Flipping for Blue Hydrangeas

Hello all! This is an exciting day for Flourishes -- it's the first day folks can shop and qualify for the next fun-filled, money saving club we call.....

Otherwise known as the Flourishes Loyalty Incentive Program! How do you become a member? Starting TODAY, the next time you go shopping in the Flourishes online boutique and spend $100 on a single purchase (not including taxes or shipping), you will receive this beautiful stamp set called Happy Thoughts! It was penned by artist Sam Pickard and the fabulous sentiments were the creative genius of Dina Kowal! Keep in mind, you can't purchase this set -- the only way you can get your hands on this lovely floral spray of Hydrangeas and these beautifully scripted sentiments is to become a FLIP member!   AND.... that beautiful stamp set is only just the beginning! When you become a FLIP member, it's your pass to BIG SAVINGS!

MEMBER BENEFITS

On the first of every month, for one day only, we’ll have a sale you will FLIP over! ONLY members are able to cash in on this sale: 15% off nearly everything in the store! (Sale does not apply to gift certificates, Silhouette Cameo Machines or Copic Markers). A day or two before the sale, you’ll receive an email with a special “members only” coupon code to use on the first of the month. Just insert this code in the coupon code box at the time of check out, hit “apply” and 15% will automatically be taken off your entire order! This promotion expires July 31st, 2014. Customers receive benefits only from the time they qualify. So, unfortunately, you can’t make up for lost time. One more reason why you should become a FLIP member soon!

Just look!  Gorgeous isn't it?

Ok gang...since most of you know I've been away this last month, I haven't had a chance to finish up my card with this set....but I thought instead I'd show you a little colouring tutorial on what I've done so far with it.  Then when I have a spare minute I can show you the finished card.

Once I've stamped my images with Memento Tuxedo Black ink on Flourishes Classic White cardstock, I start with a colour combination from our Flourishes Copic Collections that will work for the image, then I know I'll have a beautiful blend of colour and shade.  My favourite hydrangea flower color is the blue type, so I picked Flourishes Clematis Collection.    I always start with my lightest colour first, in this case the B60 and lay down a soft bit of color with light flicking strokes.  

I like my images to look quite natural with lots of highlight and depth, so I don't color the whole image in with the lightest colours.  Others do, but it's just not my style, and that's totally ok :)  I say, find your style of colouring and polish it!  

Then I added some deeper color with the next deepest shade of marker (B63) in the deeper areas of the petal but not the entire area I coloured previously, then blend it out with the same type of flicking strokes with the B60 marker.  See how I've still left areas of highlight?  Those are the areas on the petals that are lit most by the light source or are "coming toward you" if it were in real life.  

Next in the deepest parts of the petals or what would be in shadow or receeding away from you I add the B66 marker, and blend with the B63 marker.  See what a difference the darker colour makes for realism?  

And lastly I blend it out with the B60 marker.  You'll see in the last photo at the end of the post,  that I did add some more B66 to these petals because the contrast between light and dark wasn't strong enough for me.  I use very light strokes so it's always blendable if it goes on too strong.  

Next I worked with the leaves.  I often think about the colour wheel and what would be a good contrast.  This blue on the petals leans toward a purpley-blue so yellow is opposite on the colour wheel from purple. So, I went with a more yellowy-green colouring for the leaves from our New Leaves Collection.  Again, I lay down a light flicking motion of color with the lightest in the combination.  I work from the inside of the leaf outward.  Do you notice that I left the center of the leaf white?  Often the veins in the leaves are the most raised part of the leaf - so I decided I'd leave it the lightest colour.  

YG23 is the next deeper shade in this collection and I colour it into the center of the leaf...

And then blend it with the YG21 marker.

I rely on the illustrator and my imagination to "see" in the stamped images where that leaf might be bending away from me and need deeper colour.  That's where I add the YG25.  And then blend with the lighter colours.  

And as I play a little more back and forth with the colour the realism starts to take shape.  

Now look at my lovely leaf stem....a too-full marker plopped Copic solution right on the paper...grr, its so frustrating when that happens!  Good thing I was already planning on cutting these out...so it won't even matter!  But I didn't want SO much contrast between white and the darkness of the center of the leaf so I took a really light color YG00 and feathered out a little in those white spaces I had out the outside of the leaf...it' softens the effect, and because I left it till the very last it stays really light.  

Now for the finishing colouring touches...

One way to tie images and colours together is to use the different "shades" in each other....hang with me for a sec, and I'll explain.  By adding a little blue B63 - into the depths or shadows of the leaves, I give the leaves a cool shadowed effect that is the exact tone of the flower petals.  It's just the right touch to bring the two elements of the design together.  I'll be back soon with what the finished card will look like!

Now it wouldn't be fair if we showed you this gorgeous set and didn't show you amazing samples thanks to our team of fabulous designers! Hop on over and see what these ever-so-talented ladies created using this exclusive set!

• Dina Kowal
• Christine Okken -- (you are here)
• Cindy Lawrence
• Julie Koerber
• Heather Jensen
• Makiko Jones
• Silke Ledlow
• Stacy Morgan
• Tosha Leyendekker
• Allison Cope
• Broni Holcombe
• Cheryl Lea
• Deborah Anton
• Jenny Gropp

Remember, the only way to get your hands on this beautiful new set called Happy Thoughts is to become a FLIP member. When you qualify, this stamp set is our gift to you! Coming soon, we'll be adding a Silhouette Cut File to the store, just for this set! Fun stuff! Before we go, be sure to tune back in tomorrow to the Flourishes Blog! The Senior Design Team will be focusing on one set that's been a Flourishes Favorite for quite some time. You won't want to miss all the creativity coming your way .... just in time for some weekend creativity. See you back here then!

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Flipping for Blue Hydrangeas