Sunshine Creativity

Using a yellow cardbase, I adhered a piece of blue and yellow plaid paper. I printed the image onto white paper and then cut it out in a strip as wide as the image and 5.5 inches tall. I adhered the strip to the left of the card and completed the card with a "hugs" die cut that was cut out three times and glued together for a bit of dimension.

This image is the February Imagine That Digistamps Progressive Challenge image and is called "Birthday Bunny". I created the card as per the February Crafty Chefs card recipe. The group has a "Master Chef" that provides a recipe of must have and can have elements. There is no pressure and one does not even have to use the recipe in the month it was issued in. The February recipe is Must Do: Fun fold, image (rubber or digi), Pink & purple combo, Pattern paper and Can do: Embossing folder, Doily, Flowers. I have all 7 elements.

I printed the digi out onto Canson C' a Grain Drawing paper and colored everything except the balloon and the strawberries with my Prismacolor colored pencils. The balloon and strawberries are done with a red glitter gel pen. I used some white gel pen on the bunny's eyes and the highlight on the balloon. Once colored, I cut it out with an oval die. 

I created the step card from a purple cardbase and added the pink patterned paper. I cut two small squares of pink cardstock for the two side fronts and ran them through a flower embossing folder. I placed a doily behind the focal image before adhering it to the front of the center step.

I don't have white gesso as mine dried up and I never replaced it, but I do have clear gesso. So I worked with that. As a result the background is more subtle than it would have been with white gesso, but I think it still worked for my fairy background. I applied the gesso through a stencil and then when it was dry I added Distress Oxide inks with a makeup brush. Once the ink was dry, I wiped over it with a damp paper towel and I was interested to see that the gesso pattern showed up better on the pink ink than on the yellow.

I used Spellbinders dies to cut the fairies and the doves out of plaid patterned paper. The sentiment is cut out of black cardstock and covered in Nuvo Crystal Glaze. I popped the cardpanel onto the cardbase with foam tape for a little bit of dimenstion.

Using watercolor paper, I sprayed the page very heavily with water. I was intending on using my Arteza Brush Pens to create this background with, but they did not perform as intended on the wet surface. The water actually washed out of the nibs and no more pigment came down onto the page. So I then returned to my trusty watercolor set and continued with a red and a coffee brown which when mixed with the water brought up the shades of the challenge (see image below). Once I had enough pigment on the paper, I blew it around with a straw  until I was happy with the color shapes. I then dried it with my heat tool - I mean who has time to wait for it to dry? I then cut a cardpanel out of it one size smaller than notecard size with a Hero Arts die.

Using my Craft a Flower Tulip dies, I cut the two flowers in white, tan and grey and also one leaf and an additional stem. I stamped the sentiment from a Power Poppy stampset in Versamark ink and coated it in fine detail white embossing powder. I then arranged the tulips on my cardpanel before adhering the cardpanel to a white top folding cardbase with foam tape.

I love these Tulips. My previous version using them was in bright colors. But they work in neutrals too on a bright background.