April Showers Bring May Flowers

For the theme this month at Stinkin' Inkers, April Showers Bring May Flowers {use flowers}, I decided to use some Tim Holtz background stamps and I had so much fun making the first one, that I made a twofer!  While it did take some time to make the "Birthday Wishes" card, I adore how it came out and it was worth the effort.  For the other one, who doesn't like rainbows?  To make it easier to describe each card, I've divided the cards by the sentiment but here is a picture of the two cards:

What I Used to Make my Card {Birthday Wishes}
White Card Base
Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous, Vines and Roses Stamp, #CMS298
Tim Holtz/Sizzix Labels, #660060
My Sentiments Exactly!, Handwritten Sentiments, #Y500
Ranger Archival Ink in Jet Black
Clean Color Markers
MISTI

I made this card first.  I wanted to color each individual part of the stamp a different color to mimic a painting.  I started with the leaves on the stamp and I used the Clean Color Markers in two shades of green.  First I used the light green and then I used the darker green to give the leaves some depth.  Then I colored the flowers using two shades of pink, again starting with the lighter shade and using the darker shade last.  It took a while to get the colors as vibrant as I wanted; the key to this technique is keeping the stamp on the MISTI in the same place for all the stamping.  I even cleaned the stamp between colors without taking it off.  Since the markers I used are water color, I just used a baby wipe in between colors.  

Once the background was done, I trimmed it down and mounted it on a white card base.  The sentiment was stamped on a piece of white scrap, using black ink, then cut out using a die from the Labels set.  Lastly, I attached the sentiment to the card.   

I am entering my Happy Birthday card in the following challenges:
Seize the Birthday - Anything Goes
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes
Inspiration Destination - #149, Anything Goes
Everybody Art Challenge - #424, Floral Greetings
Happy Little Stampers - M, May, Watercolor Challenge















What I Used to Make my Card {Thinking of You}
White Card Base
Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous, Vines and Roses Stamp, #CMS298
Tim Holtz Crazy Talk, #CMS236
Tim Holtz/Sizzix Labels, #660060
Ranger Archival Ink in Jet Black
Kaleidacolor Ink Pad, Spectrum
MISTI

It was much easier to make the Thinking of You card.  All I did was ink up the stamp using a Kaleidacolor ink pad and stamped it onto some white card.  I trimmed down the stamped background and attached it to the card base.  The sentiment was stamped in black and cut out using one of the dies in the Labels set and then attached to the card.  

Picture from Simon Says Stamp

If you don't have this stamp set, it comes with two different background stamps and both are very pretty.  You can also purchase the other pattern {the one I didn't use to make these cards} as a mounted stamp from Stampers Anonymous, #X1-2994, called Roses.  But, for a few dollars more, you get both background stamps and they are cling mount to work with your stamping system.





I am entering my Thinking of You card in the following Challenges:
The Paper Girls - #150, Rainbows
Not Just Cards - M, April - Anything Goes
Always Fun Challenges - #56, Flowers
Crop Stop - M, April - Anything Goes, Spring
Creates and Makes - M, April, Anything Goes
Everybody Art Challenge - #424, Floral Greetings
Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

I hope my cards inspire you to join in the fun at Stinkin' Inkers; after all, who doesn't have a few flower stamps in their collection? And you can use those wonderful flower embellishments that have been hanging around, like I did in last year's Stinkin' Inkers April challenge, which was our very first one.  Thank you for hanging in for the long haul, I know this post was a bit long and I truly appreciate your support.  Fondly, Christi