Stampin’ Up! Best of Flowers

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Stampin’ Up!’s 25th Anniversary collection continues with the Best of Flowers set this past month.  This is a great collection of some of the most popular flower stamps from the past quarter of a century.  The images are smaller than the original ones (which makes me sad, but it’s new!  And of course there is a new image too – we can’t forget that!

Today I wanted to showcase the hydrangea stamp from this set.  When I grew up in San Francisco, we had two huge bushes that bloomed so beautifully with these large gorgeous blue/lavender colored flowers.  So this card takes me back to my childhood.

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Creative Tips:

  • I wanted the flower to take center stage here, so I stamped it in Jet Black StazOn ink and watercolored it using my Aqua Painters and the Wisteria Wonder, Marina Mist, and Garden Green Classic Ink Pads.
  • When Watercoloring, I was careful not to use too much water as I stamped directly on my Ultrasmooth Whisper White paper rather than our Watercolor Paper.  I began by coloring the entire flower with the Wisteria Wonder and then highlighted a few flowers – mostly around the black centers with the Marina Mist.
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  • For the leaves, I colored the entire leaf, from the center out and then highlighted the veins and center to add a little depth.
  • I paired my image with some of the Wisteria Wonder Designer Paper from the 2011-2012 In Color Paper Stack.
  • I added a panel of Garden Green Cardstock but wanted a little more depth, so I used my Color Spritz Tool and a Garden Green Stampin’ Write Marker to give a little splash of color so that it did not seem so plain.Best of Flowers 003 Banners
  • For my greeting, I wanted to add a few vertical banners, so I chose a great saying from Petite Pairs – a quite versatile set.  I think I’m here for you is a fitting saying for my hydrangea.
  • I added a little Wisteria Wonder banner behind my greeting banner but it was too loud just plain.  To subdue it I ran my ink pad directly over it a few times for a little texture. 
  • And as a finishing touch, I added three different sized Pearl Basic Jewels as an accent. 
  • I love the final result.  It’s clean, simple and to the point.  This flower used to be close to the size of the Garden Green panel, but I rather like it’s new size.  It’s an update on a classic.  I hope you love the Best of Flowers set – get it while you can!

Be sure to stop by tomorrow for another project with this set and then Sunday for…

    blogtour-25years-aprilDon’t miss a fun Blog Tour of the RemARKable Stampers team this Sunday with this very set!  Get more than 20 fresh ideas.  Be sure to stop back by here on Sunday April 21st!!

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Stamp Sets – Best of Flowers (133342c),  Petite Pairs (122495w, 122497c) Ink – Wisteria Wonder (126984), Garden Green (126973), Marina Mist (126962), Jet Black StazOn (101406), Garden Green Stampin’ Write Marker – Regal Collection (119701)  Paper – Whisper White (100730), Wisteria Wonder (119683), Garden Green (102584), 2011-2012 DSP Stack (122384) Cool Tools – 1” Square Punch (124094), Color Spritzer Tool (107066), Aqua Painters (103954)  Finishing Touch – Rhinestone Basic Jewels (119246)

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Stampin’ Up! 25th Anniversary Best of Birthdays Blog Hop

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Thanks for joining me tonight!  I’m stop #3 on the RemARKable Blog Tour!  You probably came from my good friend Linda’s blog Ink Stamp and Scrap – I so love her work!

Have you ever just taken one look at a stamp and had a card just pop into your head?  Well, that’s what happened to me with this stamp set – Best of Birthdays.  Best of Birthdays is Stampin’ Up!’s 25th Anniversary stroll down memory lane stamp set.  It’s the first of it’s kind and each set has a fresh, never before released image in it!  The main image in my card today is that new image – and I just love it.

Creative Tips:

  • I knew the moment I mounted this stamp that I wanted to emboss it with the new Pewter Embossing Powder.  And boy was I right – it’s stunning, especially on black.
  • I punched out the image using our Extra Large Oval Punch.
  • To give a little more detail to the image, I stamped it again, tone on tone in Cherry Cobbler on the 3/4” banner.  I made the banner end using a 1” Square Punch and popped it up on Dimensionals.

  • I just love this paper from the Sycamore Street Collection in the Sale-a-bration catalog.  You can still get this amazing set of Designer Series Paper for free with a $50 purchase.
  • The Pattern is rich in design and detail, so I wanted to pop it just a little by adding the 1/16” black matte.
  • I decided to keep the Summer Starfruit as the main color and added a panel behind the DSP.  I like the contrast between the Starfruit, Black and Cobbler.  They are all rich, so it works.
  • For just the right finishing touch, I added a few Pearl Basic Jewels at the top and bottom.  I wanted to kick them up a notch so I altered every other one in size.

  • To keep my proportions just right, I added five at the top and only three at the bottom since the banner and greeting were at the bottom.
  • Tip – To place my pearls just right I use my Paper-Piercer to transfer them from the sheet to my project.  They don’t remain stuck to the metal of the point.  It works great!

I love the final look of this card.  The best part, it literally came together in minutes.  It’s elegant, sophisticated and simple.  You have to love that!

Next up you will see what our next RemARKable Blogger Melissa Bollinger has creatively put together for you on our next Blog Tour stop – just click the 25th Anniversary button below.  Enjoy, thanks for stopping by and happy stamping!

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Creative Supplies Used:

Stamp Sets – Best of Birthdays Ink – Versamark, Cherry Cobbler  Paper – Summer Starfruit, Basic Black, Cherry Cobbler, Sycamore Street (Sale-a-bration FREE item) Cool Tools –1” Square Punch, Extra Large Oval Punch, Pewter Embossing Powder, Heat Tool The Perfect Finish – Stampin’ Dimensionals, Pearl Basic Jewels

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