Bloom Girl Gardenia with Easy Background Tutorial

Hi my sweet Bloom friends. It's Lisa here with you today and I have a little tutorial today on how to create a fun background for any card, but ESPECIALLY your Bloom Girls (and upcoming Guys, too.) Here's the card I created using the technique:

1. Start off with watercolor paper. Jamie has awesome watercolor paper!! Did you know? She does! It's a beautiful, thick paper that is A4 sized. Just trim a sheet to 4 ¼ x 5 ½" and place Frog tape or other low-tack painter's tape around the edges.

2.  Using an acrylic block (mine was 1 x 7" long) rub a Gelato® completely all over one side. Spritz with water and then press (rather hard) onto the paper. Before removing the block, lift the block in different areas. This will give you a more watercolored look - more random.

3. Repeat the process for each color you wish to use. It's completely fine to overlap the colors and to let them drip into each other. (For this card 4 Gelatos® worked perfectly.)

4.  Prior to doing any stamping with your Bloom Girl it is important to allow the background to either air dry or heat set. **Do not get too close with your heat tool if you use a high temp embossing gun.**

5. I do stenciling and spraying PRIOR to stamping, which may seem weird. But I do this so I don't get too hung up on placement, It just feels more organic to me that way. I hope that makes sense. The times that I don't do it this way is when I'm using a texture paste or things that require layers.

6. Stamp Bloom Girl Gardenia using an Archival Ink. (I used Coffee by Ranger.)

(You can see the stencil over her facial area.)

7. Once the Bloom Girl is stamped the rest is really up to you and how you want to embellish and finish it up -- what you want to add to make it YOUR OWN. :) You can see my close ups to see what I added (and the product list, too.)

Another angle:

If you're more of a visual learner (some of us are - myself included!), here is a video I created with this same technique for Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft®.

I hope that you enjoyed this fun technique and will use it on one (if not MANY) of your next Bloom Girls!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Products Used:
Prima:
Prima Bloom Girl Stamp (Jamie Dougherty Designs):  Gardenia – 980207
Jamie Dougherty A4 Watercolor Paper - 980269
Color Bloom Sprays:  Summer Sky, Vintage Metal – Gold Foil - 573805
Mica Flakes: Frosted, Gold Leaf – 961756
Glass Glitter, Gold Rush - 961657
Prima Stencil:  Checker - 960179
Prima Flowers:
*Prima Sugar Bloom Collection - 549053
*Talia Tempting - 574680
*Cartographer Adventurer – 574529
Bloom Typewriter Keys - 573065


Other:
Ranger Archival Ink – Coffee
Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft®:  PITT Artist Pen (Dark Sepia – 125), Gel Medium, Gelatos® (Iced Coffee, Cinnamon, Iced Chai, Gold Champagne), Albrecht Durer Watercolor Pencils (Medium Flesh – 151, Cobalt Green – 156, Raw Umber – 180, Burnt Siena – 283).
My Favorite Things – Hot Fudge Cardstock

Summer Snow Queen Mixed Media Canvas

Hi Bloom Friends! It's Lisa with you this fine Monday and I am so thrilled to bring you my project today. I've had a color scheme in my head for quite a while and I've really been wanting to use it on the Summer Bloom Girl Stamp, which is a little ironic....seeing as it's Winter. :)

I knew Summer NEEDED to be a Snow Queen. She NEEDED to be dressed in elegant whites and golds. Her eye is a dazzling glass glitter. Her hair is touched with gorgeous Gold Leaf Mica Flakes. This canvas is texture, glittering golds, shimmering metallics and I wish I could hug it. (Yes, I'm crazy like that.)

There are a few steps involved but here we go!
1. Using a sticky back canvas, prime the canvas using Clear Gesso, so the colors of the watercolors don't alter. Allow to dry.

2. Adhere random pieces of white pieces of tissue paper on top of the sticky back canvas (just enough to cover an are where the stamp will go). Coat will Gel Medium. Go for texture! Allow to dry.

3. Stamp Summer using Distress Paints. These are a water based acrylic paint that are VERY water soluble. Spritz the bottom areas of her hair with water, if desired. Mix different areas prior to stamping for different tones to the paint. (I used Walnut Stain, Vintage Photo, Tarnished Brass, & Frayed Burlap.) Heat Set.

4. Once dry use watercolor pencils to create shading. I used TWO watercolor pencils for the shading and one for her pupil. That's it! Oh and this is when I did her iris with the glass glitter, too.

5.  After all the shading is done to your satisfaction is when you get to go crazy adding your flowers. This is entirely up to you. The size, the colors, the amount, etc. Since I was going for a white/gold theme that's what I did here.

6. Then start building your background. I used old packaging. I tore some cardboard off of a box then ripped the top layer of paper from it here and there and coated it with white gesso. I also added in some Mica Flakes in Frosted and a tiny sprinkling more of Glass Glitter in Gold Rush.

7. Using the Color Bloom Spray in Gold Foil and the 12 x 12" Bubbles Stencil I gave a 9 x 12" canvas a light coating with the spray. Just enough to have some of the pretty gold shine through. I highlighted some of the circles (or "bubbles") with a gold watercolor pencil and also with a Gold Pan Pastel for extra shine.

8. Prior to adhering everything together I wrapped some Prima Trim around the corrugated cardboard piece and then adhered that to the canvas. Then I attached a small strip of glitter trim to the bottom of the corrugated cardboard and across the trim. Finally, removing the backing and adhering the Snow Queen!

Here are some alternate views:

This photo shows her flowers a little bit better, I think.

It was a little hard for me to take the photos without them looking grey, White is just so hard to photograph!!  But, I just love how this turned out and I hope you'll make your own "Snow Queen" Bloom Girl.

Products Used:

Prima:

Prima Bloom Girl Stamp (Jamie Dougherty Designs):  Summer

Color Bloom Sprays:  Summer Sky, Vintage Metal – Gold Foil

Mica Flakes: Frosted, Gold Leaf

Prima Stencil: 12 x 12” Bubbles

Prima Flowers:

Prima Medley Treasure

Prima Jubilee Christmas Collection 

London Collection – Majesty

Interlude A

Frost Mini Sachet

Prima Trim

Art Basics Soft Matte Gel

Art Basics Gesso, Clear

Other:

Ranger Sticky Backed Canvas

Blick 9 x 12” Canvas Art Panel

Pan Pastel Gold

Ranger Distress Paints: Walnut Stain, Tarnished Brass, Frayed Burlap, Vintage Photo

White Tissue Paper

Faber –Castell Design Memory Craft® Art GRIP® Aquarelle Watercolor Pencils