Hello Lovelies! The Brushstroke Flowers Mini Thinlits stole my heart right from the start! Oh dear, I'm rhyming, I'll stop that immediately!!! I'm back at it with using my reinkers to create splotchy watercolor backgrounds to use for die cutting.
These NEW darling dies are from the Tim Holtz Sizzix 2023 Everyday Release which is a gift that will keep on giving throughout the year. We will use the Brushstrokce Flowers Mini die set from the new release that you can purchase individually or as a bundle available at Simon Says Stamp.
I think you will agrees that these flowers may be MINI, but they have a mighty impact on a card front!
Apart from our inks, I'd like to hide our other key supplies below!
Click here to view the full supply list or check out the one linked in the gallery at the bottom of this post when you have finished exploring this card.
Today's GIF!
Meet Sam,
he's going to help us make flowers today! :-)
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HELLO MY FRIEND CARD - Watercolor Backgrounds, Die-cutting and Layering, Collage, Stamping and Embossing
Card Base: 4 1/4" x 5 1/2"
Featuring:
Tim Holtz Distress Reinkers** - Twisted Citron, Shabby Shutters, Mowed Lawn, Salvaged Patina, Mermaid Lagoon, Speckled Egg, Chipped Sapphire (Not used in Card), Wilted Violet, Seedless Preserves, Picked Raspberry, Kitsch Flamingo, Spun Sugar, Squeezed Lemonade, Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, Candied Apple, Aged Mahogany, Brushed Corduroy, Pumice Stone
**I have linked both the reinkers and the ink pads in the supply section as you can apply either to your craft mat for the watercolor background technique, but the inkers will usually give more intense color.
CARD PALETTE
Distress Ink Colors: Mowed Lawn, Shabby Shutters, Twisted Citron, Salvaged Patina, Mermaid Lagoon, Speckled Egg, Chipped Sapphire* , Wilted Violet, Seedless Preserves, Picked Raspberry, Kitsch Flamingo, Spun Sugar, Squeezed Lemonade, Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, Candied Apple, Aged Mahogany, Brushed Corduroy, Pumice Stone
(*Pictured below, but I ended up not using in this card, I used in a companion project for later)
CARD WALKTHROUGH
WATERCOLOR BACKGROUNDS
The best way to explain how to make the backgrounds is to show you. Take a peek at the video below for a full walkthrough.
TIP: If you want to speed up the process a bit, shorten the drying time by dabbing up some of the water on the inked paper with a paper towel(after letter it sit for about 10 seconds) and then completing the drying process with a heat tool. Repeat the inking, dabbing and drying process to create more splotches/variations in the background.
I'm showing the color selections for this project below, but I actually keep a full set in all the Distress Ink colors that I have for ready use on my crafting projects. I set aside an afternoon by the window, watch Netflix and make these.
PREPPING FOR DIE-CUTTING AND LAYERING
The packaging for these dies is an AMAZING guide about how to potentially color and layer them.
I temporarily labeled the dies because:
I decided to switch up* the color scheme for a few flowers and,
to remind myself, which die produced which flower/leaf
*COLOR SWITCHING CHART
FLOWER COLOR ON PACKAGING | FLOWER COLORS ON CARD |
Light Pink | Orange ( Spiced Marmalade, Brushed Corduroy) |
Orange | Blue (Salvaged Patina, Mermaid Lagoon) |
Purple | Yellow (Squeezed Lemonade, Mustard Seed) |
Blue | Light Pink (Kitsch Flamingo, Spun Sugar, Pumice Stone) |
Red | Red (Candied Apple, Aged Mahogany, Brushed Corduroy) |
Pink | Pink (Picked Raspberry, Kitsch Flamingo) |
Yellow | Purple (Wilted Violet, Seedless Preserves, Squeezed Lemonade) |
Leaves (not a color! :-) ) | Green (Mowed Lawn, Shabby Shutters, Twisted Citron) |
FLOWER DIES LABELING
LEAF DIES LABELLING
Please note that when I collaged the flowers and the leaves, I ended up switching up or adding additional leaves that weren't associated with the pictured flower and the packaging. Remember, the picture is a guide, NOT a Bible and you are a creative soul that can do ANYTHING you want!
DIE-CUTTING AND LAYERING
PURPLE FLOWERS
PINK FLOWERS
RED FLOWERS
(Sorry, I did not photo the Aged Mahogany die-cuts step for both of these red blooms, but hopefully the below helps you understand how they came together).
LIGHT PINK FLOWERS
BLUE FLOWERS
BLUE FLOWERS
ORANGE FLOWERS
(Note: I used a brown marker (Distress Gathered Twigs) to deepen the color of the layered flower centers here.)
LEAVES 1
LEAVES 2
LEAVES 3 (for RED flowers)
LEAVES 4 (for RED flowers)
LEAVES 5
LEAVES 6
LEAVES REMNANTS
I ended up using some of my die-cut remnants like the ones below to create some additional leaves.
FLOWER CLUSTERS
Before collaging them across the front of the card, I arranged each flower into clusters with the associated leaves to give me an idea of how I could arrange them in the final collage. Pictures below:
STAMPING & EMBOSSING
Like Tim said in the live, to pull off this combo, you stamp first and then emboss!
Ink the Hello My Friend stamp from Tim Holtz's Stampers Anonymous Bold Sayings set in Mustard Seed Distress Oxide for even opaque coverage on a 3 3.4" x 5 1/4" piece of 110lb Neenah Solar White Cardstock
Let the Oxide Ink dry for a few minutes and them emboss with Tim Holtz's Sizzix Woven Texture Fades Folder
COLLAGING
COLLAGE STEPS
Secure your stamped and embossed card background to your craft surface (I'm using the Wendy Vecchi Make Art Stay-tion)
Arrange your flower clusters as shown directly above
Apply a sheet of Glad Press 'N Seal
Gently lift up the sheet of Press 'N Seal ensuring that each flower and leaf is "sticking" to the sheet
Carefully rotate to flip over to show the back side of the flowers
Place the sheet with flowers facedown on your craft mat and adhere 1/4" sized Simon Says Stamp 3D FOAM SQUARES White st0030
After removing backers to reveal the other side of the foam square, lift entire sheet with flowers and press the collage back onto the card background
Gently remove the Press 'N Seal sheet from the flowers
EMBELLISHING/FINISHING
Apply Foam Tape to the back of the card background and adhere to a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" Cream Cardstock base
Trim the "You are Loved" Metallic Sticker to size and back with foam tape
Tie the Gold Thread into a bow
This card is pure floral joy!
So much love goes into each cluster.
The foam makes this flower necklace float across the card-front!
I think I'm going to have to get another of there sticker books! They come in so handy and a a gorgeous finishing touch to my cards.
THANK YOU SO MUCH for sticking with me through this long post! It'll totally be worth it if you make this!!!
MORE BRUSHSTROKE FLOWERS PROJECTS!!!
If you also want to check out my previous watercolor Brushstroke projects, click pictures below to view those blog posts.
Watercolor Brushstroke Flowers
Holiday Brushstroke 2
Come back soon! Leave me a comment with your thoughts please. It means a lot and I am happy to take any questions.
See you soon!
SUPPLIES:
I listed the products that I have used below. Please note that these are compensated affiliate links used at no cost to you. I really appreciate your support. All stamps used today were part of my maker package from Tim Holtz and Sizzix. Click on the icons below each product picture to shop with Simon Says Stamp.