Susan - All About Layering 2

I will readily confess that I have been somewhat intimidated by layering stamps, so I saved "Layering 2" until last and really paid attention to the videos on layering to try to get it right. So here is my offering for this assignment:

When I first saw these stamps from Altenew, I knew I had to have them. This was my mother's favorite flower, so being reminded of her with this set is sweet and nostalgic. I did the layering stamping with a wide variety of colors and brands of inks to apply just the right hues. Th outline for the layered flowers is done with a dark brown shade; the larger petals in yellow, orange and red; the smaller petals in light and dark purple; and the stalks, of course, in 3 shades of green. I then used just the outline stamp to provide a little sense of additional flowers as well as dimension using "Toffee Crunch" Memento Ink. I liked the lighter shades here giving it a more ephemeral feeling. The outlines of the flowers are echoed on the side panel with a slightly darker shade of brown (although it's hard to appreciate that with the orange background). The panel with the focal image is mounted on fun foam and then onto a purple mat just to pull that purple shade and provide a darker contrast.

The sentiment was stamped with Gathered Twigs Distress Oxide ink and then heat embossed with clear embossing powder. I was surprised and pleased with the metallic look this took on:

The card base is a white 5 by 6 1/2 inch card. Once again the background is from one of my Brusho/Color Burst projects (I do love this stuff!) that incorporated various orange, yellow and reddish colors. I thought it complimented the floral colors well. I also liked the way it faded off a bit on the left side of the card making for a little space to stamp the additional two outlines.

For a bit of sparkle, I added some yellow, orange and purple gemstones and also used a bit of Wink of Stella (sparingly, so it's a bit hard to see in the pictures) on the orange leaves, both on the left hand panel as well as on the layered flowers on the focal panel. I learned my lesson with this before. If you put a heavy coat of Wink of Stella on, it really subdues the color and I wanted the oranges and reds to "shine through."

I'm feeling much more confident now with my layering. Takes a bit of patience and practice, but I have to say that the end look and the dimension that layering offers really makes the images so much more interesting, pleasing and professional in their appearance.

Feeling ready for a challenge!!