Hi friends! I am on the Pinkfresh Studio YouTube Channel today with this pretty “blurple” project inspired by the colors of one of my favorite flowers: hydrangeas! You can watch the video HERE on YouTube or below:
Below, I’ve included a quick written rundown of my techniques!
To begin, I used the Pinkfresh Studio 1″ Blending Brushes to blend a superb combination of blue and purple inks in an ombré, creating a soft “blurple” blended background. From light to dark, I blended: Sheer Freesia, Hydrangea, Blue Jay, and Sapphire inks on my plain white A2 panel of cardstock. After I had blended this pretty background, I adhered it with light-tack tape to a panel of thick scrap cardstock, creating a bit of a cushion behind this regular-weight cardstock so that I could use it with the Leafy Lattice Press Plate! Carissa Wiley shared this trick awhile ago, and I have been absolutely obsessed with it since then. After adhering the blended panel to the scrap Bristol cardstock, I used Calico White ink to press the Leafy Lattice Press Plate into my blended background. The extra cushion allows that impression to be nice and crisp in the lighter-weight cardstock, and the white pigment ink creates a subtle pattern and texture.
Once the background had been completed, I turned to the focal point. I have been having fun experimenting with textures on coated cardstocks lately, pairing pearlescent cardstocks with embossing folders, and today I used the Bluebonnet Bliss Press Plate and dies with some stunning periwinkle mirror cardstock that I found in my stash. (I make it my mission to collect interesting “specialty” cardstocks and sometimes have the problem of wanting to hoard them for a long time, so then I forget where I found them!) I impressed the beautifully detailed Bluebonnet Bliss Press Plate into this foil cardstock without inking up the plates, allowing the almost etched impression to be the focal point for my card! I impressed the image twice and then die cut the images out with their coordinating dies.
To accent the background and further enhance the feminine feel of this card, I die cut some Midnight Navy Glitter Cardstock from Pinkfresh Studio using the Fancy Edgers dies, backing the glittery, lacy strip with some pearlescent white cardstock for added shimmer and contrast. I placed the strip on the blended and pressed card front with liquid adhesive, then added the impressed Bluebonnet die cuts with liquid and thin foam adhesives. For the greeting, I stamped the “hugs” from the Basic Sentiments Stamps suite, using Hydrangea and Blue Jay inks to create an ombré sentiment. I popped the sentiment pieces up using thicker foam adhesive squares, then added a white pearlescent bow die cut created using the Wrap Around Elements dies (which are now discontinued– a twine bow would also work here!) to create the look of a hand-tied bouquet. Finally, I added a few Iridescent Dew Drop embellishments to fill in some of the blank areas on the card.
Well, that’s all for my project today! If you haven’t tried using your Press Plates without ink to add gorgeous texture, I hope this project inspires you to try it out. The impressed texture is exquisite and lends such an air of sophistication to your projects. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and have a marvelous day!
