I usually like to paint in a no-line style and often one layer. However, today I fancied some dimension and the best way to start off is with lots of layers and so for my painting of the Spring Stems daffodils, I chose to use the matching dies to enable me to foam mount the flowers over the background. More on this below, but before I get on to that I wanted to let you know that this blog post is part of a blog hop to celebrate the new Good Luck Charm release from Simon Says Stamp. You’ll find all the details below. 

I’ve linked all supplies with compensated affiliate links used where possible at no cost to you.

creating dimension

So, starting out and I stamped the lovely daffodil cluster from the Spring Stems set in Nocturne ink and die-cut with the matching dies. I like to die cut first before painting, just in case I mess it up and don’t want to mess up on something I’ve taken the time to paint. So for me, stamp and die-cut and then paint. I used Daniel Smith watercolours and aimed for more intense colour in the shadows of the petals and leaves fading out to the lightest of yellows at the petal tips. 

I added more definition with coloured pencils, again hitting those shadows to make sure that there was a difference in value between those and other areas. Dimension can come in the form of actual layers and texture etc but it can also be shown in a two-dimension image as long as you come up with some form of a plan as to where the light will be hitting the flowers and where that in turn will create shadows.

Having finished the colouring part of the flowers, I decided to pull out an old favourite – a sparkle pen and gave a light coating of sparkle all over the flowers and leaves. I think this adds an extra special touch and looks like the morning dew glistening on the spring blooms. 

Here’s a tight close up of what I did next. First, I spritzed the back of a piece of Neenah Desert Storm card and ran it through with the Geometric Lattice embossing folder. Next, I splattered this with white gouache and attached it to a Neenah Desert Storm card base with foam tape. I then die-cut a Nested Domed Arches die from watercolour card and adhered that over the top with more foam tape – building in the dimension with every step! Finally, for this phase, I tucked the stems of the spring flowers into the arch’s base. I then built up the foam tape in layers, with the crocuses having two layers of foam tape to bring those forward of the arch and the daffodils having three layers of tape to bring those even further forward. 

I accented the flowers with a few of the new End Of The Rainbow sequins mix. Did you see in the new release, that there are Triangle Trays? I’ve been meaning to get some of these. They are so handy when dealing with sequins or itty bitty die-cuts. 

FInally for the sentiment, I went with the fabulous ease of the sentiment strips that Simon produces. This time I used a birthday greeting from the Reverse All Things Happy Remix. I trimmed the sentiment out and added it with, you guessed it, more foam tape. I’ve tried alternatives, but ultimately I always seem to come back to this 3M tape. The backer comes off easily and it cuts well with scissors. The big roll lasts me a long time too. 

more inspiration

For more inspriation from the Good Luck Charm release check out this card I posted about earlier in the week. This uses the Dreamy Daisy Layers and Basic Box Card Love You So Much dies along with the Layered Confetti stencil. You can find that post here.

blog hop

As mentioned above, to celebrate the Good Luck Charm release from Simon Says Stamp, this post is part of a blog hop. Hopefully, you’ve arrived here from Laura’s blog but if not then a good place to start is Simon’s blog. As with all good hops, there are offers and giveaways.

• Use code YUM20 to get the cute 3×4 Birthday Cupcake stamp set FREE with purchase! This promotion will expire on 20th February at 11:59 pm EST.
• Simon is giving away a $25 coupon from comments left on each stop of the hop. Winners will be announced on the Simon blog on Wednesday 23rd February. 

Now it is time to hop on over to Amanda’s blog. Here’s the full hop list to keep you on track.

Simon Says Stamp Blog  

Laura Bassen

Debby Hughes

Amanda Korotkova

Amy Rysavy

Miriam Prantner

Bibi Cameron

Barbara Tarayao

Emma Williams

Heather Hoffman

Lea Lawson

Sandi MacIver

Tina Smith

Emily Midgett

Jennifer Kotas

supplies

You can find links to the supplies I’ve used below; click on the picture or shop icon to get taken directly to the product. Where available I use compensated affiliate links which means if you make a purchase I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thank you! Items marked with an asterisk (*) provided by a store or the manufacturer. You can read my affiliate and product disclosure here. I genuinely appreciate your support.