Good Wednesday morning and welcome to the CLASSroom. My project today was made using the Essentials by Ellen Thistle die set paired with the Impression Obsession Ornate Oval Frame and the Lawn Fawn Fancy Scalloped Rectangle Stackables. I have been having fun lately looking for new and different ways to use die sets that I already have in my stash. I love the shape of the leaves and branches in Julie's beautiful Thistle set and thought they would be so pretty used to create a floral arrangement. I used my favorite coloring technique of applying Distress Inks to the die cuts using mini applicators and then enhanced the color by heat embossing with clear embossing powder.
Apply Shabby Shutters and Peeled Paint to the branches and stem of the flower images using a mini applicator.
Apply Spun Sugar to cover the whole base of the flower. Apply Picked Raspberry and Fired Brick ink to the flower starting at the bottom and working up towards the center. Hint: Each time I touch the mini applicator to the ink pad I dab it off a little on scratch paper before I touch the die cut. This step allows for more even ink blending.
Lightly apply darker ink to the edges of the flower to add definition.
Place all the images face down on the Versa ink pad and press down to get good coverage.
Apply clear embossing powder. I use Ranger Super Fine powder because it creates perfect coverage for delicate images like these flowers.
Finish by applying heat to all the images and watch how the colors seem to come alive and become more vibrant.
Apply mounting tape to the back of the scalloped layer and frame, attach them to the card base and begin assembling the arrangement.
Start the arrangement by creating a base with branches, tuck them in behind the frame and attach with glossy accents.
Secure the taller flowers in place first using glossy accents and work forward attaching the flowers and branches until the arrangement is complete.
I hope you have been inspired to color some of your favorite die images and enhance the color by heat embossing with clear embossing powder. It truly is an amazing transformation.
