth to the background. Then I repeated this process once more and set it aside while I got on with the floral accent.

LOVELY FLOWER

The flower image from the Lovely Is The Day Stamp Set came next. It’s actually part of a larger image complete with stalk and leaves, but I only wanted the petals.

First I inked up the top of the image using Soft Sea Foam ink. Then to make sure I only stamped the part I needed, I covered the top of the stalk with sellotape before I stamped it onto some Shimmery White Card.

While I had the flower in my hand I repeated the process on the flap of a Whisper White Envelope using Balmy Blue ink.

Finally I stamped a Balmy Blue flower head in the bottom left corner on a layer of Whisper White Card. I then used Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) to fix the layer inside my card base.

To colour the Soft Sea Foam flower I used pencils from the Watercolor Pencils Assortment 2. I started with Coastal Cabana, then added Balmy Blue and finally a little Night of Navy, each time blending out the pencil lines using a Blender Pen. To make the yellow stamens really stand out I first marked one with the Blender Pen, then before it had time to dry, added the Crushed Curry pencil. I repeated this process on the other two stamens in turn.

LOVELY LEAVES

With the flower complete I then turned to the Lovely Leaves Dies.

In the set there is a die that cuts out this flower image complete with the stalk and leaves. However there is a second die that cuts just the flower head and separates the four petals. This was the one I used.

Also in the set as you might expect are some leaf dies and I love the detailed fern. I used this die twice, first to cut an Old Olive piece from the Noble Peacock Foil, and then one from Vellum Cardstock.

LOVELY IS THE DAY

I was almost ready to finish assembling my project but just needed to add the sentiment first.

To be safe I mounted the “Lovely is the day” sentiment onto my Stamparatus. This allowed me to make sure it was perfectly straight, and give me the opportunity to stamp it again in exactly the same place if needed. As it turned out my first attempt using Tuxedo Black ink was great, but you never know…

To complete my project I used liquid glue to mount the ink smooshed piece onto the Pretty Peacock Foil layer. Then I added the two fern leaves in the bottom left corner.

Next using my Bone Folder I added a little curve to the flower petals and then fixed it onto the leaves using pieces of Stampin’ Dimensionals.

Finally I added the finished panel to the card base with Stampin’ Dimensionals and I was done.

I am so happy with how this project turned out. Why don’t I use ink smooshing on my backgrounds more often? It’s stunning, and the pretty foil pieces, the flower and gorgeous sentiment work so well, don’t you think?

Now I’m off to make a few more things while I wait for 4pm AT and that Holiday Catalogue.

PRODUCT LIST

BUNDLE BONUS – I bought the Lovely Is The Day Stamp Set and coordinating Lovely Leaves Dies using a single ‘bundle’ item number. This saved me 10% off the cost of buying the same two items separately. I’ve included both options below so you can explore these in more detail.

BONUS DAYS – Don’t forget you only have until July 31st to earn Bonus Day coupons. You’ll receive a $6 coupon for every $60 spent (before shipping and taxes), and you can redeem this on any order you place in August.