I am so excited to share this gorgeous 3D tag with you. Part of the new Spellbinders’ Make A Scene Collection by Becca Feeken, these Grand Cinch and Go Flowers and Filigree Facade Frame Etched Dies were so fun to work with. [gifted]
I used alcohol inks and mixatives to create a vibrant painting on the back of photo paper (which is a tad more sturdy and much less expensive than other commonly-used substrates). I then doodled on it with Soufflé and Glitter pens before cutting the painting up into individual flowers. Curling and pinching the petals with a toothpick felt so therapeutic and because the photo paper is thick the flowers held their shape pretty well. I then used a needle and embroidery floss to tie a French knot through the middle of the flowers (they’re easy to align). This allows for each layer to rotate independent of the other, which is very cool.
I also used the Filigree Facade due to cut up one of my gel plate backgrounds and adhered all of it on a sample laminate tag from The Home Depot. Finished it off with a simple sentiment and a big red bow to make this grand-looking tag ready to accompany a special gift.
I rarely make 3D projects but this die set was so worth it.
I also decided to use the same Grand Cinch and Go Flowers Dies [gifted] to create a watercolor painting with Peerless watercolors on Strathmore Art‘s postcard paper!
I simply used the cavities of the alcohol ink painting from yesterday as stencils (it’s why I have a hard time throwing away ANYTHING!) and painted a loose background with different-sized flowers.
As is my style with watercolors, I like blending images together until they look cohesive. The background took a while to come together because I kept introducing layers upon layers, which are easy to do with these watercolors.
For this painting, I chose a big flower to spotlight in the middle and also used the leaf die cut that’s part of the set to introduce some foliage. It’s just another way to stretch your dies when you can use them as stencils to create watercolors.
I finished up the painting with a quote: “Flowers are age music of the ground; from earth’s lips spoken without sound” ~ Edwin Curran.
It’s beginning to look and feel a lot like spring here with temperatures upwards of 70 degrees everyday … so this is my gift to all of you still dealing with freezing cold weather! I hope this painting brings a smile to your face and warms your heart.
I hope you enjoyed both these projects and they inspire you to create something, too. Remember when you create with your heart, your hands will follow.