"Mourning" Glories

I had the perfect opportunity to use my new Morning Soft set the other day. A friend's mother passed away, so I wanted to make something soft and beautiful for her. Plus, I knew I wanted to use my Watercolor Wonder Crayons because she has recently ordered some and I want to show her some ways they can be used.

I have to say... I think this turned out to be one of my favorite cards. I love Morning Glories anyway, but to be able to color them and show them off like this... it was a breathtaking experience! The base card is Night of Navy with a layer of Old Olive on top. The Morning Glories are stamped onto a full sheet of Watercolor paper (so now you can truly see what size it is) with black StazOn ink. The flowers are watercolored with Brocade Blue, Night of Navy, and a touch of Perfect Plum. The leaves are Old Olive, Always Artichoke, and a touch of Chocolate Chip. Now... I certainly don't claim to be a watercoloring expert - far from it, in fact! But I do enjoy playing around with it to see what I can create. Here's a close-up of the flowers:

I distressed the edges of the watercolor paper using my Cutter Kit (yes, it's been found... was MIA for a long time!), as that always softens the hard edges. The sentiment is from Sincere Salutations, stamped with Night of Navy onto Old Olive cardstock and layered on top of some Night of Navy grosgrain ribbon. At that point, I thought the card was finished... I even took a picture of it like that, but it looked top-heavy to me. So I added some last minute Old Olive brads to the bottom and that was the icing on the cake.

TIP: Did you know that you can remove a layer that's been glued down by heating it with your heat gun? Gently pry your bone folder under the piece you want to remove while you're heating it and it releases quite easily. It's the perfect way to make changes without ruining your cardstock.

You'll probably see more of these beautiful flowers... I think I'm ready to try them in some pinks or reds!