How do you dye a paper daisy?

This poppy parade red daisy is pretty bright!

My camera had a hard time adjusting for the brightness...

So how do you dye a paper daisy and get that intense colour?

You will need: 

1. A paper daisy
2. Classic Ink pad (Poppy Parade)
3. Brayer tool  p.143 ($23.95)
4. Heat tool (or a very warm sunny day)

1. Ink up your brayer with your classic ink pad.

2. Place a paper daisy on a scrap piece of paper (to catch the excess ink) you might want to put it on paper towell so it doesn't soak through to your table top. 

3. Roll the ink onto your paper daisy:  roll back and forth, reinking your brayer several times to get an even, deep, rich colour on your daisy.  It will lighten a tiny bit as it dries.

4. Turn on your heat gun and dry it. Perhaps hold it down with your tweezers so it doesn't blow away.

(alternatively put it on your window sill in the sun for a while, till it dries completely). 

5. Accessorise your daisy with a punched out flower and a vintage brad or button.

 I have found this technique to give you the most intense colour on paper daisies.

In the idea book there are instructions for dying your daisy with water and re-inkers on page 140.

 Enjoy!!!

Enjoy always!

This card was inspired by a sketch challenge over on the Elite challengers blog site.
And the fact that I haven't been using these two stampsets nearly enough, in my opinion. So the technique I have used is:
Brayering!
The "enjoy" was stamped on gloss paper in versamark ink, then embossed with clear embossing powder.
The brayer was inked up in lavender lace ink and then elegant eggplant ink. Afterwards I polished off the excess ink to reveal the embossed enjoy word.
The always bird was embossed onto a scrap piece of gloss cardstock ( which already had some brayered ink on it ), and brayered again with the elegant eggplant ink. I cut the bird out so that he could perch on the edge of the word.
The background is stamped with the "inspird by nature" stampset. The grass was stamped in versamark and clear embossed, then stamped over with white craft ink.
I added some white cardstock which was edged with the eyelet border punch, as well as the edge of the card. The ribbon is elegant eggplant grosgrain.

Elite challenges Colour challenge ...

The Elite challenges blog has issued this challenge for June. It is a colour challenge that I would not normally think to put together. That's the beauty of a challenge it takes you out of your comfort zone and makes you try new things.

The colours are: Pink pirouette, baja breeze and going grey and Basic grey. I think this one came together really well. Pretty and soft but, the basic grey gives it depth.

I love the sentiment from fifth avenue floral - here I have stamped it on vellum cardstock with Stazon black ink and punched it out with the wide oval.The ribbon is in pink pirouette wide grosgrain. I punched out the little notch for the bow to sit in with the 1 1/4" circle punch. And threaded it under the brayered piece of cardstock anchoring it down with the silver filigree brad. In the centre of the brad is a clear rhinestone.

The stamping is in versamark on gloss white cardstock, then inks applied with the brayer until the colour is saturated and the white under the versamark ink shows through clearly.

Live, Laugh and Love - Fifth avenue floral.

I am loving baja breeze and the urban garden papers, it goes gorgously with Not quite navy, and I never thought I was a blue loving girl ... but styles change and so do I (so it seems).I have started with baja breeze cardstock, stamped with fifth avenue floral in the same ink. I have added detail to the stamens with white gel pen ink. The Designer series paper is Urban garden and the ribbon white grosgrain.
I wanted to put an eyelet border punched strip along the bottom but found the navy too heavy and I wanted to keep the monochrome colours so settled on a strip of velum rolled with the bella's border wheel. Then I stamped a Fifth avenue floral flower on vellum and attached it to the card with a brad.My main flower was stamped in versamark on gloss white card then brayered with pacific point and not quite navy, then deepened again with crystal effects on some of the petals.

A crystal effect on Fifth avenue floral

Practice makes perfect so I have been brayering anything that doesnt move and in many different colours ... these are the last two of this series (promise).

