Painted Blooms

Lately, I've been on a crafting streak, and it's only partially because I'm avoiding cleaning my house!  On this beautiful Memorial Day in North Carolina, the sun is shining and we (gasp) have very little humidity!  It's wonderful and makes me think of all the flowers blooming. 

I love to harness moments when inspiration hits and go all out with creating things.  This week, I focused on utilizing the stunning Painted Blooms Designer Series Paper before it officially retires.  I had recently purchased a few frames at Ikea, and was happy to find something to fill them!

First, I cut my piece of DSP to 5 x 7 to fit the frame.  I ended up with a little white space in the corner, and decided to free hand a quote that I found on a stamp set several years ago.  I thought it fit well with this paper!  With some of the remnants, I cut out a few blooms and used some Tombo glue and dimensionals to add a little oomph to the mat of the print.  It's subtle, but I really love to affect.  Even a little butterfly or something in the corner of the glass would be nice!

This one uses the same piece of paper, but I've embossed on it instead using the "Hello Life" stamp set. I also added another bloom with dimensionals in the corner.  It adds such a nice touch and really lets the person receiving this know they are special!

Last, I used some scraps to make a fun accent on the side of my card.  Oh how I LOVE scraps and using up every little bit of something.  Doesn't it make you feel accomplished to use everything you have? :)

I broke out the watercolor paper and colored these lovely tulips with Strawberry Slush, Pear Pizazz, and Crumb Cake Ink.  The background has a little Pool Party wash as well.  Tip: I would recommend painting one part of this (such as the leaves, tulips, or newspaper wrapping) and letting it dry before painting another section.  This will help your painting not to bleed as much.  I went back over my tulips with a more concentrated ink on one side of the bloom to add some dimension after the initial color had dried.