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Wednesday 2 October 2019

The Last Flowers of Summer

Hi there everyone.  Well I suppose we have to accept that Summer is now gone though no frost yet to kill the blooms entirely, and one of the last flowers to go is the sunflower and you often see them standing tall in a garden with flowers and leaves gone brown and the seeds ripening in the centre of what is left of the flower.  I have a mixture of nuts in a jar on the table and I always include sunflower and pumpkin seeds too.  Anyway I digress.  Here is the card I made for our next door neighbour for her recent birthday using a pretty sunflower wreath called Flowers All Around which I won as a prize on the Penny Black and More Challenge quite a while ago, and recently realised that it was a NBUS one, i.e. never before used schtuff, so I have now remedied that, but unfortunately I don't think it is available anywhere at the moment.  I also used paper from a pad by Craft Consortium which I bought on my way home from holiday in Cornwall at a stall in the pannier market in Tavistock, together with a few stamps which will get used soon I'm sure. 


I started by selecting a paper which I thought would go nicely with the colours that I was going to use with the wreath stamp and stamped it on to the paper using Versamark ink and WOW Metallic Gold Embossing Powder.  I then coloured the stamp using my water brush and several colours of Distress Ink, namely Mustard Seed, Spiced Marmalade, Ripe Persimmon, Candied Apple, Forest Moss, Peeled Paint and Cracked Pistachio.  I think this is the first time I have used a piece of paper on a card for absolutely ages, but these papers have the look of washy ink which appealed to me and nice and thick at 180 gsm so took the water beautifully.  I also used a bit of the Cracked Pistachio over the background under and around the wreath and added a sentiment using Olympia Green Versafine ink which actually looks like black in the photo, and then heat embossed with some WOW Clear Gloss EP.

Thank you for your visit which I always appreciate and I hope you'll come back soon.

I am entering the following challenges:

Penny Black Saturday Challenge September - Anything Goes (Optional 'Use Something Old  or Neglected').  This stamp has certainly been neglected and is one of the older stamp images.
Uniko Challenge - No. 55 Anything Goes (optional twist Autumn).
Addicted to Stamps - No. 177 For a Lady/Girl.
Stamping Sensations - Anything Goes with Flowers.
Simon Says Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes.








17 comments:

Christine Alexander said...

Yes, we all have to accept that summer is over and we are now into fall. i had two wonderful weeks in Wales mid September then came back to sunny fall days in Vancouver BC.
Beautiful Card Pat, gorgeous sunflower wreath.

brenda said...

As you say no frost as yet Pat, but we were down to 3deg this morning and it felt like it as well when I let the girls out at 6am.

Sunflowers are indeed a beacon in our gardens during these Autumnal days with their happy faces and your floral wreath is lovely with the gold embossing which all adds to that warm feel of the season.

As always it's lovely to see you joining us and my thanks for sharing with us at Stamping Sensations 'Flowers' theme.

B x

cuilliesocks said...

Just so beautiful Pat, your colours are so lovely and I love the sunflower wreath. I'm afraid my sunflowers are all gone now.
Very cold last night up here, yes we are galloping towards winter I fear, Kate x

Marjan said...

In the Netherlands Autumn is clearly here, so much rain and wind! I want to paint the inside of our front door, but postpone this because it has to stay open for at least six hours after painting.
Houw lovely is your wreath card, glowing colors! Most of the time design papers do not take water very well, so you are lucky!

Viv said...

Such a pretty card Pat - and a reminder of warm days - a little cool here although we've had sunshine today!

Karen Dunbrook said...

what a lovely Fall card....so pretty.
We are expecting our first frost here tonight, it will be sad to see the flowers go.
xx Karen

Mrs A. said...

This looks really pretty. I have never tried to water colour onto design paper but like the results you have here. Hugs Mrs A.

Ros Crawford said...

Well I'm sure your neighbour was delighted with this bright and happy card. Gorgeous painted wreath Pat!

Sally H said...

That is absolutely gorgeous, Pat! Lovely sunny colours! Thanks for your lovely comment on my blog. The Lesia Zgharda stamps are fabulous - beautiful designs and great quality, but they aren't cheap and postage is a little pricey, and for some reason it is all in US dollars...

Mac Mable said...

What a stunning stamped sunflower wreath and so very different and I love it x Yes Autumn is truly here now x

Sazzle Dazzle said...

So pretty and elegant pat! Glorious wreath image and colours. Thanks for playing along in the uniko challenge

Liz said...

Gorgeous card, Pat, what a beautiful sunflower wreath! I have a very old sunflower wreath stamp somewhere, thanks for the inspiration to get it out again and use it. xx

My Paper Epiphany said...

This is so beautiful! It looks great on the patterned paper paper. Thanks so much for sharing at Penny Black Saturday Challenge:)

Kathyk said...

Hi Pat, thanks for visiting my blog today - here I am returning the favour! Barcelona was lovely - it had been on our bucket list for ages too - well worth the trip, hope you get there soon

Lovely wreath card today and such lovely rich, autumnal colours too

Kathyk

Hannelie said...

A beautiful Autumn wreath Pat! Thanks for playing along at Uniko !

Beverley said...

Beautiful floral wreath. I must try and remember to emboss images in gold as they look so pretty when coloured. Thanks for joining in on the fun at Uniko. Hugs Bev x

Wiebke Kommerell said...

Pat, your idea to spend some ink to this beautiful NBUS stamp was a great one! I love sunflowers (but hadn't many in the garden this year, seems like someone ate the seeds in springtime before they could sprout)!
Perfect use of colours for the Uniko Challenge #55. Thanks for showing us your card there!

Greetings from Wiebke (KomMa-designed) - Uniko-Brand Ambassador