Thursday 23 May 2024

A Colour Challenge for the Ink & Inspiration Blog Hop featuring Simply Zinnia - May 2024

Hello and welcome to my blog. Today I am delighted to be taking part in the Ink and Inspiration blog hop for May 2024.

This month we have a bright colour palette together with gorgeous floral image to inspire us. I knew instantly that I was going to use the Simply Zinnia bundle, from our Online Exclusives range, although I was a little out of my comfort zone with the bright colours!

I began by stamping multiples of the single flower images onto some Thick Basic White card using Black Memento ink and then had lots of fun colouring them in with my Blends. I pulled out the complete array of Blends together with Melon Mambo and Garden Green watercolor pencils.

The centres of the flowers are coloured using both the light and dark shades of Peach Pie. The petals themselves are built up using at least three layers of colour from a light shade through to a darker shade, sometimes adding a little Melon Mambo pencil for added dimension. The leaves are coloured with both light and dark shades of Granny Apple Green Blend and then I added definition using the Garden Green pencil.

As I used the bright colours they grew on me - it's a really rich, vibrant colour palette. Just like real life Zinnias! I selected a trio of flowers and leaves and mounted them on two layers of card, the uppermost one being embossed using the Zinnia folder. These layers are framed on the base card, leaing a chunky, wide border.

The sentiment is white heat embossed on a narrow strip with flagged ends and there's a hint of sparkle from the adhesive sequins and a the wink of stella added to the flower centres. These Zinnia cards have a real zing!

Not content with the two different versions of the same card, I wanted to try out the colour palette using the decorative die cut flowers.

Not only do the dies cut the petal edges, but they also score and cut textural details. So although the cards come together very simply they a lot of texture and dimension. Using the colour inspiration as a guide, I added layers of petals to build up the flowers varying the shades to add depth. To add a darker yellowy orange tone to the flowers I coloured some of the Peach Pie card with a Peach Pie Blend and it worked a treat. Two shades of Peach Pie card! Again, the sentiment is white heat embossed. The happy birthday from the Best Family Ever set fits perfectly on the long, thin banner from the Stylish Shapes set.

I hope that you are inspired by my cards today and that you will continue along the hop to see what the others have created too - click on the names below to enjoy their projects. We would love to hear from you and so if you have been inspired, please leave a comment.

Do you need any of the products used on today's cards? If you live in the UK please take a look in my online Stampin' Up! shop. You can follow the link or click on the pictures below of the products I have used today.

Stay safe and as always, happy crafting,

If you would like to order any supplies, and you live in the UK, I would love to be your demonstrator. Use the current hostess code (May 2024 code: MQ2V6VWV) to get some free product (it will follow in the post after the end of the month). If your order is over £150 do not use the code as you become the hostess and get the rewards. To place an order please visit my online shop HERE.

If you would like to join my team, you can choose your starter kit HERE and if you have any questions, please contact me at furrycatdesigns@gmail.com