Paint It & One for the Girls Submissions
Simon Says Stamp and Allsort Challeng Blog Entry
Good day, fellow crafters. I hope you're all having a great day. I'm here to showcase my latest crafting challenge submissions. I'm excited to share my entry for the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge, which is all about painting, for which I've painted a beautiful sunflower that I think fits the theme perfectly. Additionally, I'm also submitting this creation to the Allsorts Challenge Blog #726, which is looking for feminine designs. I believe my sunflower creation meets both challenges perfectly. Thanks for checking it out!
Blending Pen
To create this card, I employed a carefully planned technique that helped me achieve the perfect look. First I started with the focal image, the gorgeous sunflower. To bring it to life, I used a piece of high-quality white watercolor paper and stamped the image onto it using the Spellbinders Hello Sunflower (STP-017) stamp set in black ink.
Next came the fun part – coloring in the image using watercolor markers from Staedtler and a watercolor blending pen. I took my time with this step, adding color to specific areas and then blending it using the watercolor blending pen. This allowed me to create highlights and shading exactly where I wanted them, and helped me achieve a beautifully natural effect.
Watercolor Marker
To replicate this technique on your own cards you would begin by starting with the ink closest to the center of the image, in this case, the sunflower, and then slowly pull the ink along the image to create your darks to fading highlights naturally as the ink fades. For my image I repeated this technique repeatedly for the flower center, the petals, and the stem, taking care to bring out the full beauty of the sunflower. Finally, I set the piece aside to dry.
After completing the focal image of the sunflower, my attention turned to crafting the card base. I wanted the colors to evoke a sense of nature and harmony, so I decided to use a Kraft-colored pre-cut A2 card base that reminded me of the earth. To give it a finishing touch, I used a Rounded Rectangular die from Hero Arts to round off the corners.
Next, I turned to a Sunflower Yellow piece of cardstock, which I also rounded off using the same die, and adhered it to the card base. The purpose of this was to create a mat that would complement the focal image of the sunflower and help draw the eye through the card. I also decided to offset this card to add visual interest, and to ensure that the sunflower was the star of the show. Overall, this approach gave the card a cohesive and balanced look that perfectly complemented the sunflower image.
Once the watercolor was completely dry I used the same die set to cut the focal image to final size and adhered it to the card base as shown. I decided that it was still lacking something so I decided to go with some flat-backed jewels from The Paper Studio. These jewels were arranged in an arrow-like formation, strategically placed to draw the viewer's eye across the card and toward and across the sunflower image. Lastly, I stamped the sentiment in the same Black ink as the original image
The sunflower has represented various things historically, depending on the culture and time period. To the Greeks, it reminded them of the god Apollo and symbolized devotion and loyalty. In the Native American culture, it was a symbol of harvest and good luck, prosperity, and health. In Christian art, the sunflower has been used as a symbol of faith, loyalty, and adoration towards God. It was seen as a representation of the believer's devotion to God, as the flower follows the sun's movement, just as the faithful follow God. Overall, the sunflower continues to be an enduring and versatile symbol, inspiring creativity and artistic expression in many different forms, including crafting.
