Simple Seasonal Projects

As a gardener, I appreciate all the seasons…even though I do have my favorites! Both these cards represent that. If you want to see how they came together, go to my Facebook page, “Susan’s Garden Club,” and you can see the step on video.

PRODUCTS I used:

Autumn Splendor & Halloween Fun

Hello Paper Gardeners. Today on The Garden Spot LIVE, I created two cards to pay tribute to the season fast coming upon us–Autumn, and a little whimsy with one of Tim Holtz’ product, “Halloween Paper Dolls.”

Below, I’ve listed the products I’ve used if you’re interested in creating the most unique cards. Thank you for being part of The Garden Club!

PRODUCTS

Remember & Background techniques

Today on The Garden Spot LIVE (Facebook), I showed three different techniques for enhancing your paper bouquets. Below, I’ve listed all the products I used for your convenience and ready for shopping.

PRODUCTS

HEY Pumpkin!

As those of us on the southern coast of the United States prepare for Hurricane Dorian:-( …I decided to look ahead to Autumn. I love the colors, aromas, and comfort foods this season brings. Pumpkins of course signal its arrival so I used my French Pumpkin to fill with an array of some of my favorite flowers. What I want to show you was how easy it is to color the pumpkin using Tonic’s Embellishment Mousse in a variety of colors; techniques for blending that can be used on any of your pieces.

1. I started with Tonic’s “Craft Perfect” Card Blanks/Bright White in 6″ x 6″. Then, I had a second layer using the Mirror Card/Smooth Mint in 5 3/4″ x 5 3/4″. Finally, a 5 1/2″ x 5 1/2″ square of Watercolor paper (I love the texture it brought to the card.

2. Using the sponge daubers, it made it so easy to add the Orange Blush Mousse first, leaving some areas untouched so I could blend in other colors.

3. I decided to add some Shimmer Powder/Solar Flare onto my non-stick mat so I could blend it with the Orange Blush and give the pumpkin some highlights. As you can see, I blended Forest Green Mousse along the bottom edge as well.

4. Final touch, was to “age” the pumpkin a bit, using my finger and blending some Cosmic Brown Mousse onto the surface. The stem was created by using two of the Nuvo Crystal Drops/Olive Branch with Copper Penny and smearing them with a toothpick to give a textured look to the stem.

5. I created a background for my card on the watercolor paper using Glacier Paste/Green Envy and applied it over a stencil using a spatula.

6. The leaves of the Pumpkin were colored with Copic YR95 and YR97. I chose Black-eyed Susan’s, Dahlia, and some Goldenrod for my flower bouquet and Woodland Leaves brightly colored with Crystal Glaze on them. Finally, Suzanne Cannon’s “Autumn” was die cut in the same Mirror Card/Smooth Mint to announce the season!

PRODUCTS BY TONIC: If you would like any of the products I’ve used, just click on the image and it will take you to the Tonic site to purchase.

Product List for Frame It Post

Sorry, just figured this out and makes it easier for you to follow to the product. You can just click on the product and it will take you to the Tonic store to purchase.

Tonic Product List

Frame It

Hello Paper Gardeners~As promised, here is the frame template to use with a score board to make any size frame for your paper bouquets!

Supply List:

Tonic-Studios

 

 

A Patriotic Bouquet

July 4th means a lot to me; I’m a Navy brat with relatives from my great grandfathers, grandfathers, uncles, brothers, and nephews who have all served in the armed forces.  However, as an American, the pride I feel on this day is for our immigrant forefathers who fought to establish a new country and a government of the people, for the people, and by the people with our Constitution.

Today, I decided, since I won’t be doing a LIVE video on FaceBook on the 4th, I would step out this project to inspire you.  I started with my “Bucket,” which I have galvanized, done in brass and in a wood look, but today, I did a painted tin look…in of course, a Royal Blue. The Bucket is filled with Baby’s Breath, Eucalyptus, Red Berry Spray, and one of my favorite summer flowers–Zinnias. Enjoy!

LET’S GET STARTED

Step One

I started with adding Nuvo Crystal Drops/Red Berry on the Berry Spray so it could dry.  I do both sides so it can take awhile before it’s ready–especially with humidity.

I also colored the Eucalyptus branches (I cut two) with Copic Markers–YG91 and YG93.  I added Nuvo Crystal Drops/Oyster Grey in the berry areas.

Step Two

I die cut the Baby’s Breath branch and the tiny flower plate (6 times).  Place the flowers on a harder surface (i.e., carving block or eraser) and make a small dot in the center in a bright green.

Next, use a rounded toothpick to cup the shapes.  Use small tweezers to pick up the flowers, lightly dip the underside in glue and fill the branches.  Set aside.

