Flourishes Focus – Less is More!

Posted by: Christine | July 30th, 2010

Hi Flourishes Friends! It’s me Christine, and I have a delightful surprise for our Friday Focus today! We have a guest! Because I wanted to do a “More is More” theme today, I thought I’d go to the originator of the More is More theme herself! Fellow Dirty Dozen alumnus Jami Sibley!

So today you get to view both of our creations, and you’ll be WOWED by what Jami has to show you….here’s what she had to say about More is More and her beautiful cards:

I was so excited when Christine invited me to join her and the Flourishes Team in her More is More Challenge today! Christine asked me to tell you a little bit about how the More is More challenge idea got started. Well, I have always been drawn to the fancy and ornate. Clean and simple is just not something I have a knack for in anything really, but especially in stamping. So a little joke developed among my stamping friends that “Less is More” is really overrated and my style was “More is More!” Sometimes in my stamp classes I would show my customers a stepped-up More is More version of the card we were making in class so they could see additional possibilities. When I started a blog of course I had to name it “More is More” and when the very first Dare to Get Dirty week was introduced at SCS a few years ago, I offered up the More is More Challenge to make two versions of the same card and explore the possibilities. Later that challenge was added to the monthly gallery themes. It’s really a fun stamping exercise to get the creative juices flowing and I think it can improve stamping skills no matter what level you are from beginner to seasoned pro!

The two cards I created today showcase an image and sentiment from the Flourishes stamp set From the Garden. I just love all the possibilities with this set and how the image sizes make the perfect focal point on a card! I also love how easy these images are to color with Copics! They have just enough shading built in to guide you.

Both of my cards feature patterned paper from the Basic Grey Green at Heart 6×6 pad along with SU Always Artichoke and Regal Rose cardstock. I kept my first card simple by using limited layers. The oval focal image and mat were punched with Marvy punches and the sentiment and mat were punched with SU oval punches. A little pink taffeta ribbon, a border punch, and some Artichoke brads finish off the design.

Here is the “less” below

and here is the “more” below.

For my second card I had so much fun playing with all the little extra touches! This time when I colored my image with Copics I added a little yellow highlighting around the edges as well as the tiny grass image around the bottom (so nice to have that image included in the stamp set.) I also added glitter to the blooms with a Quickie Glue Pen. The focal image was die cut with Spellbinders Labels 5 and Pink Pirouette cardstock was added in. To get the narrow Labels 5 mats I used a trick I learned from Becca Feeken – to trace around the outside of the die and cut it by hand. Very handy when you really want those extra matting layers! The sentiment was die cut with Spellbinders Double Ended Tags and I sponged Pink Pirouette ink and then Tsukineko Champagne Mist paint while the tag was still in the die. After removing the tag from the die I covered the entire tag with Versamark in and heat embossed it with clear embossing powder. The tag was attached with rhinestone brads in an orange tone to refer to the color of the flower pot. It’s hard to tell in the photo, but I also sponged the Tsukineko Champagne Mist paint all over the Regal Rose panels before assembling. This is super sparkly in person and mutes the color of the cardstock a bit to better coordinate with the paper. The edges of the Pink Pirouette panel are distressed with a distressing tool. The ribbon treatment consists of a strip of white crochet trim, two strips of green satin ribbon (white satin died with a copic marker), and pink taffeta ribbon tied in a knot on each side. The final addition is some dimension with foam tape – the large Pink Pirouette panel is attached with foam tape as is the Regal Rose Labels 5 focal point panel.

Thank you so much for allowing me to play along today! I feel so honored to stamp along side the incredible talent on the Flourishes Team!

Thanks Jami! You’ve created a beautiful pair of In the Garden cards! Now I (Christine) thought I’d have a try… I used our brand new set Berry Sweet that I love so much and did two different styles of coloring on the cards.

On the left is the “less” version and on the right is the “more” (which you can probably tell!)

On this “less” version I tried to go clean and simple and stamped my leaves and berries directly onto the paper with Ranger Distress Ink (Barn Door and Forest Moss) I did some masking with my Eclipse tape and added more leaves and berries and then using my waterbrush just moved the color around directly from the paper and adding a little distress ink lightly to watercolor. Julie Koerber is fabulous at this technique. It gives it the feel of watercolor with more softness.

I’ve used the same designer paper on both cards, and also stamped our Basketweave background stamp (currently out of stock) on the top of both cards. Simple accents here with piercing, satin ribbon and some pearls.

Above on the “more” card I’ve masked and stamped the berries and leaves with Memento Tuxedo Black ink and then I’ve colored with Copic Markers (Evergreen on the leaves and Poppy and Fuschia Collections on the berries). For more “more” elements I’ve used more layering on the main image, changed a layer to a Spellbinders shape, added crocheted ribbon, some scalloped edges and added the sentiment on the Modern Label punch. I’m definitely more of a “more” girl as well, but the cleanness and the softness of the watercoloring on the “less” card really does appeal to me too.

Thanks so much Jami for playing along…it was so fun to have you and I love that we can show you More is More today. – Christine

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