Hi there! Emily Midgett here!
Welcome to Creativity Unlocked, where we highlight a new product from this month’s new collection! Discover each product's endless creative possibilities and get inspired to create the paper crafting ideas we’re sharing here. Keep on reading for exclusive tips from our designers, handy tips and tricks, and stunning project inspiration from talented crafters.
I have some autumnal inspiration featuring the brand-new Dancing Sunflowers stamps! I think that sunflowers are utterly emblematic of autumn, and we are in the full throes of this season right now, so this new Dancing Sunflowers set could not have been more aptly timed. I have done some no-line watercoloring with these new stamps and the Spring Garden Brush Marker set — I know, wrong season, but the colors worked so beautifully!
Keep on reading for more tips and project ideas using this new crafting bundle!
Dancing Sunflowers Stamp/Die/Stencil Bundle
The Dancing Sunflowers Set showcases two gorgeous arrangements of sunflowers and leaves. It is sure to give a delightful bit of nature to your canvas. A leafy branch and a pair of leaves are included to complete the set. Once you have finished creating your piece of art, add one of the cheerful sentiments as a finishing touch.
Need help with layering? We've got you!
Download the layering guides below:
- Dancing Sunflowers Stamp & Stencil Set Layering Guide 1
- Dancing Sunflowers Stamp & Stencil Set Layering Guide 2
Autumn Watercoloring with Dancing Sunflowers
I began by stamping a few of the images from Dancing Sunflowers onto some heavy-duty watercolor paper using some very pale gray ink. I stamped the main floral bouquet off to the bottom left of my A2 card front, then stamped a few extra individual sprigs to help fill out the floral corner.
I love how large and detailed this image is; it's really great for coloring! The large size gives such wonderful space for adding extra depth and dimension.
I watercolored the flower and foliage using the warmer shades in the Spring Garden Brush Marker set, adding a bit extra dimension to the sunflower itself by mixing the Warm Sunshine and Autumn Blaze with Midnight Violet to create some shadows in the petals tucked behind the top petals.
TOP TIP! When working with liquid watercolor brushes, I prefer to scribble my paint onto a ceramic palette and pick up the paint with my paintbrush. I find that this gives me more control than putting the brush marker point directly to my paper, because the concentration of color is a bit less intense.
You could also bypass the brush marker part altogether and use the Spring Garden Liquid Watercolor Refills. I did a lot of mixing and matching when painting these images; I wanted to convey warmth and sunshine but also that intensely vibrant color that you see in the autumn as the summer fades away. I allowed the different colors to bleed into each other and create very organic, vibrant color variations. It's a bit of a departure from my normal meticulous watercoloring, but I thought it worked well for this project!
As with all no-line watercolorng, keeping the wet sections separate from each other is key in order to maintain the definition for each petal. Simply work in one spot, then find a different area in which to work while the initial painted area dries. This prevents the painted areas from bleeding into each other and muddling your defined lines.
After I'd finished watercoloring the image, I used a blending tool to add some Raw Amber ink around the edges of the watercolored panel.
I think this particular shade of yellow perfectly evokes the warm light of an autumn afternoon!
Finally, it was time to add the sentiment. I hot-foiled a greeting from Versatile Greetings on some white cardstock using Brass Hot Foil from Altenew. I die cut the finished sentiment with the coordinating Versatile Greetings die (I love that these dies work with the hot foil plates as well as to create standalone die cut greetings as well as standalone foiled greetings!).
To continue the warmth of the sunny autumn afternoon, I stamped the “sunshine” from Dancing Sunflowers onto some more white cardstock using Raw Amber ink, then fussy cut the greeting with my sharp scissors. I popped up the two sentiment pieces with Instant Dimension Foam Tape, finally adding a few warm brown pearls for extra shine and texture!
Well, that's all for my project today! I am in love with these giant, gorgeous sunflower stamps. I hope you'll check them out!
Designer's Tips!
After you color your images, paint the negative space around them, using darker shades around the lines to make the outlines more eye-catching.
1 Product, Multiple Ways!
Before you go, here are a few card ideas featuring this lovely new set!
Use a bold color as your background to make those sunflowers pop off the page – just like Erum did in her card above. And can we just stop and admire how SUPER realistic her watercolored sunflowers look?!
Create a top-folding tri-fold card like Anna! We love how she gold heat-embossed both the sunflower and the Modern Lines 3D Embossing Folder panel.
Let the images in this stamp set take center stage on your handmade cards – just like Jaycee did. We just love the autumn vibes here! Find out how he created his card here.
Erin went for a more winter-themed card with her color palette, and we're just loving it! How elegant are the blue sunflowers popped up against the navy cardstock with gold splatters all over?!
Tired of the same old A2-sized card? Why not create a sunflower-shaped card like Virginia did?! Stamp the sunflower images, die-cut them, and put them together. You've got a unique card that will put a smile on anyone's face!
What do you think about the new Dancing Sunflowers Stamp, Die, and Stencil!? Which project/s caught your eye? Comment below! Thanks so much for reading, and have a marvelous day!
~Supply List~
5 comments
Beautiful inspirations, love seeing non-traditional colored sunflowers!
Exactly! Who would’ve thought they’d look good in different colors!
these are all stunning!
The inspiration here is addictive!!!!
Love this comment! Thank you!