One of my favorite perennial garden flowers is Echinacea purpurea also known as the coneflower. It’s hearty, beautiful and birds and insects love it! There are also many varieties with such striking colors and features. It’s truly an inspiring plant.
Simon Says Stamp came out with Brilliant Coneflower embossing folder and die combo in last year’s STAMPtember Release. I had it on my wish list for so long and then it was sold out. When it came back in stock, I didn’t hesitate.
This set includes a 3-D embossing folder and a die that matches one of the three flowers in the scene.
I wasn’t sure what ‘coloring’ method and inks would work best with this embossing folder so I set out to experiment. I’m still not done. Let’s look at what I’ve done so far.
Dye inks
Because I’m also working on a C9 Color Combo Card Series Challenge I started one embossed panel using Concord & 9th dye inks and very small blending brushes as this set doesn’t come with a stencil and that’s okay because the deep etch of the embossing is your guide.
I started off embossing on a lighter weight card stock but this did not hold up well to the embossing folder so I changed to the thicker Neenah Solar White 100 lb which is what I use for my folded card bases. I have some small slanted tip blending brushes from Catherine Pooler Designs that I used to ink along the slender petals and stems. Though I liked the ink colors, I thought the final look didn’t do justice to the look of the petals and seemed sparse. I wanted a bit more color saturation. Note this was my first attempt with any ink technique.
On my next card I used both C9 dye inks and Catherine Pooler dye inks. I felt like I got good color on the center cones but had more trouble getting color on the petals. I still really like the colors in this card. I embellished with a light spritz of Ranger’s Bronze Perfect Pearls mixed in a mini spray bottle with water.
Distress Inks
I then used Tim Holtz Distress Inks and had fantastic results! Notice the final design and how the water of my Perfect Pearls spritz reacts with the inked image and gives a subtle shimmer. I also used the die cut on this card as you can see the raised flower in the upper left offering a bit more dramatic dimension.
I used large and small ink blending brushes and really worked in the color not worrying too much about staying ‘within the lines’ or more specifically staying on the embossed image. I love the deep, rich colors, giving the card a dramatic look. This is also how I approached my fourth card.
I started by inking the edges and background with Speckled Egg and then worked on the cone centers, the petals, and lastly the stems in Bundled Sage. For the cones and petals I started blending in the lighter shades and then darker colors. I was much happier to get color down than to worry about the color staying within definitive lines.
For embellishment I spritzed lightly with Pearl color Perfect Pearls mixed in a mini spritzer with water. I also splattered on a mix of Brushed Metal acrylic paint in Brushed Antique Gold diluted in a small amount of water. The effect is a little globby but I like it. It adds to the level of drama and dimension.
My goal is to revisit this embossing folder with watercolors on watercolor paper and distress inks on watercolor paper using my Kuretake water brush pen to help apply and blend. I have also seen a beautiful and unique card design using distress inks and Zig Clean Color pens. You can see that card from Natasha’s Colorful Creations here:
And check out these Zig pens:
https://www.zig-cleancolor.com/realbrush
These pens could open up the door for crafters who have little to no watercolor experience but love the look. These water based dye ink pens come in 180 colors. A set of 48 starts at $50 USD on Amazon. Kuretake also has tutorials and color charts that you can find on the link above. I can see why these pens could be a great choice for this type of ‘coloring’ on an embossing folder. Markers are another possibility with more clean lined control.
What types of coloring methods have you tried? Are you as enamored with this Brilliant Coneflower embossing folder & die set as I am?
Severnista 
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