Blooming Blendabilities

I had to make a sympathy card for a family we knew growing up.  I decided to use the Freshly Made Sketches #146 to help inspire the design.

I don't have many sympathy stamps so I specifically used some hostess dollars to buy the Hostess Stamp Set from Stampin' Up! entitled Bloom with Hope.  The floral images are great for coloring with the Blendabilities markers.

The color scheme is Coral Calypso and Whisper White.  I used Old Olive blendabilities for the stems. Washi tape,  Epic Day and Watercolor Wonder, peaks out from behind the flower label.  I used the Labels Collection and Project Life Cards and Labels Framelits to diecut the flowers and greeting, respectively.  This was the first time I used the Stampin' Up! Blendabilities to full force.  I blended the 3 shades of the Calypso Coral markers together and even lightened the petals a little using the color lifter.  The effect is subtle but I could totally tell the difference as I colored!  I am glad I started with a small floral image to learn on!  They are really easy  to use and I didn't feel overwhelmed at all.

I also used the paper piercing tool and the Festive templates to add a little effect to the coral label mat.  I wasn't happy with such a large mat behind the flowers and the paper piercing really helped to break up the large space.