ColorBox Blends with Eileen Hull – Valentine Decor

Hello there! This month the Inspiration Team is focusing on Eileen's ColorBox Blends from Clearsnap - a unique (and convenient!) pigment ink that comes with a handy integrated sponge applicator and contains 10x the ink of a regular stamp pad. (The Make it Monthly Technique for February that Pam Bray shares is packed full of ways to use the Blends, check it out if you haven't already!) I've been very impressed by these inks, see what I made:

The vase and bird are all inked with the Blends - super easy! Take a look:

I pulled out three stencils with varying pattern sizes (including the Hearts of course). I started out with the largest pattern (a Stencil Girl stencil) and used pink (Tutu) to lay down a base pattern. I followed with the other stencils, using Flagstone and Stop Blends inks. There is no real right or wrong way to layer stencils. Just go for it and experiment! When using the Blends, I started with a light touch and built up the color intensity. If you press too hard with the sponges, you will activate the ink dispenser embedded in the sponge and get a big ink blob. Depress it onto your craft sheet to "recharge" the ink in the sponge.

I used the same technique to blend color onto the bird pieces (Flagstone and Wildberry). Use a light touch and build up the layers. I also used a Distress Marker (Hickory Smoke) and the Spritzer to add speckles to the bird. I glued the end of the twisted wire in between the two bird halves as I was assembling it.

Now for the flowers! I started by misting several white coffee filters with various colors of red and pink. I also sprayed some with Perfect Pearls mist for a touch of glimmer.

I used the Pansy Flower die to cut multiples of parts out of the stacks of filters. You can cut several at once with the steel ruled dies. I raided my button stash for flower centers and pulled the red wire out of my Christmas box.

The flower stems are easy to create with the Twist & Style Tool. (See Eileen's video for a full demo of the Tool.) Cut an 18" length of wire, fold it gently in half, and poke the ends through your button. Fasten the ends into the end of the Tool with the clamp (not the hook end). The button end goes over the center post in the suction clamp. Holding the wire taut, twist the tool and in moments you have a perfect flower stem. Thread the stem through your stack of flower parts and add some glue to the back to hold them all in place.

The coffee filters are thin like tissue paper so it's easy to fluff and crinkle the layers to give the flowers more volume. If you use cardstock and want to "fluff" them, try lightly misting with water and then manipulate the paper.

I cut a small piece of florist's foam to fit into the vase and covered it with a bit of cotton batting. Just poke the flower stems through the batting into the foam.

Another project like this I made, Halloween themed, can be found HERE.  It's so easy to adapt these vases of flowers to fit any holiday or theme!

I am also entering this into the Emerald Creek Dares Challenge 'Rock the Red'. I think my project is pretty red lol!

Thanks for stopping by! Be sure to head on over to Eileen's blog to check out all the ideas being shared this month. You'll find lots of inspiration! We'd love to have you share your projects on Eileen's Facebook page too. Have a great week… ;-)

The supplies I used for this project can be found at Sizzix or Simon Says Stamp. Follow the links below and a shopping you may go!

ScoreBoards XL Die - Vase, 3-D	XL Die - Box, Cookie	Sizzix Bigz Die - Flower, Pansy	Bird	Heartfelt	Tim Holtz Sizzix Die HEARTFELT Bigz 660233
Twist & Style Craft Tool	ColorBox Blends	*Sizzix POLKA DOTS & STARFLOWERS SET Embossing Folders Textured Impressions 658990	Tim Holtz Layering Stencil HEARTS THS017	Tim Holtz Layering Stencil BUBBLE THS002	Tim Holtz Distress Spray Stain PICKED RASPBERRY Ranger TSS42396
Tim Holtz Distress Spray Stain PICKET FENCE Ranger TSS42402	Tim Holtz Distress Spray Stain CANDIED APPLE Ranger TSS44178	Tim Holtz Distress Spray Stain FESTIVE BERRIES Ranger TSS42273	Ranger Perfect Pearls Mist INTERFERENCE RED Glimmer Spray PPM28321	Ranger BLACK TIE Enamel Accents GAC48855	Tim Holtz Distress Marker SPRITZER TOOL Ranger TDA39730
Tim Holtz Distress Markers HICKORY SMOKE Ranger TDM43478

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