Step Three

I did a technique on the bucket that I learned from Sally Lynn MacDonald of GelPress. Apply some alcohol ink onto a GelPress pad; I used a Copic Refill/Royal Blue B28.  Next, on a smaller, separate GelPress pad, I rolled some metallic white acrylic paint, then, rolled it over the dried alcohol ink.

Step Four

Press the Bucket, right-side-down onto the pad and use a separate roller to press into the plate.  The first press, the blue isn’t as strong, but repeat in several areas on the pad until you get the color you desire.

Step Five

Peel off the backing of the Clear Double Sided Paper and add a foam tab in the lower 1/3 of the Bucket.  I painted the handled with Pentart’s Platinum and die cut a separate wood piece for the handled.  I placed the Bucket on a 6″ x 6″ Soft Finish White card with a 5 1/2″ x 5 1/2″ layer of ModaScrap’s Wood Effect cardstock.

Step Six

Fill the Bucket with Baby’s Breath; notice I cut one of the branches of this piece to add fullness to the spray.  Then shape the Eucalyptus Branches and add to the bouquet.  The Berry Spray is cut into three pieces for ease of placement.

Step Six

The Zinnias are next.  I die two pieces each of the flower shapes in Soft Finish White Cardstock (85 lb.230g).  I colored them with Copic Marker R29.  To finish the flower, you need to die cut two “stamen” pieces, 2 to 3 leaves, and one “plate” of Flowerettes for the center of the flower.  Place the flower shapes on the Molding Pad and use the small end of the Loop Tool to shape each petal.  Next use the tweezers to pinch each petal.  Finally, place the flower back on the Molding pad and cup, using the Medium Ball Stylus.

Step Seven

Build the Zinnia right onto your project, starting with the larger flower pieces, off-setting the petals as you glue them one on top of the other.

Step Eight

The stamen is die cut twice in Soft Finish White cardstock.  Color one with Copic Y19 and the other partially in Y19 and four filaments with R59 as shown. Use the small scissors to cut the R59 filaments in half.

Next, apply glue to the straight edge of the 2-tone stamen and roll it up, making sure you start with the R59 so it ends up in the center.  Apply glue to the straight edge of the solid yellow stamen and roll it around the first stamen. Add some glue to the tips of the red filaments and dip into the Rusty Red Pollen.  Fan out the Yellow filaments and glue this piece in the center of the flower.

Step Nine

Place the Yellow Flowerettes on a carving block or eraser and cup each one with a rounded toothpick. Using small tweezers, lightly dip the undersides into the glue and place them onto the yellow filaments.

Step Ten

Finally, die cut 2 to 3 leaves for each flower.  I shaded the edges with Distress Ink/Forest Moss.  Place the leaf, right-side-down onto the Leaf Pad and draw a stem line down the center.  Turn over and press up on the line so you can shade it with PanPastel/Bright Yellow Green.  Return the piece to the Leaf Pad and vein the leaf. Pinch the stem area and turn leaf right-side-down onto the Molding Pad and shape the edge. Dip the stem end into glue and place under the flowers.  Finish with a Dotted Scallop Tag stamped with July 4 (I added the “th” with a colored pen!)

Have a happy and safe 4th of July and let’s remember what this holiday means!

 

Elizabeth Craft Designs Products

Garden Notes:

Galvanized Bucket #1525

Zinnia #1143

Eucalyptus #1523

Baby’s Breath #1522

Berry Spray #1481

Els van de Burgt Studio:

Dotted Scalloped Circles #1172

Suzanne Cannon’s Quietfire: 

Month Stamps CS098

ModaScrap

Wood Effect Cardstock #MSC036

 

Soft Finish White Cardstock 85 lb./230g  – #PSF101

Soft Finish White Cardstock 100 lb./270g – #PSF102

PanPastels Set 1 #30115  and Set 2 #30116

Tool Kit #808

Mini Molding Pad #809

Leaf Pad #811

Pollen/Red

Other Supplies:

Copic Markers

Tonic Nuvo Crystal Drops

Ranger’s Distress Ink

 

Cardstock…

Everyone asks…”what cardstock colors do you use for your leaves and stems?”  Well, here is the small selection of colors by Bazzill/American Crafts.  In order, from left to right:

Clover

Hillary

Rainforest

Patch

Parakeet

Southern Magnolia, Y’all!

The Southern Magnolia is a tree native to the southeastern United States; from North Carolina to central Florida, and west to eastern Texas and Oklahoma.  It can grow to 50 feet tall and rarely, up to 100 feet!  It’s dark green leaves with a caramel-colored underside are striking against the white, fragrant flowers.  Recently, I was asked to “step-out” this beautiful flower for one of my viewers on FaceBook/Susan’s Garden Club.  I know you’ll love adding it to your bouquets!

LET’S GET STARTED

Step One

I use Soft Finish White 100 lb./270g cardstock to die cut one of each of the petal sections, two centers, and Soft Finish White 85 lb./230g cardstock to cut 3-5 leaves.

