Tuesday, June 4, 2024

Fresh Flowers for The Flower Challenge

Hello, friends and happy June!  Welcome back to a new month at The Flower Challenge and this time we have a fabulous sketch for you.
I'm also joining the current challenge at Addicted to Stamps and More.



Plenty of options with this sketch!  I am using the as-yet unreleased stamps, dies and inks from Altenew that was part of the Secret Garden Retreat that I attended in early May.  After six classes and seven cards, I can tell you these products are fantastic to use!


I started with the background, which was created with the Flower Bed Layering stencil set on an A2 panel.  Once that was done, I worked on the die cut flowers using two of the five Fresh Flowers dies.  They were die cut from white cardstock, then ink blended with Blush Rose, Honeydew Glow, Lemonade Stand (which came out a while back) and Rhodolite (currently available in Crisp Dye version).  One of the techniques we learned from Dawn Wolslagle was creating dimension on the tips of the petals using Altenew's detail blending brushes, which really takes things to a whole new level IMHO.

To construct the card, the stenciled panel was trimmed down and added to the white card base, then a white embossed strip was layered on top.  I adhered both flowers with glue just in the center, then added some tiny pieces of foam behind some of the flower petals so they could retain their dimension even if mailed.  After splattering the card with a bit of white gouache, the sentiment from the Cascading Flowers stamp set was inked up in Teal Tempest, die cut and popped up with foam tape.  Finally I added three gems to finish things off.


I look forward to seeing your card in the gallery this month!  The challenge remains open until the 25th and we'll be back on the 15th with a reminder post.  But in the meantime, please pop over to the challenge blog, as always my teammates have some gorgeous inspiration for you!

Take care!

Stef

All products are from Altenew unless otherwise noted.
  • Fresh Flowers dies
  • Flower Bed Layering Stencil Set
  • Cascading Flowers Stamp set
  • Elegant Motifs Slim 3D embossing folder (previously released)
  • Spellbinders Essential Stylish Oval die (used for sentiment)
  • Blush Rose, Honeydew Glow, Lemonade Stand, Rhodolite and Teal Tempest Fresh Dye inks
  • Crystal Clear Gem Sparkles
  • Winsor & Newton White Gouache

6 comments:

Lisa Elton said...

Lovely card, Stef and quite feminine!

Inkyfingers said...

What a stunning card, Stef and you have made such good use of these materials. I particularly love the die-cut flowers and how you expertly ink blended on white card.
Thanks for sharing with us at ATSM.
Hugs
Carol x

Izzy Scrap said...

WOW ! This is stunning Steph ! What a beautiful dimension there is on this card, either with the stencilled background or with the strip of embossed paper and the two die cut flowers. Thanks so much for sharing and for playing at ATSM.

Bobby said...

Those petals do look fabulous with the extra inking on the end, Stef. The flowers are gorgeous and look perfect with the stenciled background.

I Card Everyone said...

You 'had me' at that embossed center panel, Stef! But it is ALL so gorgeous!
=]

Vicky Hayes said...

Just amazing Stef! I adore the colour combo and am amazed that the background was made with layering stencils. The coordinating die cut flowers are beautiful and the splatters add a lovely bit of detail. Vicky x