Thursday, October 16, 2008

Leafy Branch and Lotus Blossom

Do you ever make and card and just have so much fun? I always enjoy stamping, but some cards are exceptionally fun to make and this was one of them. It is my second week as Melanie's guest designer, and this is the card I made for this week. Be sure to visit Melanie, to see the project I made for her blog.

I made the branch by using the clustered leaves stamp from A Year of Flowers. There is a little mini tutorial to follow if you are interested in how I did this. The Lotus is the large Chrysanthemum and the lily leaves are just one of the regular leaves from the set, turned, so that the rounded part is facing out, with the pointy end tucked under the Lotus blossom.

To make the branch, start by stamping the leaves, the first time pointing straight up, then alternate pointing from side to side. Try to keep the bottoms of the twig almost in a straight line, but not exactly in line with each other. I recommend practicing on scratch paper until you get the spacing the way you like.

Then just use your craft marker to connect the lines. You can see how not having the stamps in too straight of a line creates a more natural look.

Continue until you get to the last twig and extend your lines a little further. Don't worry if you have places that a bit jagged or bumpy. Trees have knots and shadows. Any mistakes will most likely make your branch look more realistic.

Here it is after I colored it. After that, I just cut it out to use on my card.

All the images are colored using Koh-i-noor pencils and cut out for placement on the card. I sponged the background to resemble water and sky. I used the same leaf stamp to go around the edges, with Certainly Celery ink.

I used my new flourish punch again. There may be an addiction developing here. LOL. Additional layers are Basic Black, Pacific Point and Basic Gray.

Thanks for stopping by and I hope you have a super fun day!

19 comments:

Cat Tidwell said...

Gorgeous once again Theresa! Love the water and sky look, and LOVE this idea of making a branch! Awesome!

Sandy Knecht said...

Your card is beautiful. All my favorite colors. Thank you for sharing.

fishlips said...

Theresa you can come and play in my new craft room if you give me lessons...Wow another stunning card...I love the leaf branch and the flower colors are stunning, The background color combo is another beauty...

Melanie said...

awesome!!! I love this branch you made! thanks for showing people how easy it is to do! :) I love it!

Annapurna said...

More awesomeness! Love the scene you created.
Love the lotus, just need a lotus leaf now ;-) Excuse my OCDness. LOL!

I might be CASIng one of your old creations today for my son's birthday card.

Phree said...

Beautiful card, love the way you created the overhanging branch from the leaf stamp.

Donna Baker said...

this is BEAUTIFUL, great job on sketching your tree branch - wow

Shirley said...

Wow, Theresa, it looks like you have found your medium. This card is gorgeous just like all of the others. I really like how you have done the background with the leaves too!

Unknown said...

awesome!!! Theresa, your branch is perfect!! Love the shading and coloring you did... it looks great!

Pat (mspfd) said...

This is beautiful. Love this stunning card.

Deb Wood said...

WOW, This is gorgeous, absolutely stunning!! Love it!

Ashley Newell said...

This is JUST STUNNING!

Catherine said...

drawing 101....how cool! your card is just gorgeous!

Jennifer Love said...

Whoa! That is one awesome, awesome card!

Lee said...

Ohhhh yeah!!! Awesome creativity and gorgeous, gorgeous coloring!! I love that branch!!! And I also am lovin' the flourish punch!!

Elena said...

What an amazing card! Love your branch! Thank you for sharing your tutorial! Flourish punch is gorgeous!

Julia Aston said...

Love the surreal look to this card - very calming! thanks for the tips on making the branch out of the stampings!

Curt in Indy said...

This is stunning! My first time to your blog, and I'm so glad I found it! Beautiful work! Best, Curt

Rhonda Langley said...

You make it look so easy even though I know it is not. Great card and great instructions!!