Vellum Sakura Blossom | CAS Card

I’m sharing a square card today. And look – a white card base! I found a pack of white card that was hiding, so I do have white bases to play with after all. It’s a bit lighter weight than I prefer, and is EU size not US size, but it’ll do in a pinch. I’ll probably stick to coloured card bases for a while anyway. But I’m not supposed to be talking about future cards, I’m supposed to be talking about this card!

I started by creating my flower. I ran the die set from Altenew’s Build-A-Flower: Sakura Blossom through my Mini Blossom die cutting machine. For some reason the vellum didn’t want to cut well so I ended up repeating a few times and then putting it in my larger die cutting machine instead. I think the Mini Blossom wasn’t giving quite enough pressure for the thin vellum.

Once everything was cut out I started adding some soft colour to the vellum using Spectrum Noir Illustrator markers. I used PP2 and PP4 on the petals of the flower, plus PP5 for the centre-most area. For the leaves I used LG1.

I set the flower pieces to one side and worked on my card base. The base itself is cut to 4¼” square (actually it’s a tiny bit smaller on one edge, but practically square!) I found a snippet of ivory card stock and trimmed that down to be the same height as my card, and a little narrower than my finished flower. I couldn’t find my spray bottle, so I very lightly wiped either side of the piece with a little water, and then carefully began manipulating it. The more I manipulated it, the more the fibres softened, and eventually I was able to completely crumple it up without cracking the card. I then un-crumpled it , and pressed along it a few times with my bone folder to flatten it. Once I was happy with how it looked, I adhered it down the centre of my card base.

Vellum can be tricky to adhere, but lucky the dark colouring in the centre of my flower nicely hid my adhesive. Before sticking the pieces together I rolled the petals a little with the help of my bone folder, to give them some dimension. I then put a dot of Glossy Accents in the centre of the largest layer, and pressed the middle layer on top, before repeating to add the top layer of the flower. I adhered it to the ivory strip on my card base, again putting the Glossy Accents just under the centre where the colouring would hide the ink. I added more Glossy Accents to the stems of the leaves, and slipped them under the flower.

I spent a fair while trying to decide whether or not I wanted to add a sentiment, and what that sentiment would be, where I would put it, what colour I would use… As you can see, I eventually decided the least stressful option would be to forgo a sentiment! I can always add one on later if I change my mind.

The very final thing I did was create an envelope to go with my card using the We R Memory Keeper’s Envelope Punch Board and some creamy paper from my stash that I felt would be a good match. I don’t often make envelopes specifically for cards, but as this isn’t a size I usually make I thought it would be good to make one. I didn’t decorate it this time, but that would definitely be an option. If you want to know more about making envelopes I have a video about it here.

I think this card turned out very soft and pretty. The pictures don’t quite do it justice, as the shine of the ivory throws off the balance a bit. I did try to edit it to look more true to life, but it’s still not quite there. Also I think in hindsight I may have adhered the flower just a tiny bit higher. Other than that though, I am pleased with it!

Love,

Charlotte E (Lady Joyful) Email thejoyfulsoulcreates@gmail.com

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Challenges:

CAS Mix Up – Alcohol Inks on Vellum

Craft Roulette – 4.25″ card; any colour but blue; something happy; crumpled paper (my ‘something happy’ is CAS!)

Freshly Made Sketches – Sketch

Mod Squad – Vellum Flowers