Wishing You Well!

Hello crafters! I’m Diane Prince and this is my first time as a Guest Designer for Elizabeth Craft Designs. I got inspired to do the following card by the wonderful surroundings of the little cottage we rented this summer. The pathways through the woods around the cottage have been landscaped by the religious community that owns the land. They have set up small areas with flowers, benches, bird houses, etc., where you can pray, meditate or simply relax. While walking my dog I came across one of those areas where there is a lovely wishing well filled with flowers and I knew right away that I needed to capture that scene in a card with some of the wonderful dies from Susan’s Garden. Here’s how I got to “Wishing You Well” –

Here’s my inspiration:

 

Step 1 – Card base

• Cut White Soft Finish Cardstock to 10 x 6 ½ inches. Score and fold along the 10 inch side at 5 inches.

Step 2 – Card frame

• Cut a piece of ModaScrap “Thinking about you…Polinesia” collection paper to 5 x 6 ½ inches.
• Using the largest die in the Frame It – Stitched Ovals die set, cut an oval in the center. Do not adhere to the card front yet.
• Put the frame on the card base and lightly trace the oval opening with a pencil.

 

Step 3 –  Pastel background

• With the “Earth and Sky” stencil and PanPastels, sponge the clouds and the grass in the penciled oval section.

Step 4 – The wishing well

• Using the Susan’s Garden CountryScapes-Wishing Well die set, cut the two roof pieces. Cut off the bucket hook (not used for this card).
• Die cut the base of the well from 100 lb White Soft Finish Cardstock.
• Back a piece of the same cardstock with Clear Double Sided Adhesive Tape and die cut the stones.

Step 5 – Coloring and assembling the wishing well

• Color roof pieces as shown or with the medium of choice. Shade the edges with a slightly darker color. The top piece should have more details than the back piece.
• Color the base of the well using a sponge applicator and Natural Grey PanPastels. Embossing lines for the placement of the stones will become more visible.
• Shade the individual stones using a sponge applicator and  PanPastels in several colors  (Natural Grey, Black, Phthalo Blue, Red Iron Oxide, Yellow Ochre, etc.) to evoke the look of real stones.

• To assemble the well, place some double sided foam squares on the back part of the roof and adhere the front onto it.
• For the well, with Fine Pointed Tweezers pick up the pieces and adhere them one at the time on the base as if you were doing a puzzle. You can watch the video linked here to see how Susan builds up her “CountryScapes – New-England Stonewall and Gate” – It’s the same technique for both the wall and the well base.

Step 6 – Vines and flowers

• Die cut the Garden Notes – Ivy Vine twice from green cardstock.
• Using the CountryScapes – Backyard 1 die set, cut the geranium plate 4 times and the sunflowers plate once from White Soft Finish Cardstock. Die cut the geranium leaves 3 times from green cardstock.

• Shade the edges of the vines and the geranium leaves and stems with a darker shade of green. Shape all the leaves using the 4 piece “All Metal Tool Set“, the “Leaf Pad” and the “Molding Pad“.
• Color the geraniums red and shade the edges with darker red. Shape the flowers by cupping them with the small ball stylus.
• Transform the sunflowers into daisies by dotting the center of each flower with a fine yellow marker. Shape as above.

 

Step 7 – Forsythia

• Die cut all the pieces in the Garden Notes – Forsythia die set as shown on the next photo. ( Flowers – 6 times; Stems – 4 times; Leaves – 5 times). The stems will be glued one on top of the other, doubled so they are thick and sturdy. Cut all pieces from 100 lb White Soft Finish Cardstock.
• Die cut the small leaves from green cardstock.

• To color and shape the forsythia, review Susan’s tutorial video.

• Hold the branch away from the work table OR work on a non-stick craft mat. Use small dabs of Kids Choice Glue to adhere the flowers.

 

Step 8 – Some sentiments 

• Die cut the second (notched end) banner from the Banners set from White Soft Finish Cardstock.  Stamp the “make a wish” sentiment from the Banner Sentiments Clear Stamp set onto the banner using black ink. (If you find it easier, stamp fist and then do the die cutting.)

Step 9 – It’s all coming together!

• Use 10 mm Clear Double Side Adhesive Tape to adhere the frame onto the card front.
• With some foam adhesive, adhere the base of the well in the center of the oval frame and adhere the roof over the base of the well.
• Cut each Ivy vine into two pieces. Set aside one piece for another project and glue the  other 3 pieces onto the well.
• Glue the geranium leaves on the well, than the geraniums and daisies. Put  tiny dab of Kids Choice Gluen into each of the geraniums and use fine tweezers drop a single Spruce Willis Prill onto the wet glue. (Spruce Willis is in the “Prills – Secret Garden” set.)
• To finish the card, adhere Forsythia on each side of the well, add the sentiment at the upper left of the oval.

 

And voilà !!!

I hope you have enjoyed this card project and will give it a try very soon. Happy paper gardening!

Diane

 

Supplies:

Elizabeth Craft Designs:

Other:

Black Ink

Markers

Toothpick or corsage pin to apply Kids Choice Glue