SSSC37 Fifth Avenue Floral

I think that just about every other Stampin' Up! demonstrator and customer on the planet has already used the heck out of their Fifth Avenue Floral stamp set. However, this is actually my first project ever with this beautiful and versatile set. If you asked my husband, he would tell you that I probably own every stamp set that SU has ever made, but because I have been at this for ten years, it only seems that way. Yes, I do have quite a collection of stamps, but not a large number of current sets. So when I won Shellie's Creative Challenge a few months ago I picked Fifth Avenue Floral as my free set. Some of my downline thought I was crazy for not choosing one of the more expensive sets in the catty, but I wanted this one. This is my entry into Karen Giron's Sweet Sunday Sketch Challenge this week.

It has been raining in Nashville for the past few weeks and I was wondering if I would ever seen sunshine again. I think that is why I chose such a bright color to work with for my flower. I love the elegant feel of this rose, so when I want elegant I usually opt out for black & white. Night & Day DSP (#116768) from the new mini catalog was the perfect choice. Now, some of the papers in the collection definitely have a more "frightful" feel to them, while others are incredibly perfect for a project like this.

I stamped the flower in Basic Black Craft Ink and embossed it with clear embossing powder on Shimmery White CS. I water colored the rose with Yoyo Yellow and Summer Sun re-inkers and an aqua painter. When it was all said and done it looked a little flat, so I stamped and colored two additional flowers, cut away some of the petals, and layered them on top with dimensionals for a 3D effect. The rose still looked a little lonely, so I borrowed some leaves from the Flower Fancy set, water colored them with Green Galore and Glorious Green re-inkers and added them behind the rose.

I don't know many people who can stamp a sentiment with white ink onto black card stock and make it look good. I personally think it almost always takes away from the finished product. That's why I chose some Chit Chat rub-ons for the sentiment. I finished everything off with a pretty satin ribbon and there you have it. I think I may eventually make another one of these using a red flower, but for now, I am done!

The Catty Cruise this past weekend was a big success. All the CC gals did a wonderful job presenting their projects. If you haven't already taken a look, be sure to scroll down to Thursday's post and get started. The links should remain active for a while and you can hop on the cruise at any port. It will make a complete circle, so if you start here, you will eventually end up here. Thanks for looking!

Hope you have a beautiful day filled with happiness and sunshine.