Be Inspired by Flowers or Leaves

It’s time for another Be Inspired Design Team Blog Hop – what fun!  The Be Inspired Design Team is a group of Stampin’ Up! demonstrators from all over the world who are excited to share our themed projects with you.  I’m so honored to be a part of this group of talented stampers!

The theme for today’s Be Inspired Hop is “Flowers or Leaves.”  What fun!  There are so many great places to find inspiration for today’s hop.  Since it’s Autumn here in the U.S., I decided to showcase a basket of pumpkins from Basket of Wishes that I’ve colored with Stampin’ Blends.  If you aren’t starting the hop here, then you probably just popped over from my talented friend across the pond Sarah Berry at Stamp with Sarah.

Here’s my card for today – filled with sweet pumpkins and lots of leaves:

Basket of Wishes, Floral Phrases, Stampin' Up!, Brian King

Tips, Tricks and Reminders

  • Basket of Wishes.  I’ve owned the Basket of Wishes stamp set for some time now, but I’ve not showcased it at all (except for one of the sentiments).  I’m not a pro with watercoloring, so I stayed away from it.  With the introduction of Stampin’ Blends (Stampin’ Up!’s soon-to-be-released alcohol markers), though, I’m ready to color the images in this set.  So easy!  The baskets and basket fillers in this set are quite adorable – and the sentiments are versatile.  Here’s a look at this set:
    Basket of Wishes, Stampin' Up! 142200

    Basket of Wishes, Stampin’ Up!

    The sentiment on today’s project is pulled from the Floral Phrases stamp set – what a great collection of great sentiments in this set!  Here’s a look at Floral Phrases stamp set:

    Floral Phrases, Stampin' Up! 141767

    Floral Phrases, Stampin’ Up! 141767

  • Ink and Paper.  I used three Stampin’ Blends to color the basket, gourds and leaves on this project – Crumb Cake, Pumpkin Pie and Old Olive.  Stampin’ Up! has released a new set of alcohol markers to demonstrators – they will be available to customers starting November 1.  Yay!  The alcohol markers (offered in a dark and light shade of select colors) are so easy to use – they give such a uniform wash of color (with one marker) or beautiful depth and texture (with more than one color).  Stampin' Blends, Stampin' Up!, Brian KingWith nestable, press-fit lids, these markers are designed to stay sealed so the markers stay inky long-term.  I used the Color Lifter to strategically pull away some of the color on the images in the set to lighten things up a bit.  Here’s a closeup of the basket and its gorgeous residents: Basket of Wishes, Floral Phrases, Stampin' Up!, Brian KingDo you recognize the Designer Series Paper featured in the background of this card?  The panel of Old Olive leaves was pulled from Delightful Daisy Designer Series Paper – what a great pack of papers!  Here’s a look at the colors and patterns in this awesome pack of papers:Delightful Daisy Designer Series Paper, Stampin' Up!During October, Delightful Daisy Designer Series Paper is one of many papers that’s part of Stampin’ Up!’s “Buy 3, Get 1 Free” Promotion.  To see all of the papers in this promotion, please click here or on the image below: Buy 3, Get 1 Free Designer Series Paper Sale
  • Color Combination.  There’s no mystery to how I selected the colors for today’s card – the gourds are orange and yellow, the basket is tan and the leaves are green.  Easy as can be!  The pops of yellow really stand out to me, so I added my sentiment on a bright yellow banner.  If you like this combination of Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie and Daffodil Delight, please save this:Stampin' Up! Color Inspiration: Old Olive, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight

Stamp Sets:  Basket of Wishes, Floral Phrases  Papers:  Delightful Daisy Designer Series Paper, Crumb Cake, Basic Black, Daffodil Delight, Thick Whisper White  Inks:  Memento Tuxedo Black, Stampin’ Blends (Crumb Cake, Pumpkin Pie, Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, Smoky Slate)  Accessories:  Stampin’ Dimensionals

I’m so glad you stopped by and hope you like my project. I also hope you’ll continue the Be Inspired Design Team Blog Hop to see more projects that I’m sure you’ll love. The next stop is my super-fun and oh-so-talented friend, Allison Okamitsu at Nice People Stamp. Click on the banner below to continue through the hop:

Thanks for stopping by today!

Brian

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In case you get off-track at any point during the hop, here’s a listing of all the participants in this hop:

Here are links to the products I used to create this card:

26 Comments

  1. This is so beautiful! I love your coloring and all the texture you created!!!

  2. Gorgeous card Brian, I love your colouring skill on this basket. Looks a treat <3

  3. Love your command of the Blends. Such a lovely fall card. Sweet & simple sentiment.

    • Thanks so much, Mary! I’m so glad you like it. I think the simple sentiment helps to give the vintage-y basket a fresh, modern feel. Always love to hear from you.

  4. MargaretAnn Hammond

    I love your card. It is perfect for this time of year.

  5. Beautiful card Brian, your coloring is phenomenal.

  6. I love your basket of pumpkins! And I really like that it is not centered. A great way to get a different look!

  7. Brian I too am not a great watercolor person, Now I look forward to it as I build my set of Blends. The funny thing is, I overlooked these sayings in the Basket of Wishes, now they are a must have. Your card is matted so nicely and the colors will brighten anyoneโ€™s day.

    • Awww…thanks so much, Katrina. I appreciate your wonderful feedback. These Stampin’ Blends change everything – so much more coloring from here out! ๐Ÿ™‚

  8. Beautiful card! Love this stamp set! Time to go make cards! The mat technique is awesome. You are so good at that!

    • Thanks so much, Candy! I “waste” a lot of paper, trying to get the perfect border or matting that I like. So glad you appreciate the trial-and-error that goes into the cards I share.

  9. Such a pretty fall basket! You have mastered those blends for sure!

    • Thanks so much, Linda! I’m so sure I’ve mastered them – I’ve seen some amazing things with them – but I’ve made them work for me. ๐Ÿ™‚ I love them and can’t wait to share them with my customers.

  10. Oh my Brian – now you are not only the King of combining stamp sets, the King of color combinations and the King of fussy cutting – you are also the SU blender pens coloring King! Just amazingly beautiful coloring. Going to have to see if I can find a You Tube video on the technique. This card is fabulous! Love it!

    • Thanks, Grace! I can’t deny that I love to showcase colors in lots of forms. I’m so glad you like my little basket of pumpkins. These new Stampin’ Blends are amazing!

  11. Amazing coloring! Really pretty fall card!

  12. I can always count on an outstanding card/project from you. Your blog is my go to inspiration. Love this card’s colors & layout. Thanks for sharing,

  13. Your card is beautiful Brian ;O)
    Love your coloring, and great combination ..

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