Sending Sunshine

Hello! I hope you're all having a great day! If you read my post yesterday, then you know that I did some organizing in my studio! I also went through my basket of "must-have" products that I haven't had a chance to use yet! I found the beautiful Lawn Fawn Happy Hibiscus Dies that I was so excited about last summer, yet never made time to use them! I'm so glad I rediscovered them because they are so much fun!

I took my kids swimming the other day and as usual, I was inspired by swimwear; in this case, dark backgrounds with bright pops of tropical flowers! I got to work die cutting all of the pieces that I would need to create the three flowers as well as the little pink flowers and foliage. I die cut everything from white cardstock and then used SU! inks to color them using blender brushes.

 I added the color to the stamens of the flowers by selectively inking the bottom in orange, the top in green, and then added color to the tips using a marker. I chose three different colors for each bloom; yellow, mustard, and rust. I also added a hint of shading and detail using a colored pencil.

I cut a panel of black cardstock measuring 4 by 5 1/4 inches and then added some white paint splatter. I set it aside to dry and finished up the flowers. I wanted them to be sparkly, but didn't want glitter all over the black cardstock, so I added the glitter separately. 

I added the larger leaves using liquid glue as well as the flowers. The smaller leaves are adhered using foam squares for dimension. The sentiment, which is from the MFT Sunny Vibes set (apparently retired), is heat embossed in white onto a strip of black cardstock. I adhered it using black Stampin' Dimensionals for a seamless look. I also added a few cupped sequins to the centers of the pink flowers for some added detail and sparkle.

Once I was finished with the black card, I just wasn't ready to be done playing so I had some fun creating a companion card. I'm obsessed with the Honey Bee Stamps Flip Flop Builder die collection so that was the starting point of my second card. I used Raspberry Fizz pattern paper to die cut the pieces for the base and the straps and then used Raspberry Fizz cardstock for the bows. I also die cut the foot part out of white cardstock as well so I could glue them together for a sturdier piece.

I decided to quickly put together a few more Hibiscus flowers to tie the two cards together. I assembled these ones slightly different than the first card. I hid the stamen part underneath the smaller bloom on each flower; sure which I like better!

The background was created by cutting a 4 by 5 1/4 inch piece of white cardstock and then I used the Taylored Expressions Breezy Stencil to create the pattern. I used the same two inks that I used for the leaves to keep it cohesive.

The sentiment for this card is from the Papertrey Ink Just Sentiments: Everyday stamp set and I heat embossed it just like I did for the first card. I cut it at angle for something a little bit different and for visual movement.

I also rounded the corners on two sides for something unexpected as well. I used to be a lot more creative with things like that but haven't done that as much recently. I spritzed the entire card with Shimmer Spray for some sparkle. I also added some glitter and sequins to the flowers as well. I decided to keep the sentiments clear of anything "summer" related, but rather general salutations that can be used anytime!

I mounted the entire focal panel onto a top folding black card base using foam squares for added dimension!  Thanks for fluttering by!

P.S. I wanted to thank you all for the sweet comments you've been leaving here for me! I'm struggling with a glitch that is making replying back somewhat of a nuisance! I hope I can get it figured out quickly, but in the meantime, thank you so much! I appreciate them so much!