I've had a busy week with preparations for classes and my forthcoming weekend craft retreat, so I've had to take a short blogging break. Today I'm sharing a card that was totally inspired by the vibrant colour palette over at TGIF Challenges this week:
This colour palette is so bright I just couldn't resist! I decided that these colours would be perfect for a tropical orchid and set to work - take a look:
Here's the low-down on today's card:
Climbing Orchid - I must confess this is the first time I've used this stamp; I bought it having seen the fabulous creations my wonderful Paper Players friend Nance Leedy created with it and following the stunning birthday card she sent me with it last year (you can see her card here but if you search for 'Climbing Orchid' on Nance's blog you will see lots of fabulous samples using this set). As I was musing what to do with these colours, another of my Paper Players teamies, the lovely LeAnne Pugliese of WeeInklings, posted a photo on her blog of a fabulous real-life orchid that has just bloomed having nurtured it for a whole year (apparently an ice cube a day is the secret!) and as I mused that I have never managed to keep a houseplant going for that long, it dawned on me that an orchid would be perfect for this colour combo. I stamped my orchids in Berry Burst directly onto Pineapple Punch cardstock as I didn't want to see white borders on my flowers, then I also added a little sponged Berry Burst ink to the petals.
More Stitched Frames - I mounted my orchid on a tone-on-tone stitched rectangle frame and card base and stamped my sentiment on the inner panel. What can I say - these frames are a winner and I love them!
A Post-Friendly Version - I used the co-ordinating Orchid Builder framelits to cut out the layered petals and shaped them with my bone folder for a dimensional effect on the card above, which is headed to someone special who has a birthday coming up who I know will appreciate the effort involved. I am also able to hand-deliver, as this card is not particularly post-friendly. I did however create a second, slightly less involved and more post-friendly version using one of the other sentiments in the set which will be heading overseas that I thought I would also share with you for comparison:
And here's a picture of the two cards together:
I love these cards - why ever did I wait so long to use this set?! I think I'm going to make one of these 3D versions in a pot to keep on my windowsill - I'm sure this is the only houseplant likely to survive in the James household for a year or more! I'm also linking today's card up with the ladies over at SUO Challenges where the theme is 'flowers'.
Here is the visual summary of the key products used on today's project for you to pin for easy reference:
You can see all of my 'How To' summaries on my 'How To - Tips and Techniques' Pinterest board in case you've missed any.
Enjoy your day and I'll be back tomorrow with another project. Until then, happy stampin'!
Stampin' Up! Supplies Used: