Hello ScrapbookPal friends! I’m back today with another project I made for the ScrapbookPal Design Team. I was so excited to get this beautiful set! I purchased the Pinkfresh Studio Enchanting Flora clear stamps, Enchanting Flora dies, and 5 piece Enchanting Flora layering stencil set. My first surprise was that the floral crescent ring and individual flowers are all on one extra large stamp! Also, the coordinating dies are all in one die! Nothing to cut apart, and everything lines up and gets cut at the same time! The stencils work the same way. Each stencil lines up to color the floral crescent ring and all of the additional individual flowers at the same time! Brilliant! I’ve never had a set that works this way yet, and I was totally excited to jump in and get started on this project!
The first thing that I realized was that this gorgeous stamp was not going to fit in my regular size Misti stamping tool lined up straight. I had to put it on an angle so it would fit. I don’t have an acrylic block that large either, but it did fit fine in the Misti on the diagonal. Just to make sure it would stamp straight and work with the dies and stencils, I used the package insert to make sure I hadn’t applied the stamp in my Misti slightly askew, which of course I did. I straightened it out, using the printed package insert as my guide. Below is a photo of the printed outline image from the package insert taped to the outside of my Misti door so I could line up the long stamp (especially the crescent part) which is adhered inside the door. Make sure you take the time to do this, or your die cut and stencils will not line up correctly. Alternatively, if you don’t have a stamping tool that the stamp fits in, you could place the stamp on your work surface flat side down, ink up your stamp, and then gently place a half sheet of cardstock on top of it. Again, make sure it lines up or the die won’t line up properly. I always like to use my stamping tool whenever possible in case I miss a spot inking, or I don’t press down enough.
I have been deep in the throes of Christmas card making, so I wanted to do something completely different with this beautiful set. My favorite color family is purple, and I knew I wanted to use something that was going to be a lighter purple shade. There is even a suggestion on the stencil package to use the same color for the stencils that you use to make the two flower layers, stencil number 3 and 4. As they layer on top of each other, part of the flower will appear darker. I chose Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Ink in Shaded Lilac. The other three stencils will be used for the foliage. I went with traditional green, and chose Cracked Pistachio, Iced Spruce, and Evergreen Bough in the Distress ink pads. I think these cool greens all go well together and compliment the flower color. The Iced Spruce, with it’s gray/silver undertones, gave me the idea of embossing the stamped image with Lawn Fawn silver embossing powder.
After I had selected my colors, I went ahead and stamped the image onto Neenah Classic Crest Solar White 110 lb cardstock which I had cut to fit on the diagonal in my Misti, using VersaMark ink. I then added the embossing powder and heat set the image. I considered placing the cardstock back in my Misti so I could restamp the image and apply a second layer of embossing powder. Why not? It does look pretty good as it is… I could mess it up… The thought came to me that maybe I would try to shape the flowers when I was done, and I wouldn’t necessarily want the extra layer layer of embossing powder. Besides, I was too anxious to see how my color choices were going to work out with the stencils!
I used a Picket Fence Studios blending brush to apply the Cracked Pistachio through the first stencil. This stencil starts the layer of leaves. Some of the cutouts are very small, so I felt a blending brush would give me the best coverage. The brush would fit into the little nooks and crannies of the stencil easier than a foam tool. Even then, I had to make sure the ink got into the tiny cutouts. When I am blending with this type of layering stencil, I like to use a piece of Sizzix Sticky Grid to hold my cardstock to my work surface. I’ll then tape the stencil down at the top only, so I can lift it up and check my work, while keeping it aligned in place. Once you get the first stencil layer done, the rest of the layers are pretty easy to line up. I used Iced Spruce for the second stencil. I liked how it worked with both the Cracked Pistachio, and the silver embossed outline. I’m thinking this would make a great color combination for a wedding, or anniversary, or birthday card for a special girlfriend. It just has that delicate, sophisticated look that calls for a special occasion! Of course this stamp set would be perfect for any occasion. As I was working with the stencils, I thought, “This is my favorite set ever!”, which was odd for me, being a diehard Tim Holtz fan. But it truly is gorgeous, and will become one of my go-to favorites I’m sure.
Stencils 3 and 4 are the flowers. I used Shaded Lilac for both layers, as the packaging suggested. I’m a ruler follower, and I wasn’t disappointed. I did make sure to use a light hand with stencil number 3, knowing I could always go back and add more color if I needed to, after using stencil number 4, but I didn’t need to. Stencil 5 added some tiny leaves as accents. I used Evergreen Bough for this one.
When I was finished with the stencils, I lined up the one large die, and cut out everything at one time! I did have to make a little adjustment – I have a regular size manual Sizzix Big Shot for my diecutting and embossing machine. I do not have extended cutting pads, so I had to cut part of the die, then adjust it on my regular size cutting pads, and then run it through again. I made sure to use some extra low tack tape to hold the die to the cardstock so nothing moved. It worked just fine, and it really felt like a game changer, having all the individual flower dies connected in the same piece. So easy!
I used my Sizzix Tim Holtz shaping mat and tool to shape the smaller flowers before I started thinking about the final design of the card. I thought it would be neat to give the crescent floral swag some dimension. There are plenty of flower cutouts, actually too many to fit on an A2 card, so I layered most of them on top of the crescent. I just love the dimension this added!
The dimension of the crescent inspired me to add more dimension to the background. I ran a piece of very light gray cardstock through the Altenew Playful Circles 3D embossing folder. For the sentiment, I chose “you’re the best”, as it had an accompanying die. I embossed the sentiment with silver embossing powder to match the rest of the card. To help the sentiment stand out, I placed a circle of silver glitter paper behind it, and added a single flower with a foam square. I finished off the card by layering the embossed piece onto a slightly darker gray cardstock, and attaching it to an A2 sized card base made from Neenah Solar White cardstock.
I hope you enjoyed this card, and are inspired to check out this gorgeous set from Pinkfresh Studio!
Products used in this project, available at ScrapbookPal.com:
Pinkfresh Studio Enchanting Flora clear stamps
Pinkfresh Studio Enchanting Flora dies
Pinkfresh Studio Enchanting Flora stencil set
Altenew Playful Circles 3D embossing folder
Tim Holtz Distress ink pad – Shaded Lilac
Tim Holtz Distress ink pad – Cracked Pistachio
Tim Holtz Distress ink pad – Iced Spruce
Tim Holtz Distress ink pad – Evergreen Bough
VersaMark embossing ink pad
Picket Fence Studios blending brush
Sizzix Sticky Grid Sheets
Sizzix Tim Holtz Shaping Kit
Bearly Art Precision Craft Glue – The Bundle (with precision tip)
Scrapbook Adhesives 3D Foam Squares White Variety Pack
Lawn Fawn Embossing Powder Silver
Misti Stamping Tool – Original
