Instructions

Step 1: Let’s get started. Working on the smooth side, take a sheet of Distress Watercolor Cardstock. Die cut several flowers and leaves from the Sizzix Tim Holtz Funky Florals 3 Thinlits die set.

Step 2: Here’s where that awesome texture is created! If you haven’t tried Distress Resist Spray, it’s really a lot of fun. Take the cutout flowers/leaves and place on scratch piece of paper, inside a spray box..(AKA, just an old open box). I use a spray box, because whatever the Distress Resist Spray is sprayed on (including overspray)…it’s not coming off once dried. Lightly mist the flowers/leaves with the Distress Resist Spray about 6 inches, then let air dry. Wipe the nozzle when you’re done so it does’t clog, for next time. Gather some Distress Oxide inks and blending tools w/foam to colorize the blooms/leaves. I used Squeezed Lemonade, Wilted Violet, Mermaid Lagoon, Twisted Citron and Picked Raspberry.

Step 3: Working on a Non-Stick Craft Sheet, swirl Distress Oxide ink color onto blooms/leaves using a Blending Tool w/foam. I used a different clean foam for each new ink color. I love the look of an ombre gradation of color, so I did lots of that! Start at bottom of bloom/leaf concentrating most of color at the bottom, fading to almost no use of color at top. Buff of any extra color that sticks to dried Distress Resist Spray, to reveal the speckled effect. The white speckles that you see, is the white cardstock under the dried Distress Resist Spray as it dries clear.

Step 4: Continue coloring all the blooms and leaves, that you cut out. Don’t ya just love all those fun speckles that are revealed in the underlying watercolor cardstock!

Step 5: A little tool that makes this next step A LOT easier is a pair of tweezers or even a Silhouette Pick Me Up tool. Some of the flowers have a small separate center, that will be heat embossed with Ranger’s Gold Tinsel Embossing Powder. Pour a small amount of the gold tinsel embossing powder onto a piece of scratch paper. Press the flower centers into the Letterit Embossing Ink pad using tweezers. Then transfer inked side down into the embossing powder. Use the tweezer to grab flower centers out of powder and back to Non-Stick Craft Sheet. Shake off excess Embossing Powder and return to jar. Then heat flower center with Heat Tool to melt embossing powder. Be careful the tweezers will heat up quickly.

Step 6: Place the “Batik” stamp from the Tim Holtz Stampers Anonymous Botanical & Batik set onto the stamping platform. Secure a piece of 4 1/4 x 5 1/2 Distress Watercolor Cardstock on platform using the magnets. Ink the “Batik” stamp with Letter It Embossing Ink and stamp onto cardstock. Place stamped image on a scrap piece of paper. Generously sprinkle Ranger White Super Fine Detail Embossing Powder over the stamped image. Shake off excess Embossing Powder and return to jar.

Step 7: Heat stamped image with Heat Tool to melt Embossing Powder. Now ombre the embossed card panel using Distress Oxide Mermaid Lagoon with Blending Tool w/foam. Start at the bottom swirling on color and work your way up using very little color at top. Then wipe any excess color off of embossed image using clean dry towel.

Step 8: To give your card panel a little distressed look. Spritz a little water onto the stamped/embossed/colorized panel. Squeeze the trigger of the Distress Sprayer gently to release larger droplets of water onto panel. Then dry with Heat Tool, but be careful not to overheat embossed image.

Step 9: Now take two pieces of 2 3/4 x 4 1/4 Distress Watercolor Cardstock and ombre with Picked Raspberry and Twisted Citron Distress Oxide using Blending Tools. Only concentrating color long ways on half of each piece. Then spritz both piece of card panel with large droplets of water from Distress Sprayer. Then dry with Heat Tool.

Step 10: Die cut the top layer of the “hello” shadow script 2 using Distress
Watercolor Cardstock. Then die cut the shadow portion of “hello” using the
picked raspberry ombre panel. Die cut the oval from the twisted citron
ombre panel using the second to smallest stitched oval die.

Step 11: Take the top layer “hello” cutout and press into Letter It Embossing Ink Pad. Place “hello” cutout on a scrap piece of paper. Generously sprinkle Ranger Gold Tinsel Embossing Powder over the cutout. Shake off excess Embossing Powder and return to jar. Heat cutout with Heat Tool to melt Embossing Powder.

Step 12: Now it’s time to start assembling all the pieces! Attach the top portion of the “hello” to the shadow portion, as well as the gold centers to flowers using Distress Collage Medium.

Step 13: A couple of the largest blooms get a little adhesive foam for a lift. Attach the “hello” to center of oval with adhesive foam. Then assemble an A2 kraft card base with solid white panel and stamped ombre panel, using Distress Collage Medium. Place the oval “hello” in center of stamped panel using adhesive foam.

Step 14: Last but not least, adhere all the beautiful blooms and leaves with Distress Collage Medium. The tweezers will make this step a lot easier too.

I just love the bright colors and that fun texture from the Distress Resist Spray, I hope you give it a try!