Use PanPastel/Diarylide Yellow to shade the centers of the petal pieces.

Use Copic Markers (Y19 & E31) to color the centers.

Step Two

Place the larger 4-petal piece on the MoldingPad and use the Large Loop Tool or the Medium Ball Stylus to shape the petals.  Next, use the tweezers to pinch the stem ends, transfer this pinch to your opposite thumb and index finger to hold it while you use the tweezers to bend down the outer edges of the petals.

Place the 4-petal piece back on the Molding Pad and use the small ball stylus to cup the center.  Use a toothpick to add a small amount of glue underneath and adhere it to your card.

Repeat these steps for the other two petal pieces.

Build the flower, off-setting the petal pieces as shown.

Step Three

The center is done by placing both pieces, wrong side down, on the Molding Pad and using the Small Loop Tool, shape them.  Use a toothpick to apply glue around the edges of one of the shapes only as shown and adhere the two pieces together, forming a dimensional ovoid piece.

Lightly apply a small amount of glue to this center piece and sprinkle some Pollen over it.

Dip the bottom into the glue and place it in the center of the flower.

Leaves:

I’ve colored the leaves with a combination of Copic Markers and PanPastels, but you could also use a dark green cardstock if you prefer. If you do, still color the underside with the PanPastel/Orange Shade.

I used Copic Markers (G99, G94 & G85) on the right side of the leaf, then dipped it into VersaMark and embossed it with Clear, Fine Embossing Powder.

Next, I color the underside of the leaf, first with Copic Marker E99 and then used PanPastel/Orange Shade to color over the marker.  This step gives it the “suede” look that these leaves have.

Now, place the leaf, right side down, on the Leaf Pad and use the Leaf Tool to score a stem line down the center.  Bend up the the leaf, wrong side first, and shade with PanPastel/Raw Umber, then bend up the leaf, right side up, and shade the stem line on this side.  Place back on the Leaf Pad and use the Leaf Tool to add vein lines out from the stem line.

Lastly, place the leaf on the Molding Pad and use the Medium Ball Stylus to shape the end, as shown. (If this is confusing, I did a video on the leaves on Susan’s Garden Club FaceBook page!)

If you want the green side to show, shape with the green facing down on the mat; for the caramel colored side, shape with the green facing up while you pinch the stem line with the tweezers.  Insert leaves around the flower.

To complete the project, I added some ferns underneath and created berry branches using Tonic’s Nuvo Crystal Drops/Ripened Pumpkin.

I added Suzanne Cannon’s new “Just for You” to finish my project.

I hope this step out helps you construct this beautiful flower; it really is quite impressive!

Elizabeth Craft Designs Products

Susan’s Garden Notes-Magnolia #1142 and Ostrich Fern #1424 (coming soon)

Els van de Burgt Studio – Berry Branch #758

Suzanne Cannon’s “Just for You” #1441

Soft Finish White Cardstock 85 lb./230g #PSF101 and 100 lb./270g #PSF102

Susan’s Garden Tool Kit #808, Molding Pad #809, and Leaf Pad #811

PanPastels Set 1 ##30115 and Set 3 #30117

Beacon Kids Choice! glue

Other Products:

Tonic Nuvo Crystal Drops/Ripened Pumpkin

Copic Markers Y19, E31, G99, G94, and G85 and for the back of the Leaf, E99

Woodland Scenics Pollen/Yellow

Background of the card was done with Ranger’s Distress Ink/Oxides

 

 

 

Coloring with Copic Markers for Natural-looking Blooms

 

I’ve always said, “I’m a gardener first, paper artist second!”  For me, it’s not just creating flowers, but flowers that resemble those grown in our gardens or given in bouquets.  I’ve been doing FaceBook Live Tutorials, not only how I assemble the dies I create, but showing how simple it is to color and shade the petals (and leaves) to make people do a double-take that these flowers are actually made of paper.

Here’s a List of Copic Markers that I used on the projects I did this past week.  If you missed the video, it does stay up on my FaceBook paper–Susan’s Garden Club.

 

Chrysanthemums:

Y19 & Y38

R89 & R59

Pansies:

V09 & V15

Pumpkins:

Y09, YR15, & Y38

Leaves:

Distress Ink/Forest Moss around the edges

PanPastel/Bright Yellow Green to accentuate the stem line

Dahlia:

PanPastel/Diarylide Yellow for the centers only, use Soft Finish White cardstock

Chrysanthemums:

E19 & R59

Marigolds:

Y19 and shaded the centers with R59

Autumn Leaves:

Oak Leaves: E19, YR14, & YR27

Maple Leaves: R37, YR09, YG95, U19

Birch Leaves: Y19 & YG95

Hawthorne Leaves: Y19, YG95, YR14

I hope that answers your questions on what I used–have fun creating beautiful Autumn bouquets!