Peaceful Petals for Paper Players #208

Hi Everyone.  Happy Saturday.

It's the fabulous Nance's turn to host our Paper Players challenge this week and she has a fabulous color challenge for us:

 

The minute I saw this I knew that I wanted to do a flower card but..... hang on.... there's no GREEN!!!  How can I do a flower card without green?  Help!   Well, you know what, it's about time I got out of my literal zone and decided that this is my fantasy crafting world and I can have any color leaves and stems that I WANT!!!  Yay.... for breaking the mold of conformist colors :-)

I'm attending the new onlinecardclass called Stretch your Stamps 2 and the talented Debby Hughes used balsa wood as her focal point base.  Now, I have NEVER used balsa wood on a card and decided it was time I tried something different.  

I had to go searching for it at JoAnn's, but it was so worth it.  In case you are wondering, it's actually in the woodworking section :-)

I began by die cutting a piece of balsa wood with my Lil Inker stitched rectange die.  (I LOVE these dies!)  It went through my Big Shot beautifully and created a perfect rectangle for me to stamp on.  Following Debby's lead, I used white embossing powder to heat emboss the image and then went about coloring it with the colors from the challenge.  

As it was balsa wood, I decided to find the matching Copic markers for the colors.  One word of advice... be VERY careful and very lighthanded when coloring on balsa wood, it will bleed if you don't!

I was thrilled with the outcome and decided I would certainly use it again on cards.  I think it would be a great idea for a masculine or boy card. :-)

Here's my card:

Isn't that a pretty color scheme?  Does it bother you that the leaves and stems are a mixture of yellow and grey and not green?  I had to set my conformism aside and decide that I was actually totally OK with it!

You are probably wondering where the Blushing Bride is?  Well, it's on the tips of the flowers.  I promise you it is there, but the Calypso bled a little and makes it harder to see.

Don't you love the texture that the balsa wood gives?  I really think it is very pretty.

One of the other things that I had to "let go of" for this card, was the need to have everything straight and square!  I've noticed that many people are doing tilted angles for their cards and decided it was time to try it.  There was something very freeing about letting go :-)

The design team have, once again, created some amazing cards for your inspiration.  Don't forget to check out their blogs and then join us this week.

• Andrea
• Ann
• Anne Marie
• Claire
• Joanne
• Laurie
• LeAnne
• Mike
• Nance
• Sandy
• Yapha

On a personal note:

It has been chaotic this weekand I haven't even gotten close to my stamping space until about 2.30 today!  On top of that, I have an iMac and an AirMac and neither of them are working properly and it is making it pretty difficult to manipulate my photos and update my blog.  I'm going to have to take both of them in to the Apple store and leave them for a week to get them fixed!  One of them reboots several times in an hour.... I've never known Apple's do this.  PC's yes.  All the time.  The infamous blue screen of death.  Well, I learned, that with the Apple, you get the grey screen of death!

I do hope to be back with another card tomorrow, and to answer some of your questions.  In the meantime, warm hugs and prayers for those of you who need a little lift tonight.  

Hugs

Jaydee

Card recipe - all ingredients Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted:

• Card stock:  Whisper White.  Basic Grey
• Stamps:   Peaceful Petals.  
• DSP:  Moonlight

 

Comments

[Nance Leedy]

FAbulous, fabulous card my friend! I love that these colors took you of of the "green stems/leaves" mode. You proved that you don't have to have green to make a GORGEOUS flower card. That was a big take-away for me from a stampin' workshop a few years ago where they said "you're an artist--make it any color you want!" Glad you embraced it! Also, I am gobsmacked at your idea of stamping on balsa wood--it looks fantastic! Beautiful card this week!

[Ann Schach]

Awesome, Jaydee! I would have never thought to stamp on balsa! How unique and creative! I love the stem color :)

[LeAnne]

Wow, I wondered how you created this interesting background! Great idea and look how well it turned out! Love the subtle floral images...very pretty!

[ColleenB. - Texas]

Such a great looking card Jaydee. Love that. As many times I have worked with Balsa wood I had never thought of stamping and using on a card. What a clever, great idea and so do agree that this would be great in using on a masculine or a boy card.
Have a wonderful and enjoyable week

[Sandy M]

Wow, this is gorgeous, Jaydee! I didn't know you could stamp on balsa wood! The petals and stem are perfect in yellow and gray, too!

[Mike]

I thought we had gotten an embossing folder I didn't see! Balsa wood! And brilliant pulling the Hello Honey from the centers of the flowers into the background!

[Yapha]

Gorgeous card! I love the balsa wood! I definitely have to try that.

[Sharon Underwood]

Thanks for the tips on finding Balsa Wood. I'd never heard of it and had no clue where to find it. I like what you've created here. Looks pretty!

[Claire Broadwater]

WOW! Balsa wood is a new one on me! I love the way it looks and the stamping on it is fantastic! It adds such fabulous texture to your card! The colors came together beautifully on your card! XX

[Pat Jandacek]

Your gray stems fit in beautifully and are recognized as flower stems, but I have the same 'problem' with my artwork insofar as thinking it has to look like the real thing. I do admire those who use artistic flair in their creations, though, and enjoy their artwork with the thought "why don't/can't I do that?" In your card, the stems just tie in with your base card color; using green actually may have had a jarring effect..?? Balsa would be great for any masculine card. It is fragile though, so if were going through the mail I'd probably line it with cardstock for support. But maybe not, it certainly went through the diecutting process with no ill effect and I would have thought it'd splinter.

[laurie]

Your balsa wood technique is a fun idea, looks awesome with your flowers. I think the leaves work well in gray and yellow,too! Love it!

[Andrea W]

Beautiful card Jaydee! Your work is always amazing and I love how you used this weeks colors.

[Joanne James]

Great card Jaydee - I never would have thought about stamping on balsa wood, but it adds an unusual and unique texture and finish to your card. I know what you mean about flowers and green - but this card shows that it's ok not to conform once in a while - the floral stem looks great!

[Rach]

okay, this is just fun! Balsa wood? You moved well outside your comfort zone with this one--good on you! :o)

Oh dear! I've never had a lick of trouble with any of my Apple products. How utterly frustrating! Good luck!

Hugs!

P.S. Hi Lou! :o)

[Terri]

Ooh I like this card! Never thought about using balsa wood - but now, have to try it! Very nice.