I made this one today and finished it this afternoon with a background of circle circus stamping and some purple grosgrain ribbon. The Cardstock is Pacific point, a really nice ocean blue in my opinion and it goes beautifully with perfect plum. I created a second layer of rose by brayering two images and cutting out the second one so that I could put it on top with dimensionals. Then just because I am currently obsessed with it, added a few petals of crystal effects. I do like how the colour of the ink changes colour when you add the crystal effects - deeper and transparent. Then I finished off the card with a sentiment stamp from Upsy daisy: Birthday Celebrations!

Fifth Avenue floral brayer in tangerine tango

It was just not that complicated - especially, if you do it step by step - it is really easy and looks so nice even if you do feel you want to wear sunglasses!1. Start with your clear embossed background (Tres chic background with a touch of dazzling diamonds in the embossing powder).

2. Stamp your Fifth avenue floral in versamark and clear embossing powder over the top, heat and serve...

3. Brayer in tangerine tango and riding hood red.

4. Layer on to Basic black cardstock and punch out a greeting in stazon black ink on tangerine tango cardstock. (Its time to Bloom - from the Bella's bloom stampset). Punch Cut a larger oval with black cardstock.

5. Not enough? Dress it up by adding the black grosgrain ribbon and a clear rhinestone in the first 'o' of bloom.

Brayer sample slide show ...

Fifth avenue floral - brayered in kiwi kiss and baja breeze

I had fun with this one. The background was embossed with versamark and clear embossing powder using the Tres chic background stamp. I stamped the fifth avenue flower in versamark and white embossing powder, then did the brayer - Roll out your tensions for a moment technique!!! Using baja blue, Pacific point and kiwi kiss inks.

Now as if that was not enough, then when it was dry I added Crystal effects on to some of the petals to raise them up and give just alittle bit more texture.
I have wrapped some lovely Pacific Point ribbon around the black cardstock. Tied a ribbon bow.

Then punched out large oval says just because I care... from the hostess stampset: Best yet.

The clear rhinestone brad is actually reflecting the pacific point blue ribbon.

Brayer bliss - experimental embossing.

On this card I began with a pale pink pirouette and tangerine tango brayered piece of gloss white cardstock, then clear embossed the fifth avenue floral flower over the top.


Next, I took to it with the brayer a second time, using the "Brayer like your life depended on it" technique (thanks for the terminology Linda!).
Gradually darkening the layers of ink to Riding hood red to bring out the embossed image.
The flower is now lighter than the background but still a rainbow of pinks and oranges and red.

I mounted the gloss cardstock on basic black then, prepared the base card by stamping the tres chic background stamp in versamark and clear embossing powder. It creates a great shiny texture ... very satisfying to do and play around with.

The "for you" sentiment is from the Fresh cuts stampset, punched out with the large oval punch and finished with black grosgrain ribbon and a clear rhinestone brad ... loving these little accents at the moment.

Brayer cards ... the beginning

I have a brayer, but it was uninked, it was unused, untried ...

until I went to a brayering class at my wonderful upline Linda's house and we made the card above ( pink pirouette and two lovely blues ) it was late at night so I am not sure right now which ones.

Then the next day I made my own version in perfect plum and pale plum .... it is so much fun!!!

Here it is a little closer ... I have brayered pink pirouette, then pale plum and finally perfect plum in layers onto gloss white cardstock. The colours blend so beautifully and you can not determine the outcome, time and drying and chance play a great part.
My background stamp is Tres Chic, stamped in perfect plum on perfect plum cardstock.
The mount of course is basic black and the "to you from me" sentiment is from the Hostess set - Best yet stamped on textured pale plum cardstock.
The flowers are pocket silhouettes.
One of those cards that look far better in real life ... cant show you the shiny cardstock without a reflection, nor will the perfect plum purple photograph very well in this type of light. But you get the idea.
Warning: more cards to come.