Sweet Petals Coloring Tutorial and Card Set

Hello fellow crafters!

It's Kelly here and today we are going to talk about flowers and coloring, but mostly flowers :) 

A few years ago Hero Arts released all these beautiful large flowers. I, like most of you, bought several of them. These flowers were everywhere until they weren't. I've noticed lately that the way of the large flower has passed. I hardly ever see them in the Flickr group anymore and to be honest I kind of miss them. Yes, they are a few years old now but they are still just as fabulous as they were when we first laid eyes on them. So today we are bringing back the big blooms, in a couple of different ways!

In sharing my cards with you today I thought I would also share a photo tutorial on how I color my big flowers. I'm sure you're going to think I'm a little nuts but I promise it isn't as time consuming as it looks. And I have yet to find another way that makes them look as vibrant. :)

First stamp two flowers and fussy cut them out. 

Next cut one flower apart, petal by petal

until the whole thing is in pieces, literally. Remember only cut ONE flower up. 

color each petal with your distress ink of choice, I chose Picked Raspberry as my base color. I always work with 3 colors when doing this technique. 

After each petal has been colored with your base color apply your next darkest color about half way up the petal on the cut side (i.e the part that will be closest to the center of the flower). I used Seedless Preserves. The only part I did not ink was the center. It's a personal preference, do whatever you like :)

Finally add your darkest color to just the edges of your cut side. My darkest color was Dusty Concord. At this point you can go over each petal with your lightest color again if it is not as blended as you would like. 

Time to get out that second flower. We are going to put this baby back together like a puzzle using the whole flower as a base. 

I always start in the center. This ensures that my other pieces will fit nicely butted up against the center. 

I work from the inside out, you can kinda start to see how your "shading" has created a look of depth on a completely flat flower. Keep gluing until all your pieces are in place. 

Here is the finished flower. I just love how bold and vibrant it is :) 

In order to show you just how fabulous these large flowers still are I made you a little card set  using some of my favorite distress ink color combos. Since we just made that gorgeous pink bloom let's start there!

An elegant engagement card using one flower as a focal point. This uses Picked Raspberry, Seedless Preserves, and Dusty Concord

How about a happy hello using the flowers as a border? Colored with Festive Berries, Fired Brick, and Aged Mahogany

Here we have a whole new meaning to make your own pattern paper :) This card reminds me of a pretty empire waist dress, LOVE! colored with Seedless Preserves, Dusty Concord, and Chipped Sapphire.  

Last but not least some bright wishes using the flowers to create a pretty panel. colored with Salty Ocean, Faded Jeans, and Chipped Sapphire.

There are still so many ways to use these large flowers that are current and trendy. I hope I've inspired you to bust out some old flowers and see what they are made of. I bet they'll be delighted to see you again :)

Don't forget to play along in our Current Challenge Who's the Boss? These flowers look amazing embossed :) Plus one random winner will win a 

You don't want to miss out on that! Thanks for visiting today :)