friendship blooms

Hi there! Today, we have an extra special collaboration between Hero Arts and yet another of my most favorite companies (and people!): Gina K.! These two rockstar companies epitomize kindness to me. Gina is just about one of the nicest people you could ever meet, and the kindness and community spirit that Hero Arts exudes makes me insanely proud to be part of their Creative Team. Today’s blog hop is celebrating this gorgeous new stamp set: Friendship Blooms (HA|EH|SSS). (Such a perfect name for a collaborative stamp set like this, right?) We have a stellar blog hop list for you today, with lots of beautiful floral inspiration. You should have arrived here from Caly Person’s blog, and your next stop is Ilina Crouse’s blog. You can also head back to the Hero Arts blog if you get lost.

This stamp set is absolutely stunning. Like, I literally gasped when I saw images of it. Gina’s florals are always so gorgeous, and this trendy, beautiful spray of peonies is a perfect way to represent the two companies. And let’s not forget the eloquent and meaningful sentiments included in this large 6×8 stamp set! Here’s a peek at Friendship Blooms (HA|EH|SSS):

Gorgeous, right? I had to create a quick project before I left on vacation, so I can’t wait to get back and delve into Friendship Blooms (HA|EH|SSS) a little further!! That peony spray is just stunning! I think that keeping the project fairly simple shows off the beauty and detail of the large peony spray.

For my project today, I started by stamping the Friendship Blooms (HA|EH|SSS) main image onto a panel of white Neenah card stock using Intense Black ink. Then, I colored the beautiful peony image using my Copic markers in shades of R59, R56, RV34, RV32, and R81 for the flowers and G46, G21, and YG61 for the leaves. I colored the little berry sprays with a black Micron pen to keep things simple.

After I’d finished coloring the image, I used my Micron pen and T-square to make a neat black rectangular frame around the edge of my card front, skipping over the flowers to allow the blooms to spill over the edge of the frame. I love adding a simple frame like this to floral cards; it gives them such a clean, elegant finish, I think!

The final touch was to add a greeting created with White embossing powder and Pitch Black card stock. I popped it up using foam tape to add a little extra dimension.

Well, that’s all for my project today! Now, for some fun giveaway information! Hero Arts is giving away one Friendship Blooms (HA|EH|SSS) stamp set to a lucky commenter! All you have to do to be eligible is leave a comment on the hop stops. The more comments you leave, the more chances you have to win! Comment by Sunday, August 4 at 11:59pm PST. I hope you’re enjoying the hop! Your stop is Ilina Crouse’s blog. Thanks so much for stopping by today, and happy hopping!