Sweet Spring - GK New Release

 Hello, welcome to my blog!! 

I want to start out by thanking everyone for the support and nice comments you all leave for me. I truly appreciate the support of this blog!! I enjoy card making and bringing my creations to you, this wouldn't be possible without your support, so again, thank you!! *Affiliate links are used at no additional cost to you. When you purchase products through my links I receive a small commission from these sales, thank you so much for your support it is greatly appreciated!!

Today I have a card made with another set from Gina K. Designs brand new release! The set I'm using is called Sweet Spring, illustrated by Hannah Drapinski for April's flower of the month. Hannah is creating a floral set for each month throughout the year that will be included in each new release! Her images are so beautiful and I really love the scripted fonts she has been using for these sets. Also included in these monthly series are a stamp with the name of the month so you could even create a calendar with these sets! I will be embossing today's image and doing a little ink blending to add some shading for my coloring. All of the stamps, inks and cardstock I use today are from Gina K. Designs. Let's get started!!

I will be doing all of my work today on my Tim Holtz Glass Media Mat.

To start, I cut a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" panel out of Plum Punch Cardstock using my Tim Holt Guillotine Paper Trimmer. I then place the panel into my MISTI Stamp Positioner and prep it with my Anti Static Powder Bag. Next, I take the biggest image from the Sweet Spring Stamp Set and stamp it onto the panel using Versamark Ink, then add Gold Embossing Powder and heat set with my Heat Tool.

To add a little shading to my image I use my Blending Brush and blend some Plum Punch Ink over the centers of each flower, fading out towards the tips of the petals. I then add Edible Eggplant Ink to the very center of each flower for a little added depth. After my blending is complete I take a soft cloth to buff away any ink that has remained on the embossing.

There are coordinating Sweet Spring Dies that are available for purchase, however, I do not have them so I fussy cut out my image using my Micro Tip Scissors. I then decided to add a little color to the leaves of this image. I use my Blending Brush and blend Grass Green Ink over all of the leaves then take a soft cloth to remove any ink remaining on the embossing. *Adding the green on the leaves doesn't really show a green shade, but it does add just a little color variation to the image.

To create a background for my image I take a 4 1/4" x 5 1/2" panel of Kraft Cardstock and attach my Harvest Flourish Stencil over the top. Using my Blending Brush I blend Plum Punch Ink over the entire stencil. I then blend Edible Eggplant Ink over a few random areas to add some color variation.

I remove the stencil then take the second biggest die from the Master Layouts 1 Die Set and cut out of my panel and take the layering die also from the Master Layouts 1 Die Set and cut out of Black Cardstock, running them through my Big Shot Die Cut Machine.

Using my Guillotine Paper Trimmer I cut my blended panel at an angle. I then center and adhere it onto the black panel using Liquid Glue. Using my Guillotine Paper Trimmer I trim off the black cardstock at an angle so all sides have equal amounts showing.

Next, I place a 5 1/2" x 8 1/2" piece of Plum Punch Cardstock into my Scor Buddy and score it at 4 1/4" creating a side folding card base. I then place the card base into my MISTI and temporarily layout my blended panel and flowers to determine my sentiment placement. I remove the blended panel and flowers then prep the card base with my Anti Static Powder Bag then stamp a sentiment from the Sweet Spring Stamp Set with Versamark Ink, add Gold Embossing Powder then heat set with my Heat Tool.

Now it's time to put my card together! For some dimension, I adhere my blended panel onto my card base using Foam Tape making sure it is centered evenly along all sides. I then add Liquid Glue to the back of the flowers that will be touching the panel. Next, I add two layers of Foam Tape to the right portion of the flower and leaves that will be overhanging and touching the card base. I then center the flowers over the panel making sure not to cover up the sentiment and adhere down.

To finish, I use my Jewel Picker to add some Clear Dew Drops with Liquid Glue and this completes my card.

I hope you enjoyed today's card. I tried coloring this image but wasn't liking the results I was getting. Sometimes my watercoloring looks good and other times, not so much. I decided to go with a monochromatic look and let the embossing showcase the image and loved the results! I love having the option to color an image, ink blend it, stamp it or just emboss it! There are so many different techniques that can be used with these images. I hope to create a card with this set using watercoloring when I have a little more time to experiment with different mediums. Though my ink blending didn't show up in true colors because of the dark cardstock, it gave enough shading to add a little depth and break up the color instead of it being one solid color of cardstock.

If this is your first time visiting my blog, welcome and I hope you return. If you are a returning visitor, thank you so much for your support!

Should you have any questions or comments please leave them in the comments section. I'd love to hear from you and what you thought about today's card.

If you would like to be notified by email each time I post something new to my blog, you can click on the subscribe button at the top of the page. *Be sure to verify your subscription through the email link to activate. There is also a follow button that you can click on located below my profile if you would like to follow my blog.

Thank you for visiting and I hope you come back soon!

Happy Stamping and God bless!!

Jeannie