Flower Cards With Walnut Ink by Lynne Moncrieff

Hello

For  the recent HOCHANDA show, amongst samples made with new That's Crafty! products, I made some wee cards.  I rarely make cards these days so it was nice to dip into them again, where I worked on a small scale and utilizing scraps.

I wanted to show the Word Flowers used in two ways, one collection of cards focuses on the flower element of the Word Flower and the second collection I focused on the word which forms the stem of  each flower.

Supplies
That's Crafty! Clear Stamp Set Lynne's Word Flowers Set 1
That's Crafty! Walnut Ink Crystals and Teabag Paper Pack
That's Crafty! Surfaces Mixed Media Paper/Card Kit (watercolour paper)
That's Crafty! Lustre Spray Gold
That's Crafty! Multi-Surface Paint Interference Gold
Memento Ink Tuxedo Black 
Extras: Handmade Paper Panels, Sewing Machine, Walnut Thread, Mini Buttons, Petals from Hydrangea

Instructions

For each card, begin by staining handmade paper panel with Walnut Crystals. I have been sharing wee videos on Facebook and Instagram, how I go about preparing such panels. There is no right or wrong way, I like to mix it up for variety.

If you are new to using walnut crystals, again there are different ways of preparing them. My tried and trusted method is to fill a jar with water that has cooled slightly, after being boiled. Begin to add the crystals, stirring to dissolve. Test the strength on scrap paper. Continuing adding more crystals if desired. Select jar with screw top lid or suchlike.

Mist handmade paper panel with water. Dip brush into jar of walnut ink and apply to the panel, allow to air dry.

Also stain pieces of teabag paper, handmade Lokta paper. Once dry, mist with Lustre Gold or apply Interference Gold with fingertips. (The pieces I used were all scraps/leftovers from previous projects)

Ink up flower head and stem only, do not ink up word on stem. Stamp directly onto the stained, handmade paper panel.  

Machine stitch the stained papers to handmade paper panel. Also stitch fragment onto front of panel. Allow loose thread ends to hang free.

To embellish, layer a threaded mini button to petal from hydrangea before adhering to card.

Finally, adhere this panel to folded watercolour paper to form a card.

The hint of Gold from the Lustre Spray and Interference Paint are worthwhile additions. They bring that extra layer yet allow the cards to retain a natural feel to them. 

Instead of machine stitching, faux stitches could be added with Fineliner pen, stamp or That's Crafty! Stencil.

Until next time,

Wishes

Lynne