Yesterday evening I had fun time on a Zoom meeting with 40 Stampin’ Up! Demonstrators from across Canada. The meeting was organised by our Canadian Manager Dale Hampshire and members of the 2020 Canadian Demonstrator Council. As part of the event we were challenged to create a card using a sketch designed by Julie Tilman as our inspiration. As soon as I saw it I had an idea, and it involved a hot pink gerbera using Magenta Madness Card.

SIMPLE LAYERS

The sketch from Julie was quite specific and actually gave the dimensions for the pieces. However to add immediate interest I decided to use mostly patterned paper.

I cut the largest piece (4″ x 5-1/4″) using a pattern from the Ornate Garden Specialty Designer Series Paper (DSP) pack.

Then the piece across the middle (2″ x 4″) was cut from the In Good Taste DSP pack. I used another design from the same pack to cut the smaller piece (1-3/4″ x 2-1/2″).

With the DSP pieces cut my next task was to decide on a colour for my card base. In the end I went with Thick Very Vanilla Card. Using my Paper Trimmer I cut and scored the card, then folded it along the scored line with a Bone Folder.

Using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) I attached the three pieces of DSP to the card base. Then I decided to use the same pattern from the Ornate Garden DSP as my coordinating feature.

So first I cut a 3/4″ x 5-1/4″ piece and glued it down the right-hand edge of a layer of Very Vanilla Card. Then I glued the layer inside the card base.

Next I cut a 2-1/4″ x 5-1/2″ piece of the same paper and glued it to the flap of a Very Vanilla Medium Envelope. Using Paper Snips I trimmed the DSP to shape following the edge of the flap.

MAGENTA GERBERA

Finally I was ready to add some hot pink to my project with one of the 2020-2022 In Colors, Magenta Madness.

To save on colouring I decided to start with Magenta Madness Card. Then instead of using black, I opted to stamp the large flower image from the Celebrate Sunflowers Stamp Set using Rich Razzleberry ink. Turning to the coordinating Sunflowers Dies I then cut out the image.

While the flower was bright I felt it needed a little definition and I knew an easy way to do that. I pulled out the Magenta Madness Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers. There was no blending involved, I simply went over some of the shading on the petals with the light Magenta Madness. Then I added some of the dark in the Vs where the petals overlapped. Finally I coloured the whole of the centre with the dark pen too.

At this point I realised that I hadn’t considered where I would put my sentiment. The sketch didn’t show that so I decided to improvise and cut a 3/4″ x 3-1/4″ strip of Thick Very Vanilla Card. Then I went back to the Celebrate Sunflowers Stamp Set and chose the “Thanks a bunch” sentiment. I used Magenta Madness ink to stamp the sentiment onto the strip and I was ready to add my final pieces.

Using Stampin’ Dimensionals I first added the large flower. Then I fixed the sentiment on top, stacking the Dimensionals two high under the right-hand end.

Finally I added a line of three Champagne Rhinestone Basic Jewels in the top right corner. With that little bit of bling my sketch challenge project was complete.

Ever since I first saw the Celebrate Sunflowers Stamp Set I knew I’d use it to make gerberas. They are my favourite flower, big and colourful. Do you have a favourite flower?

PRODUCT LIST

BUNDLE BONUS – I bought the Celebrate Sunflowers Stamp Set and coordinating Sunflowers Dies using a single ‘bundle’ item number. This meant I saved 10% off the cost of buying the two items separately. I’ve included both options below so you can compare them for yourself.

GET THE CELEBRATE SUNFLOWERS BUNDLE FOR FREE! – If you join Stampin’ Up! in June you can get this bundle (or any stamp set/tool bundle in the catalogue) for free. For more details see my Join Stampin’ Up! page or contact me for a chat.