Hello everyone, Emma here with my step by step project that I was inspired to create by my love of antique botanical prints. I absolutely adore the artwork and the elegance of these vintage prints, with their wonderful depiction of nature and botany. So, for me when I saw this challenge I decided I would love to create some botanical bliss of my own using Wendy Vecchi stamps and a few inky techniques to give the effect of aged paper.

To begin with, I applied some Antique Linen, Old Paper and Brushed Corduroy Distress Stains onto my craft sheet and then cut two pieces of Ranger Manila card to measure 4.25″ x 6″ and 6.5″ x 8.5″. I gave the stains on my sheet a good spritz of water and then dragged the pieces of card through the inks to pick up all gorgeous colours.

At this point, pick up as much of the stains as you can from the craft sheet because you want the card to look vintage, shabby and aged. Once the card was dry, I then inked up the flower image from The Beauty Of Art stamp set by Wendy Vecchi, and stamped it onto the smaller piece of inked card, together with the quote beneath it. I also stamped just the leaf section of the flower image onto a separate piece of cardstock.

Using Distress Marker pens and a water brush, I painted the leaves that had been stamped onto the separate piece of card and also the main image of the flower and leaves.

At this point, I like to add a base layer of the palest colour to begin with, dry it with a heat tool, then add another layer of a second, darker colour and gradually build up the tones to create shades of dark and light.

Once all the painting is complete, cut out the painted leaves from the separate piece of card and set these aside until later. Then, ink the edges of the cardstock with Antique Linen and Walnut Stain Distress Ink.

Next, we need to get that piece of card looking really shabby and vintage and for this, I flicked small amounts of water over the top of the inked card and then dabbed them away with a piece of kitchen towel.

Then, apply a small amount of Vintage Photo Distress Stain onto a craft sheet, add water and using a water brush, pick up some of the stain and flick it onto the cardstock.

You can now set aside this finished artwork until later and start working on the larger piece of stained card stock. As with the previous smaller piece of card stock, use Walnut Stain and Antique Linen Distress Inks to ink the edges of the card and as with the smaller piece, then flick tiny amounts of water over the surface, before then adding the Vintage Photo ink splatters with a water brush. When the card is dry, ink up the decorative border from The Beauty of Art stamp set, with black Archival Ink and stamp the border across the top, and the bottom of the large piece of card.

You now have your main image, your backing card and the separate cut out section of leaves all completed.

To create some layers to both of my backgrounds, I used the 3 Flourishes stencil by Wendy Vecchi and applied Walnut Stain Distress Ink through the smallest flourish on the stencil, over the top of my wording on the main image.

I then used the largest flourish on the stencil to add layers onto all four corners of the background mat of card.

You now need to create the frame for your artwork and to do this, I used two pieces of chipboard cut to measure 7.5″ x 9.5″. I cut the centre out of one of the pieces to leave me with a frame, and a border measuring 0.75″.

I applied a coat of Gesso over the top of the border frame before then applying a coat of Snowflake Fresco Finish paint from PaperArtsy. I wanted to create a very subtle crackled effect to my frame and to achieve this, I used a palette knife to add some PaperArtsy Crackle Glaze over random areas of the Snowflake paint. I let the Crackle Glaze dry, (you can use a heat gun if you’re a bit impatient like me) before then adding a thin coat of the Guacamole Fresco Finish Paint and just watched those tiny crackles appear.

To complete the frame, I added a very light coat of Hey Pesto, wiping away some of the paint around the frame to give a vintage feel and to allow some of the previous coat of Guacamole to show through. Once the frame was dry, I added a touch of Treasure Gold Gilding Wax to give a really nice finish to the overall look of the frame.

You now just need to create the final section of this frame before the fun part of putting it all together and seeing this artwork come to life and for this section, you just need to cut a further piece of chipboard, 8.25″ x 10″ and add Tissue Tape all around the edge.

I added some Idea-Ology embellishments onto my frame, including Hinge Clips, Mini Corners and the gorgeous Ornate Plates, applying a Remnant Rub from the Botanical set, in the centre.

Layer up all the sections of your frame onto the Tissue Tape covered section, starting with the backing piece of chipboard, followed by the decorative border backing card and then finally, attach the painted border frame over the top.

Finally, place your artwork in the centre of the frame, add some faux stitching around the edge of the matted card layer and attach the second layer of hand painted leaves over the top of the main image. To complete this piece, I placed a small Corked Vial over the top of the stem, attaching it with Glossy Accents and then adding a Remnant Rub onto the bottle.

… and that completes my framed botanical print and as always, I hope you like what I’ve created, as much as I’ve loved making it!

I hope that you’ve enjoyed my project today – and that you’re inspired to join this week’s challenge!

Thank you so much for joining Emma today! I really hope you’ve enjoyed this tutorial as much as I have. For your chance to win a voucher from www.simonsaysstamp.com be sure to enter this week’s challenge in the post below.