This post was sponsored by Simon Says Stamp. Thanks, Simon!
Hi friends! Today, I have some inspiration using the utterly gorgeous Fresh Daisies Embossing Folder + dies. I have become obsessed with adding color to embossing folder images in a variety of ways, including ink blending, alcohol markers, and watercolor, and today I combine a few of those techniques for a two-fer. When I first saw the Fresh Daisies Embossing Folder + dies, I thought that the little baby’s breath flowers and daisies reminded me of a sweet baby card. White daisies are so innocent and clean, so friendly (“Don’t you think that daisies are the friendliest flowers?”), that I thought this embossing folder would make some beautiful and elegant baby cards. Let’s get started with the details!
Both of my cards today feature the Fresh Daisies Embossing Folder. I used two different techniques for these cards, though I kept the color scheme similar for both projects, using Lake Shores Ink for my main color addition.
My first card pairs the Fresh Daisies Embossing Folder + dies with the Leafy Greens Embossing Folder + dies. I recently added this Leafy Greens folder to my stash with the intention of using it in conjunction with the several different embossed floral dies that are available in the Simon Says Stamp store. The leaves are beautifully delicate and a lovely, graceful shape. I die cut the daisies and the foliage from plain white cardstock, intending to add some alcohol marker coloring to them.
To achieve good results with the die cut embossed flowers, I first die cut the images from my chosen cardstock, then place the die cuts inside the embossing folder in the correct spot for that image, then run it through my die cut machine. If you tried to die cut the embossed image, you would flatten out all of the embossed dimension, so it works best to start with a clean, smooth die cut. Using my OLO Markers, I colored the daisies and foliage die cuts, using BV2.0 and the Zero markers on the “white” daisies, keeping the color mainly on the petals tucked behind the top layer of petals in order to enhance the shadows while still keeping the color a crisp white. I added golden yellow to the daisy centers and colored the leaves a lovely shade of aqua that coordinates nicely with the Lake Shores Ink.
For the background, I used Simon Says Stamp’s Very Very Low Tack Tape and some Post-It Notes to mask off the top and bottom of my white A2 card front. I lightly blended Lake Shores Ink in the center of the card front, then, keeping the masks intact, added the Daisies and Leaves Stencil, which I had lightly spritzed with Pixie Spray to keep the delicate stencil in place while blending. I blended more Lake Shores ink over the top of the stencil to create a very subtle, tone-on-tone pattern in my blended area. I also spritzed the colorful strip with some Hero Arts Iridescent Shimmer Spray. When I removed the masks, I was left with a strip of subtle, but lovely, aqua. Before adding my die cut flowers, I splattered some beautiful, sparkling warm white watercolors to add even more interest to the background.
I arranged the die cut embossed flowers on the card front, adhering them using foam tape. I also stamped a greeting from Oh, Baby onto some white cardstock using Lake Shores Ink, then, keeping the stamps and cardstock in place in my MISTI, stamped again with clear embossing ink and sprinkled some white satin pearl embossing powder over the top. This combination created a beautifully soft color-coordinated sentiment, which I die cut using the coordinating dies. I adhered the sentiment with a double layer of foam tape and added a few gems and some twine for more texture. Once I had everything arranged properly, I “gilded” the flower petals and foliage with the same sparkling white watercolor that I had splattered on the background, adding it only in the highlighted spots to add just a touch of sparkle. I am totally in love with this card; the sparkle is unreal and *so* difficult to capture in a photograph.
My second card also features the Fresh Daisies Embossing Folder and Lake Shores Ink. After embossing my white panel with the full Fresh Daisies Embossing Folder, I blended Lake Shores Ink with a blending brush over the entirety of the embossed panel. I also went back over the raised areas with the ink pad, lightly swiping the panel with the ink pad to add extra color saturation to the raised areas.
Once I’d finished blending and swiping on the panel, I used the same golden white sparkly watercolors to enhance some of the raised embossed images. Leaving the monochromatic color on the background would be fine in itself, but adding the sparkling highlights kicks it up a notch! I also splattered the entire card front with more sparkly watercolors, which I think almost creates a raindrop effect. I added a glittery white frame cut using some white glitter paper and the A2 Thin Frames dies.
For the greeting, I used another pair of die cuts from the Oh, Baby + dies, stamped again using Lake Shores ink + clear embossing ink, and embossed using White Satin Pearl embossing powder. I also lightly blended some more Lake Shores ink on the die cuts to keep them cohesive on the blue background. I popped the greeting up on the card front using foam adhesive, then added some gems and a twine bow. I think the addition of the twine bow helps to enhance the idea that this elegant card is a sweet baby card!
Well, that’s all for my projects today. If you have any iridescent or sparkly watercolors, I would encourage you to try adding some sparkly highlights to your embossed images and backgrounds. It’s super easy, and the effect is absolutely stunning! Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a marvelous day!
