Botanical Hello

Here’s my card for the current botanical themed AEI♥U challenge. I used the Modern Leaves set to fashion my own watercolored flower.

The flower petals are made from one of the leaves in the Modern Leaves set. The pattern on the leaf worked beautifully as a flower petal! I embossed the leaf images on watercolor paper using white embossing powder, then colored them with distress markers and an aqua painter. After the leaves dried, I cut them out and arranged them on a pale pink panel to form a flower shape. I didn’t apply adhesive to the outer end of the leaves/petals so that they could be curled up slightly for dimension.

An embossed crosshatched circle was adhered at the center of the flower to covers where I’d layered the petals/leaves when forming the flower. I wanted to add a little contrasting color, so I stamped and heat embossed the set’s crosshatch leaf image and colored it with green distress inks, then cut out the leaf using one of the Modern Leaves dies. I tucked it underneath the right side of the flower.

The “hello” sentiment from the Red and Goldie set was stamped underneath the flower in rose pigment ink. I adhered the panel to a dark pink card base, matching the ink from the sentiment and the flower’s center, then added a trio of white sequins for a little bit of sparkle.

Materials Used:
from i {heart} papers: Avery Elle Modern Leaves and Red and Goldie stamp sets and Modern Leaves dies; Tsukineko Memento Luxe Wedding Dress and Rose Bud inks; white sequins; Sticky Thumb dimensional dots 

other: Melon Mambo and Pink Pirouette cardstock (Stampin’ Up!); Picked Raspberry, Worn Lipstick, Spun Sugar, Shabby Shutters, and Mowed Lawn distress markers (Ranger); circle punch (EK Success)