Right now you’ve probably noticed lots of sunflower images on social media. That’s because they’re national flower of Ukraine. People everywhere are adopting them and displaying them as a symbol of solidarity with the Ukrainian people. After creating a card featuring the colours of the Ukrainian flag earlier in the week, today I wanted to create something with sunflowers. That was an easy option using the Celebrating Sunflowers Stamp Set. So with a vague idea in my head and some really simple colouring techniques at hand, I set to work.
SIMPLE SUNFLOWER
As I began this project I decided that I wanted the sunflower to be really simple. The stamp image had the detail all I had to do was highlight it. So I started with a 3″ x 5-1/2″ piece of Very Vanilla Card. My finished bookmark would be smaller than this, but it would give me options.
From the Celebrate Sunflowers Stamp Set I chose the larger of the two sunflower stamps. After inking it up with Bumblebee ink I set the stamp face up on my desk. Then using a Sponge Dauber I added some Soft Suede ink onto the centre. With that done I stamped the image onto the card strip.
Next I took another Sponge Dauber and the Bumblebee ink. I didn’t want the colouring to be too dark so after gently tapping the Sponge Dauber onto the ink pad I rubbed some of the ink off onto scrap paper. Then I very gently rubbed the Sponge Dauber over the stamped sunflower petals.
Having completed the sunflower I wanted to add some contrast to the background. So using a Blending Brush I added a light layer of Pacific Point ink roughly around the flower.
Once that was done I then trimmed the strip to 2″ x 5-1/8″ with the sunflower over to one side.
For the sentiment I went back to the Celebrate Sunflowers Stamp Set. I chose “know that you are loved” and stamped it in the space above the flower using Soft Suede ink.
FINISHING TOUCHES
While I really liked the look of the image and sentiment I wanted to add a little more interest. So I placed the strip inside the Tasteful Textile 3D Embossing Folder and ran it through my Cut & Emboss Machine.
Now I was ready to mount the piece onto a 2-1/4″ x 5-1/2″ piece of Soft Suede Card. First though I used the Detailed Trio Punch to add an oval hole at one end of the Soft Suede strip. Then using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) I added the stamped and embossed layer.
Finally I cut three 6″ pieces of Very Vanilla twine from the Baker’s Twine Essentials Pack. I folded the pieces in half and threaded the loops through the hole in the bookmark. Then I passed the cut ends through the loops and pulled gently to secure the twine in place. Job done.
For some more projects using the Celebrate Sunflowers Stamp Set see these earlier blog posts:
PRODUCT LIST
BUNDLE BONUS IS BACK! – Right now you can buy the Celebrate Sunflowers Stamp Set and coordinating Sunflowers Dies (not used today) using a single ‘bundle’ item number. This bundle is only available as part of the Savings Are In Bloom promotion, and until the end of March (while stocks last) you can get the bundle at 20% off the cost of buying the same two items separately. If you missed getting this bundle the first time around, now’s your chance. I’ve included a link in case you want to explore this option.
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