Flowers & Flourishes

May 17, 2015

FlowersFlourishes-A (2)Watermarked

By Judi Kauffman 

I’m glad to be back as guest designer. My project today is a feminine card called Flowers & Flourishes, named for the dies I used. It measures 4” wide by 9.25” tall with the fold at the left side, sized to fit a #10 business envelope.

You can duplicate it precisely as shown by using the dies and materials in the supply list, or you can make your own version by choosing a different color palette and by using different flower dies, ribbon, border peel-offs and embossing folders.

1. Start with pink cardstock for the card base 8” x 9.25”,  folded to 4” x 9.25”.

2. Please note the quirky spacing on the flowers. The top and bottom flowers (first and fourth) are both an inch from the edge of the card, but the second and third flowers are 2” apart and closer to the bottom flower, forming an evenly-spaced trio.

There are two reasons for this quirky spacing:

First, I decided to limit myself to only a single 4” x 5” piece of Pink Iridescent Shimmer Sheetz for the 3-layer flowers, ending up with four flowers. (4” x 5” is the size of a piece in a Shimmer Sheetz Sampler pack, or one third of a piece from a standard sheet.)

Second, and more important than the number of flowers – Elizabeth Craft Designs border peel-off strips aren’t as long as this size card so I had to carefully join two pieces on each side of the ribbon band. Look closely and you’ll see that there are nine 1” fans (or scallops) in the Lace Fan peel-off pattern on each of my pieced strips. The pieces join five fans up from the bottom of the card, the seam is hidden under the first flower in the evenly-spaced trio!

FlowersFlourishes-B (2)Watermarked

Other things to notice:

3. There are two different flourishes in the die set – one with two curling lines, one with three curling lines. Starting at the top of the card front, the flourishes alternate. The first and third are 3-curl flourishes that face at a downward angle, going toward the left and right; the second and fourth are 2-curl flourishes facing at an upward angle, going toward the right and left.

4. The ribbon and lacy border bands are NOT vertically centered on the card front. This asymmetrical visual “weight” helps guide the eye toward the open edge of the card and invite the viewer to see what’s inside. The ribbon band is a tad over 1.25” from the right edge. If you prefer symmetry, center the bands.

5. Emboss and lightly sand the 4” x 5” piece of Shimmer Sheetz before die cutting the flowers. I chose a folder called Bouquet, but any small scale overall pattern will work. Bend the petals upward on the small and medium flower in each 3-layer blossom, but leave the bottom layer (the largest flower) flat. Use a tiny piece of Power Adhesive Tab to hold the layers together.

FlowersFlourishes-C (2)Watermarked

6. The ribbon band is secured with a piece of Transparent Double-Sided Tape, folded over to the inside of the card at both ends for a finished look. The end of each flourish is secured with a tiny piece cut from a Power Adhesive Tab.

7. A little secret – the middle of each flower is a 5mm “Lure Eye” sticker, the black center of each one is surrounded by a ring of sparkly iridescent purplish gray. In this context they don’t look at all like eyeballs! Substitute a 7018 Black/Silver Glitter Dot Peel-off or a black flat-backed gem or pearl if you prefer.

Important Reminder: Use a Metal Adaptor Plate to die cut Shimmer Sheetz. Review the YouTube video HERE if you are not familiar with this technique.

Supplies:

Elizabeth Craft Designs:

1029 Bunch of Flowers 3, die set coming soon!

1034 Flourishes & Branches, die set coming soon!

Shimmer Sheetz in Pink and Light Pink (or any two colors of choice)

803 Metal Adaptor Plate

1279 Lace Fan border peel-offs in Black

E121 Bouquet embossing folder

505 Transparent Double-Sided Tape (10” piece)

Other:

5mm Lure Eye stickers in Gray (Stanislaus Imports, www.lasioux.com)

Power Adhesive Tabs (Tombow)

10” piece of 3/8” wide woven ribbon

Sanding block

Damp cloth or paper towel to wipe sanded Shimmer Sheetz

Pink cardstock

Non-stick scissors (to cut Power Adhesive Tabs)

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  • Marge May 24, 2015 at 10:07 am

    Gorgeous, love the colors

  • Debra Hensley May 20, 2015 at 1:46 pm

    Love this! Gorgeous on all levels. Love the size too!

  • Mary Prasad May 19, 2015 at 8:57 am

    Really beautiful card Judi! The flowers are stunning!

  • Bibi, Rubber Dance Stamps May 17, 2015 at 7:53 pm

    Very elegant card, and the color combination is beautiful. Thank you for reminding me that black and pink go so well together! I love those flowers. Interesting that the placement (not centered) gives this effect, how the eyes move. Great layout, in other words!

    • Judi Kauffman May 18, 2015 at 9:39 am

      Thank you all for such kind words. Bibi, as you mentioned, the placement of the elements on this card were designed to guide and move the eye om a way that mirror-image symmetry would not. Truly symmetrical is static, all else has more of a push and pull going on. (and there was also the matter of having to piece the border strips and camouflage the spot where the pieces joined…)

  • Angelique May 17, 2015 at 5:25 pm

    What a beautiful card. No I know what t do with my shimmer sheets.

  • Frances May 17, 2015 at 4:09 pm

    Beautiful card Judi, always love the colors pink and black together. Love those shimmer sheetz flowers with the lace border. And nice to see a tall card for a change.

  • barb macaskill May 17, 2015 at 2:44 pm

    This is absolutely stunning!! LOVELOVELOVE it! TFS!

  • Debbie Littlejohn May 17, 2015 at 12:55 pm

    This is THE most BEAUTIFUL card Judi. I love every square inch of it.

  • Theresa Wright May 17, 2015 at 12:29 pm

    Something I have found really useful at other card sites I visit is a gallery included to the on-line store – so if we’re looking at a potential purchase of a particular item, below it’s pricing are a few samples of different things that might be made using the item. A good way to get inspiration and excellent marketing, IMHO.

    • Judi Kauffman May 17, 2015 at 12:52 pm

      It’s an excellent suggestion, Theresa. Meanwhile, scrolling through the archives in the ECD blog and Facebook page, and the blogs from the design team members, will provide a lot of inspiration — and the supply lists on the blog are linked right over to the catalogue.

  • Raquel Mason May 17, 2015 at 11:47 am

    Wow! Love the colors, Shimmer Sheetz flowers & the Lace Fan Border!

    • Judi Kauffman May 17, 2015 at 12:48 pm

      Thanks, Raquel. That Lace Fan border peel-off is one of my favorites. The leftovers are fun to use, too. I should do that next!

  • Darla May 17, 2015 at 10:54 am

    These are so elegant and graceful! Just beautiful. I love the photography….

    • Judi Kauffman May 17, 2015 at 12:47 pm

      Thank you, Darla. I take all of my photos outdoors in the morning before there is full sun or any shadows and it works better for me than inside with artificial light.

  • Candy Spiegel May 17, 2015 at 9:28 am

    This is so pretty

    • Judi Kauffman May 17, 2015 at 10:04 am

      Thank you, Candy! The flourish dies are so graceful – I know they’ll be getting a ton of use.

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