Gumnut Flower Girl

Good Evening Bloggers,

So I actually switched the computer on a couple of hours ago to make this post...detoured past Simon Says Stamp and there went two hours...and more money!!  Its dangerous being able to shop so easily lying on your couch in the comfort of your pyjamas!

In my last update I mentioned that I had celebrated my 30th Birthday recently.  My friend Nicky came over the night of my birthday and surprised me with the most awesome cake - one that Magnolia followers will love, and I must say - it tasted as good as it looks!!  and yes that Tilda was all chocolate!!  (you can also just see behind Tilda the awesome card that my Ma had made for me for my birthday xx )

Last week in the mail we received an invite for my Great Aunts 90th Birthday party.  I had inked this little Tilda in near Christmas and hadn't had a card for her to star in yet... the card formula will look similar to the one i made for a mate just recently, but i loved the design so decided to keep with something that worked, but change up the paper and the colours.

So today in Adelaide the weather was just beautiful, and Ma and I ventured out to the SA Papercraft Fair.  Both of us went hoping to pick up some bargain flowers, most definitely of the Prima kind if we could find them, and I have to say, mission accomplished!!  I also came home with two of the most gorgeous stamps from Wild Rose Studio.  I have only just come across this stamp range recently, and just love their cute little characters.  There were many to choose from, but in the end I bought Fergus with Tulips and Bella's Birthday (you can see them in the photo on the far right below).

So a picture of my spoils from today's fair :o)

When we got back to Ma's I finished up a project I have been working on recently.  As I use distress inks to colour, I didn't think I could use digital stamps.  I have found so so many lovely images, but thought I just wouldn't be able to use them.  However with a bit of research I came across a technique that may allow this.  Print the image, and then just as it comes out of the printer, cover it with clear embossing powder, heat and set and away you go!

So I got out my old printer to have a go - as you will see by the image I printed, it unfortunately didn't come out as a true black, but I persevered.  (note to self - 300gsm water colour paper is just to thick for most printers...and will result in you breaking your Ma's printer and having to buy a new one!!!)

So the image I worked with was from the Make It Crafty Website and called Gumnut Flower Girl, a gorgeous Australiana Anime Character.  I wanted to keep to what would be the true colours of the Eucalyptus Tree with the greens and yellow tones.  So here is a few photos of my image through the different stages...(my apologies for the fuzzy photos!!)

In the photo above with the flash on you can see the white speckle dots from the clear embossing powder reflecting with light.  A static pillow is absolutely essential to use before you print your image so you can ensure that your embossing powder only sticks absolutely where it is supposed to!!  However as you will notice in the photo below without the flash, it isn't actually as noticeable in normal light.

To make the card I bought some of the Kaisercraft Great Southern Land Range of papers, and used NSW.  On the way out of the fair today there were many flowering Eucalyptus Trees and I stole some of the gumnuts to use on my card.  I sprayed the flowering ones with lots of hairspray, and hopefully that will help them keep their colour.  The gumnuts stuck on the card beautifully with just a little glossy accents.  

The finished product - nothing too fancy I have let the picture speak for itself, and I love the use of the real gumnuts (rather than the picture I had intended to use)  It adds another different textural element.

I would love to hear what you think...

I would like to enter my Gumnut Flower Girl Card into the following challenges - 

By The Cute And Girly Once Upon a Time Challenge - I was a lover of the May Gibbs Snugglepot and Cuddlepie book when I was a little girl - and loved all the beautiful images of the gumnut babies, and this image just transported me back as soon as I saw it.

Cute Card Thursday Challenge 212 - Spring Flowers

2 Sisters Challenge #87 ~ Flowers

Now it seems digital images are not off limits as I had previously thought, and I have opened up a whole new world of pain for my bank balance :o)

That's all for me tonight, coffee and my book I think.

Thanks for looking.

xx Milly