Today’s project is another one that came about because I have been reorganising my craft studio. Once again I came across a stamp set I haven’t used in ages, this time it was Prized Peony. The large floral images and beautifully scripted sentiments work well with simple cards, but today I went with something a little more involved.

PEONY IMAGE

My project began when I stamped the peony and bud image onto Thick Basic White Card using Smoky Slate ink. Choosing this rather than black would give a softer feel to the finished card.

Next I decided to colour the image using Blending Brushes as I’m pretty sure I’ve not done that before with this stamp set. I chose Blushing Bride for the flower and bud, and changed to Mossy Meadow for the stems and leaves.

With that done I cut out the image using the coordinating die from the Peony Dies.

Before going any further I wanted to use the same flower image as my coordinating element for the rest of the project. So using Smoky Slate ink again I stamped it coming in from the bottom left corner of 4″ x 5-1/4″ piece of Basic White Card. Then I stamped a matching image on the front of a Basic White Medium Envelope.

The only stamping left to do was the sentiment. For this I chose “my thoughts are with you” stamped onto Thick Basic White Card. Then I punched that out with the Regular Postage Stamp Punch.

Now it was time to bring together the peony and sentiment. After playing around a bit I used liquid glue to attach the stem and the lower bud leaf around the sentiment. Then I flipped the assembled piece over and covered the back with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

As I began to think about how the card would come together I decided to use Basic Gray Card for the card base. Using my Paper Trimmer I cut and scored the card, then folded it along the scored line and sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder. Finally, on the inside of the card I used Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) to add the Basic White layer I’d stamped earlier.

BRICKWORK BACKGROUND

My original plan was to have another 4″ x 5-1/4″ piece of Basic White Card on the front, but it looked rather boring. So instead I spritzed it lightly with clean water and placed it into the Brick & Mortar 3D Embossing Folder. Then I ran it through my Cut & Emboss Machine. That was much better, the embossing would add texture and detail without distracting from the peony.

Things were coming together nicely but I realised that I needed something else to ‘ground’ the peony on the background. I considered a strip of coloured card but in the end cut a 1″ x 5″ strip of Vellum Cardstock. Unfortunately the Vellum hid the embossing detail behind it so I embossed the Vellum too!

From there the rest of the card came together really quickly.

First I placed the Vellum strip onto the embossed Basic White layer. Then I folded the excess Vellum around the edges and secured it on the back using Tear & Tape Adhesive.

Over the top of the Vellum I then added a strip of Gray Granite 1/4″ Shimmer Ribbon, and secured that with Tear & Tape too.

Now I was ready to attach the peony and sentiment using the Stampin’ Dimensionals I’d placed on the back.

Finally I tied a small bow using some more ribbon and once I’d added that with Tear & Tape Adhesive my project was complete.

I love how the Blending Brushes allowed me to add soft colouring on the peony, creating a calm and gentle feel. The extra texture and detail provided by the embossing, Vellum and ribbon simply brings it all together. I hope you like it.

You’ll find another flower from the Prized Peony Stamp Set in my earlier blog post Peony painting for a dear friend.

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