Build a Flower Magnolia – Just Because

Hi Everyone.  Happy Monday.

Greetings from an exceptionally snowy Minneapolis.  But more about that later!

I completed the final project for my final class of the Altenew Educator Certification Program. YAY… 🙂  and today's card is for that final class.

The class is Polychromatic and one of the lessons is to create a card using pastels and no line coloring with Copic markers.  This was a lesson that was very close to my heart.   I love coloring, but still find no-line coloring tough, so it was really good to have an excuse to do some practice for my final class card.

I tried a couple of stamps before resorting to one of my favorite all time Altenew sets – Build-a-Flower: Magnolia.  It's such a gorgeous image and I decided to make a simple card where the flower image could take center stage.

I began by stamping the flower with Altenew Honey Drizzle ink and then added the layers of color to the flowers and stem.   Once I had the base color down, I decided to add a little extra shading with my Prismacolors.  That allowed me to add a little more dimension, especially around the areas where the flower petals overlap.    I also added a little texture on the stem.

Here's a closeup of the flowers:

You can see the outline from the Honey Drizzle ink  it's just a little darker than the edges of the flower.  You can also see the additional texture that I added with my Prismas.  I think the colors worked well enough that it becomes "no-line" coloring.  I used to hate coloring, but really find it incredibly therapeutic and I love being able to just switch off from all the noises in my head and relax into it.  

Here's my full card:

You can see I finished off the card with some Copic B0000 coloring around the flower and stem.  It helps to define the edges and make the image pop a little more.   I didn't want to go with a black sentiment as I thought it would detract too much, so went with Industrial Diamond grey instead and I was pleased that I did.

I mounted the focal layer onto a piece of fun foam and attached it to my card base.  It took me at least 3 goes to get the right color combo – I originally decided to go with a white/yellow combo, but couldn't get that to work as well as I liked – and then did it with a pink/violet combo and wasn't happy with that.  I was happy with the final product and was really pleased that the class gave me the inspiration to work on my no-line coloring.

On a personal note:

OK… back to the snow.  It's official – the snowiest April on record – and we are only half-way through the month!  We had 18 inches of snow in the last storm…..

This was the side of the driveway once Lou had finished there last evening

It sure looked pretty when it was coming down though and the birds were flitting backwards and forwards to the feeder. It's been a long, and tough, winter for them.

In the heart of the storm, the snow was coming down – and blowing – so hard, that it obscured much of the wetland:

You can't see much beyond the edge of the trees.   It really was amazing to watch it over such a long period of time and I can tell you that the wind coming down from the North was incredibly cold.   As pretty as it looks – I am SO READY for some warmth and some green!

I'll be back tomorrow with another card for you – Father's Day cards to be exact!  In the meantime, warm hugs and prayers for those of you who need a little lift tonight.

Hugs

Jaydee

Card recipe:

• Stamps:  Build a Flower: Magnolia.  sentiment:  Sketchy Floral – both Altenew
• Inks:  Honey Drizzle – Altenew.  Copic markers; Prismacolor pencils