It’s dull and dreary here today and it may be next week before we see any sun. Is it any wonder that I retreat to my studio to add colour to my world. Today I fancied colouring some more of the True Love Designer Series Paper (DSP). At the weekend I used this paper pack with pastel colours to create a pretty bookmark. My newest project is the total opposite as I couldn’t resist breaking out the Magenta Madness Stampin’ Blends. The result is a very striking birthday card indeed.

MAGENTA AND MORE

This project began with me looking through the black and white designs in the True Love 12″ x 12″ DSP pack. One side of the paper has geometric designs while the others is an assortment of florals. In the end I decided on a sheet containing large floral images on a white background.

From the sheet I cut a 2-1/4″ x 6″ strip to use on the envelope flap. Then I chose a large complete image of three open flowers with a bud. Finally I chose a partial flower and leaf image from the edge of the sheet. These two floral images were roughly cut from the sheet using Paper Snips so I could work on them.

Colouring the images was quite straightforward using Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers. Each petal and leaf was coloured using the same process before I moved on to the next.

Using the bullet tip of the dark Magenta Madness Stampin’ Blends I drew over the lines on the petal. Then using the bullet tip of the light marker I went over the whole petal. For the leaves I used dark and light Just Jade in exactly the same way. The centre of the flowers were then coloured using the light Basic Black.

After waiting a little while to be sure the colouring was dry, I went back to the petals and leaves and added a few extra lines using the dark markers. Because I’d waited, the new colouring didn’t blend into the old which was the effect I was looking for.

A LITTLE FUSSY CUTTING

With all the flowers and leaves coloured I used Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) to fix the larger image onto a piece of Thick Whisper White Card. Then I used my Paper Snips to cut around the edges of the image. This resulted in a piece that would not buckle when I added it to my finished project with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

The smaller image did not need reinforcing in the same way so I simply cut it out with Paper Snips. Then using liquid glue I fixed the image to the left side of a layer of Whisper White Card and set it aside.

Next I used liquid glue to fix the 2-1/4″ x 6″ piece of paper to the flap of a Whisper White Medium Envelope. Then I trimmed it to shape with Paper Snips using the edge of the flap as a guide. Unlike the fussy cut pieces this one still had a lot of white background so I decided to add a little ‘shadow’. So using the bullet tip of a Smoky Slate Stampin’ Blends I drew a line around each of the images.

SIMPLE LAYERS

The bulk of my work was now done and it was time to start putting everything together.

First I chose Basic Black Card for my card base. Using my Paper Trimmer I cut and scored the card, before folding it along the scored line and sharpening the crease with a Bone Folder.

Using liquid glue I then fixed the Whisper White layer on the inside.

On the front of the card I decided to add another pattern from the True Love DSP pack, stripes. In fact this piece was already 2-1/4″ wide so I simply trimmed it down to 5-1/2″ long. With that I fixed it up against the crease using liquid glue.

Turning to the larger image there were a couple of small white areas between the three magenta flowers. These stood out quite a bit so I went back to the Smoky Slate Stampin’ Blends and coloured them in too. Then I covered the back with quite a few Mini Stampin’ Dimensionals to ensure it would be well supported, and fixed it to the card front.

To finish I pulled out the Zany Zebras Stamp Set and chose the “Happy Birthday” sentiment. Then using Tuxedo Black ink I stamped the sentiment onto a narrow scrap of Thick Whisper White Card. After trimming the strip I cut a V at the end using my Paper Snips. Finally using Mini Stampin’ Dimensionals I attached the sentiment to the bottom of the magenta flowers and my project was complete.

I am having so much fun with the True Love DSP. There’s a good variety of floral and geometric designs but the best part is I then get to choose the colour scheme. Today I chose Magenta Madness as a bold contrast, but you might prefer a less vivid colour. With this paper it’s easy to do.

If you missed the pastel coloured bookmark you’ll find it in my blog post True Love is battling against the storm.

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