5 Random Stamps Make a Vase - EH June Color Trend

 

Hello! Whenever I start a card I usually want to have some sort of challenge involved in making it, like a new technique, a different twist, or maybe combining a few different techniques.

For this card, my challenge was to copy the inspiration photo of four vases in the Ellen Hutson June Color Trend Challenge as closely as I could, without having having any EH floral vase stamps.

So I spread out the sets I had and started picking out elements that could work. I have a round balloon from Essentials by Ellen Up the Happy that works for the vase if I turn it upside down, as long as I don't ink up the tied section (where the arrow is pointing). The neck of the vase will come from turning the letter "u" from Essentials by Ellen Basic Alpha upside down. The opening of the "u" doesn't have to match the un-inked opening of the balloon exactly since I will be blending ink to color inside the vase. A few stray ink marks won't be too noticeable.

The stem of the flower is an elongated "s" shaped squiggle stamp from Oh, Frappe by Julie Ebersole. I really just needed a straight line for the stem, so I stretched out the squiggle stamp on my block and forced it to be more straight. For each of the stems, I just inked up a different length of the stamp. The flower itself was pretty easy, as there was a tiny flower in the Spa Day by Brandi Kincaid set. But, I did notice that in the inspiration photo there were tiny yellow centers on the flowers. I could have just used the tip of a yellow marker to fill in my centers, but I'd feel better about my personal challenge if I could find a stamp to do this for me. Hunting through my sets again, I found a dot stamp from Oh, Frappe by Julie Ebersole. It was a little larger than I would have liked, but sometimes that's how you get the artsy look ... something's a little off and not how you would have planned it.

Now that all the stamps are picked out, it's time to start construction on the vases! I stamped a couple vases on a sheet of copy paper so I could cut out the insides and use that as a mask. TIP: don't be lazy like me and try to use the same mask for all your vases, especially if you're making more than one card. I did this at first and forgot the colors get muddy when you're blending mint ink over a mask that already has purple ink on it. So I made four separate masks, one for each color vase.

I blended some black ink to make a surface for the vases to sit. There wasn't a whole lot going on with the vases, so I thought I'd better make an interesting background. It couldn't be too distracting though because I wanted to stay true to the simple nature of the inspiration photo. Usually this means I add texture vs color. So I die cut the texture-loaded Bed of Roses by Julie Ebersole Cover Plate die and layered that behind my stamped panel. Although I covered the majority of the beautiful die cut, the wavy lines peeking out along the edges of my main panel are just exactly what I was looking for.

To finish it off I added a sentiment from Winnie & Walter's Sentimental: Winter set. 

Sure hope you get a chance to play along with the June Color Trend Challenge when it gets posted this Thursday! You have a whole month to dream up something special to share with everyone. Also, there will be a randomly chosen winner to receive a $50 gift certificate to Ellen Hutson!

Thanks for stopping by!
-Kelly

Affiliate links:

Catherine Pooler Ink Pad, Black Jack ATG Double-Sided Refill Tape, 2 pk, 1/4" ATG Kit, Advanced Tape Glider Essentials by Ellen Clear Stamps, Up the Happy by Julie Ebersole Essentials by Ellen Clear Stamps, Basic Alpha by Julie Ebersole Essentials by Ellen Clear Stamps, Oh Frappe by Julie Ebersole Essentials By Ellen Clear Stamps, Spa Day By Brandi Kincaid Essentials by Ellen Designer Dies, Bed Of Roses by Julie Ebersole Winnie & Walter Clear Stamps, Sentimental: Winter Catherine Pooler Ink Pad, Sugared Lavender Catherine Pooler Ink Pad, Sweet Sixteen Catherine Pooler Ink Pad, Green Tea Catherine Pooler Ink Pad, Mint To Be Ranger Ink Blending Tool Replacement Foam, 1 Inch Round Ranger Ink Blending Tool, 1 Inch Round My Sweet Petunia MISTI Laser Etched Stamping Tool (8-1/8 X 10-1/2)