I love the theme of this Inky Friends hop - Hidden Gems! There are SO MANY hidden gems in the catalog - stamp sets or products you may have overlooked the first (hundred) times through, or ones that you may have used once or twice, and then it sits forgotten on the shelf.
Sara at Lily's Ink Pad is before me on the line up. Didn't she make you re-think Five for All? To see the whole blog roll you can click the banner above, or just follow the links at the bottom of each blog post to see each and every one!
My "hidden gem" is the Birthday Blooms stamp set. I used it a few times when it came out, then lost interest. But now that no line watercoloring is trendy, it's time to dust it off and use it again!
The first card makes use of the sample I painted a few days ago. I wanted to send a thank you to a new friend, so I hope this is going to make her smile. The flowers are Flirty Flamingo with Sweet Sugarplum shading, and the leaves are Pear Pizzazz, Old Olive, Daffodil Delight and Fresh Fig.
I am SO HAPPY that the Basket Weave embossing folder is going to carry over! I love the deep impression that it gives the cardstock, and think it's the perfect background for any floral image.
The Old Olive striped paper in Delightful Daisy DSP coordinated with the leaves, and so did the Lemon Lime Twist mini stripe ribbon. The blossoms were mounted on gold glimmer paper and popped up on dimensionals, as was the greeting from Thankful Thoughts.
Keeping the no line watercolor theme going, I painted the little single flower in Birthday Blooms the same way. It was stamped first in Sahara Sand (stamped off once), then colored with Daffodil Delight and Old Olive using a water brush.
I thought the simplicity of the image needed to be highlighted, and what goes better with yellow than black and white?
Did you notice the little yellow ribbon? That's some Whisper White 1/8" sheer ribbon colored with a Light Daffodil Delight Stampin' Blends marker. I think it's great that we can customize embellishments with those markers!
I truly appreciate you stopping by today, and hope you have been inspired. Now it's off to see what Sharleen has done with Jar of Love!
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Holy Cow, Cindy, these cards are fabulous! I love, love, LOVE your watercoloring. Awesome!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mickey!!!
DeleteI really want to try this no lines stamping but I have to admit to being intimidated! Your cards are stunning!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Shelley! (Pssst....it's not that hard!)
DeleteWOW! gorgeous cards. Your coloring on that first card is AMAZING!! Love, love, LOVE!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Mary!
DeleteWOW Cindy, your cards are gorgeous. Love it and the watercoloring
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sharleen!
DeleteOK, it my turn to have a jaw dropping moment looking at YOUR cards! Gorgeous, my friend! You have mastered the no-line watercoloring.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Tanya!
DeleteCindy, these are such nice cards!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Cheryl!
DeleteFantastic no line watercoloring! Your colors are so rich and beautiful! Lovely card designs too!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Rhonda!
DeleteHoly Moly!!! I've seen this no line stamping on You Tube lately but this just takes it to a whole other level. Just beautiful! I can't stop looking at all of the detail and shading in your rose. I'm glad to know that Sahara Sand stamped off works so well for the "outline". I'll have to try this!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kris - you should definitely try it!
DeleteI need to give this set some love too but your watercoloring is waaaay beyond me! So gorgeous--both of them. I can only drool!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Susan! All I can say is practice, practice, practice! Mine weren't too great at the beginning, but it gets better with practice. :)
DeleteMagic. Pure Magic. I love these cards....so beautiful!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sara!
DeleteOh my and WOW!!! Your watercoloring is just stunning! Your shading is beautiful. I really love the strong edges on the yellow flower. I was intrigued by the colors you used for the rose... I would never have thought of using Fresh Fig to shade leaves with!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Betty!
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