You can never have to much glitz and glam and somehow, bright sunflowers and marbled leaves just call for those touches of sparkle and shine. 

I recently received a box of new goodies from Scrapbook.com, including this Sunflowers stencil--which I absolutely love! 

Now I did start out with simplicity in mind. Originally I just wanted to add Gold Glitter Pops of Color over ink blended sunflowers. But then I just kept adding the sparkle! I often espouse the "less is more" mantra in life, but when it comes to my crafting, I have a tendency to go overboard on occasion. Ce la vie! However, I must admit, that I always fall in love with the end result of my "more is more" projects. 

Let's jump into this tutorial! Start out with a Solar White A2 flat card front and lay your Sunflowers stencil over the top of it, holding it in place with mint tape. Mint tape is key here because we are doing two layers of yummy goodness through the same stencil and you don't want it to shift during or in between layers. Blend Distress Ink in fossilized amber through your stencil with your favorite domed foam tool or blending brush. 

Without removing the stencil, squeeze a bunch of Pops of Color in Gold Glitter over your stencil. Using a craft scraper, scrape the Pops of Color through your stencil, adding more if needed. Once you have filled all the openings, carefully peel your stencil off and toss it into a bin or sink of water and set the card front aside to dry. Dry time should be 15 minutes or less, depending on how much you added and your environment. I added a thin layer and live in a dry climate, so it took about 5 minutes to fully dry for me.

While your card front is drying, work on stamping out your sentiment. Take another Solar White piece of cardstock and stamp "happy fall"from the Hi Fall stamp set in Distress Archival ink in vintage photo. Trim down your sentiment if needed. 

Pull out the A2 Harvest Smooth Cardstock pad and select a brown from the pad. I used one sheet for the matte and another to matte the sentiment. Cut your sentiment matte down to size and then adhere your sentiment to the brown matte using Scrapbook.com's Dotted Adhesive (it's repositionable so don't worry if you don't get it placed perfectly the first time). 

Now let's create some fall leaves using Tim Holtz Mixed Media Heavystock, Distress products and the new Autumn Leaves die from Scrapbook.com. On one sheet of mixed media heavystock, ink and/or spray on Distress in fossilized amber and one of the yellow Mica Stains. I already had some yellow Distress backgrounds leftover from my Sunflower Strength card, which had Distress Sprays (Stain and Oxide) in fossilized amber and the Mica Stain in flickering candle--but you can replace the flickering candle with the new harvest moon or any other shimmery yellow spray you have. 

On another sheet, ink or spray on yellow and red Distress products. I started by adding Distress Ink in fired brick and Distress Oxide in fired brick with blending tools. I then layered Distress Oxide Spray in crackling campfire over the top along with Distress Spray Stain in crackling campfire. For the shimmer, I used the peppermint Mica Stain from last year, but you can replace it with the new red mica spray tart cranberry or another shimmery spray you have on hand. 

When your Distress backgrounds are layered to your liking and dry, cut out a yellow flower and some red and orange leaves. Gently fold the leaves along some of the embossing lines for additional depth and use a shaping tool to add a bit of shape to your flower. 

Once the sunflower background is dry, adhere it to the brown cardstock with the Dotted Adhesive. Add a strip of foam adhesive to the back of your matted sentiment and stick it to the center of your card. Add your yellow flower with a small foam square and then layer on the leaves, gluing them down with a liquid adhesive like Collage Medium or Smart Glue. 

Now for that extra oomph of shimmer! Add Pinkfresh Matte Gold Pearls to the center of each visible sunflower on the background and then add a few to the sentiment piece. I used Collage Medium for this as it dries clear and non-tacky--just in case there is any "squish-out." The final step is to add your card to a card base and you are done! I hope you enjoyed this extra sparkly project, and until next time, happy crafting!

Adrienne

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