Hi there! Emily Midgett here with you today, and I have some inspiration to share using the new Build-A-Garden: Grand Carnations project kit!
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 share here. Keep on reading for exclusive tips from our designers, handy tips and tricks, and stunning project inspiration from talented crafters.
I love how complete these Build-A-Garden product suites are. There are so many possibilities and combinations of products that you can make tons of truly unique projects with just one product suite. Although the Build-A-Garden products come with marvelous layering stencils, I thought I would put my Winter Wonderland Watercolor Brush Markers to use to create some vibrant watercolored blooms. Let's get started with the details!
Keep on reading for more tips and project ideas using this new Build-A-Garden kit!
Build-A-Garden: Grand Carnations
Depending on their color, carnations can symbolize anything from love to gratitude. Let these grand carnations express your emotions as you stamp and color them in varying hues!
This kit includes a stamp set with an arrangement of an open carnation with two buds, a single carnation, as well as three complementary leaves. The versatile sentiments feature a stunning cursive font along with additional phrases. They are a joy to color with pencils or watercolor, or you can easily bring them to life with the coordinating stencil set.
First, I heat embossed all of the images of flowers and foliage onto some watercolor paper using Altenew's Embossing Ink and Rose Gold Embossing Powder. Then, I taped the embossed panel to my watercoloring board (which helps to reduce warping) and used the Winter Wonderland Watercolor Brush Markers and a damp paintbrush to add lots of vibrant color to the images.
Afterward, I watercolored the flowers themselves with the Rouge watercolor brush marker, creating a softer base layer by scribbling the marker on my ceramic palette and picking up the diluted color with my damp paintbrush. Scribbling the color on my palette allowed me to control the intensity of the color better, creating quite a bit more versatility with the color palettes.
Then, I added some intense shadows and detail by adding touches of Ruby Red colors, creating these beautifully vibrant flowers that are not quite pink, not quite red, but not quite coral either. Once I had finished adding color to the images, I die cut the finished watercolored flowers with the coordinating dies, which are available as an add-on to the main product suite.
Next, I put the stencil included in the Build-A-Garden: Grand Carnations kit to use for the background! I began by lightly blending some Rouge ink on a panel of Spicy Yogurt Cardstock, then placed my patterned stencil over the top of the blended area. I used another Blending Brush to lightly blend some Heart Beat ink over the top of the stencil.
I used the light coral ink as the base layer to create a soft halo of color behind the more intense shade of red used for the stenciled pattern. After, I also splattered some metallic watercolor in a coordinating shade of rose gold to add some artsy flair to the background.
For the greeting, I heat embossed a couple of individual greetings from the Build-A-Garden: Grand Carnations on some more Spicy Yogurt cardstock, again with Rose Gold embossing powder. I die cut the larger sentiment with the coordinating die and trimmed the smaller one with my trimmer to create a sentiment strip, flagging the ends with my sharp scissors.
Finally, I adhered the flowers and sentiment pieces on the blended, splattered panel using Instant Dimension Foam Tape. I used a double layer of tape on the smaller flower to help make it pop even more.
1 Product, Multiple Ways!
Before you go, here are a few card ideas featuring this new stamp/stencil and add-on coordinating die set!
Nathalie shows us how this beautiful stamp and stencil set is also perfect for adding flair to your journal pages! We love how gorgeous her floral layout is! 
Laura's splatter background is EVERYTHING! The deep shades of blue hues on her card really helped the yellow Grand Carnations shine as her card's focal point. 
This gorgeous card front is adorned with a large, detailed stamp of Grand Carnations, their petals and leaves intricately captured in rich, brown, and pink hues. Erum made the card's background simple and minimalistic, allowing the grand carnation design to take center stage!
Joylita shows off her masking technique in this beautiful card! We love how she used the stencil to make a unique background, strategically masking the areas around the flower. It looks like there's a beam of light behind the Grand Carnation!
Terri's use of a black-and-white stencil background makes the card look unique and artistic! We just love the straightforward, bold modern design of her card!
Well, that's all for the Build-A-Garden: Grand Carnations projects today! If you haven't checked out the Build-A-Garden sets, I hope you will take a look. They truly create beautiful gardens inside your craft room. Thanks so much for stopping by, and have a marvelous day!
~ Supply List ~
