Sunflower cards

With the sunflowers blooming in our garden, it seems like the perfect time to share several sunflower cards. I've got several pictures, so I'll try to keep the text short. As always, if you have any questions, leave a comment, and I'll respond as soon as I can.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Sunflower
Paper: Very Vanilla, thick Very Vanilla card stock; Wood Textures Designer Series Paper (DSP) Stack
Ink: VersaMark, Crushed Curry, Soft Suede
Accessories: Clear embossing powder (Stampamania), blending brushes (Picket Fence Studios), Dazzling Metallics sequins (Craft Medley), linen thread, foam tape (3M)

For this card I used the emboss resist technique, which I haven't tried in ages. I embossed the large sunflower with clear embossing powder on Very Vanilla card stock, then blended Crushed Curry and Soft Suede ink over the embossing.

I adhered a piece of woodgrain DSP along the bottom of the panel and wrapped linen thread around it, tying it in a bow. I added three dark brown sequins and used foam tape to attach then panel to the card base.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Sunny Honey stamp and die set (Local King Rubber Stamp)
Paper: Crushed Curry card stock, natural card stock (Cougar), Wood Designer Card Stock (My Mind's Eye)
Ink: Crushed Curry, Mossy Meadow, Early Espresso
Accessories: Crocheted lace (Target), clear droplets (Pretty Pink Posh), Art Glitter Glue (Art Institute), foam tape (3M)

Both this card and the next one use a stamp and die combo I bought at the last stamp show I attended. This stamp comes with a detailed die to cut out the image. But at the company's booth at the show, they were demonstrating how you could use an embossing mat instead of a cutting plate with the die, and it would emboss all the detail lines over the stamped image.

To create the multi-colored image I used markers to apply ink directly to the stamp. Then I embossed it with the die. I know that you can use dies to emboss, but the way this one is designed, it just adds so much texture to the image (see close-up picture below).

For the card base I used Crushed Curry card stock. I added a piece of dark woodgrain paper to the bottom part of the card base and then adhered a piece of crochet lace across the top of that paper. I attached the focal image over the lace using foam tape and added three clear droplets.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Sunny Honey stamp and die set (Local King Rubber Stamp), French Script
Paper: Crumb Cake card stock, natural card stock (Cougar)
Ink: Crumb Cake, Crushed Curry, Mossy Meadow, Early Espresso, Basic Black
Accessories: Espress-o Yourself mini prills (US Art Quest),linen thread, Art Glitter Glue (Art Institute), foam tape (3M)

This card uses the same technique as the previous one, but with a more muted color pallet. For the card base I used Crumb Cake card stock stamped with a French Script background stamp (using Crumb Cake ink).

To embellish the main image, I covered the center of the flower with liquid glue and then added dark brown mini prills. I love how they mimic the look of sunflower seeds. I also glued a linen thread bow to the top of the sunflower stem, and then I attached the focal image to the card base using foam tape.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Painted Harvest, Delicate Details
Paper: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Very Vanilla card stock
Ink: Crumb Cake, Early Espresso, Hello Honey
Accessories: Hello Honey striped ribbon, tiny attacher (Tim Holtz), Box of Chocolate sequins (Craft Medley), Art Glitter Glue (Art Institute)

This card is actually one of a set I made for my cousin who loves sunflowers. I stamped a large piece of Very Vanilla card stock with sunflowers and then cut the panel into smaller pieces, so each piece looks a little different. In hindsight, I think I should have stamped the flowers closer together. Instead I ended up filling in some of the white space with a little dots image stamped in Crumb Cake.

I mounted each stamped piece on Early Espresso card stock and attached a length of striped ribbon with mini staples.

For the card base I used Crumb Cake card stock. I stamped a lace image across the card front slightly below the center. I actually stamped the image twice -- once facing up and once facing down -- to help it stand out a little more.

I attached the panel to the card base and added three brown sequins to finish it off.

Here is a picture of the cards and envelopes packaged in a clear card box. I wanted to decorate the box a little, so I stamped and cut out another sunflower, gave it a couple of ribbon tails and then added it to the box.

In all honesty, I'm not crazy about this card set. I had a hard time finding a layout I liked, and I don't think this one is quite right. Maybe I should have skipped the ribbon or added a cut-out sunflower for some dimension. I'm not quite sure.

At any rate, I hope you found a little inspiration among all these sunflowers. Thanks for stopping by!