A Year of Flowers gift idea: Stamper's Sketchbook

Ever since I saw Melanie 's beeeautiful orange scalloped daisy, I knew I needed to make a double orange daisy with that stamp. The leaves & stems in A Year of Flowers are perfect with the flowers...and they can be used all by themselves and look incredible (just check out Theresa's astoundingly pretty branch & you'll see what I mean)...but it's also nifty how these flowers can mix and match with any stem stamps you already have.

I wanted to make this sketch book as a gift for a stamper & use this silvery paisley paper that I got in the handmade section of a local shop (by The Ppaper Company Black Paisley on Silver P89204) and the stem is made to match using this technique & grey ink.

It has tabs and ties shut with a ribbon, but my favourite detail is that orange flower. I love orange SO much, and can never seem to get it right in designs. Right now, I feel like this stamp was made for orange, but I can't wait to make a million more flowers in a zillion colours and 3 layers with beaded centers...and glitter and... and make fridge magnets with 'em...and card set and... heehee.

Makin' the layered Flower:

Step 1) Stamp the Daisy

(2 for each one you want to make) I love that the high quality rubber of these stamps can take Stazon ink (embossing Stazon with clear e.p. makes for easier watercolouring & no smudging.)

And it's perfect that the EZmount on these stamps lets you see where you're stamping (less paper waste), which is good 'cause I used good watercolour paper here so I could use a technique I learned from Maria: faux watercolour painting with Stampin' Up! markers. She has an awesome video for it here (and here too.)




Step 2) Paint & cut out the 2 flowers.

(Colourin': I painted outside of the lines & painted the back of one so that no white would show when they were cut & layered. Cuttin': The bottom flower is just cut around the circumference or the edges; the top flower is cut so that the petals are individual (but not too too low since I wanted to stitch the center.)


(painting the back so no white
shows when it's layered)

Some quick tricks to maybe try when colouring these:

• Leave some white & use various shades for a watercolour look. (I tried 3 SU oranges & Yoyo Yellow)
  
• Colour quickly for a painterly look (I need to practice that one. It's a great tip of Melanie's from this post: you don't wanna miss her stunning version of this flower here.)
  
• Colour outside of the lines (it's just plain fun to rebel but also it makes it so there's no white on the outside edges when you cut em.
• 
  

Step 3) Shape petals & stick 'em together


Sewin' knots in the flower:



Step 1) Pierce holes in the center of the flower where knots will go



Step 2) Sew the center:

1. Thread embroidery floss into a needle (no duh, hey?)
   
2. Start on the back of the flower & come through to the front (I like to anchor the thread with double-sided tape instead of knotting.)
   
3. Then just keep adding knots on the front and going back in the same hole you came up (gee sounds like a mole, heehee)
4. Finish on the back by anchoring with another piece of double-sided tape.

Alternatively, You could also knot in the front but instead of going back down the hole, cut off the tail to leave a fluffy end of the embroidery floss. (this would mean you have to stick the thread on the back again for each knot but methinks it'd look neato.)





The Knotted Gesso Scor-Pal grid
background paper:



Gesso Scor-Pal Grid:

This is paper from Basic Grey's Ambrosia. You'd think it was made with the Scor-Pal in mind because the grid in it's pattern fit perfectly in the grid of the Scor-Pal. To emboss the pattern, just line it up on the Scor-Pal score along the paper's lines turn it and score the other way.

To distress it, I've brayered over the embossing with gesso and sanded it a little. Then it's pierced where the grid lines meet (to sew in knots).




For a tutorial on this knot technique please see this post. (Only difference is that there are only single knots on this project, and they're orange, lol.) :O)

Thanks for checkin' this out.
May your day be bright & cheerful!