Support Ukraine Blog Hop

Hi friends! We are reposting this gorgeous card by very special guest Yana Smakula in honor of a special blog hop put on by our friends at Studio Katia! If you want to start at the beginning head over to Studio Katia’s blog HERE. Read on to learn more about their special funding efforts for Ukraine:
From now until May 2022 100% Of net profits from the Sunflower Of Hope and All products In the Hope Collection will be donated to Save the Children Organization for their efforts in Ukraine.
There will be no prizes for the hop as it is purely to raise awareness and funds for the awful crisis.

Hello, crafters, this is Yana Smakula for Simon Says Stamp!
As you may or may not know, I am Ukrainian and I am currently located in western Ukraine. You might think this is not the time for me to be making cards and filming videos, but card making has always been my therapy and it is even more so now. I will continue to create cards and film videos for as long as I can. And I thank you for your support.
Instagram is booming with blue and yellow cards these days. There are so many amazingly inspiring projects featuring the two colors of the Ukrainian flag – blue, for clear blue sky, and yellow, for fields of wheat or fields of sunflowers which is a national flower of Ukraine.

I was inspired by all your projects, I wanted to create a sunflower card myself. Simon Says Stamp has several amazing stamp sets that feature sunflowers, either alone or in combination with other flowers. I picked the Sunflower Garden stamp set.
I love all things abstract and I also love to experiment with my Copic markers. This led me to a different way to color which I like to call Copic Blend Free coloring. I say Copic because I use Copic markers for this technique, but other alcohol markers work just as well.

The finished image has a modern graphic colored look to it, and the best part about it is you don’t need alcohol markers that blend well together, in fact, the greater difference in color or shade of your markers, the better it is for this technique.
I stamped the image in Versafine Vintage Sepia ink, I didn’t want to use black, as I opted for softer colors. You can also try stamping in the type and color of ink you use for no-line Coloring, and use this coloring technique for a no-line colored result. I imagine that would look quite beautiful. I’m hoping to try it one day.
My stamping was done on Simon’s 130lb cardstock as I love this paper for coloring with Copic markers. I used my heat tool and heat set the ink as the type of ink I used is not Copic markers friendly and it bleeds when it comes in contact with alcohol.

I trimmed my panel to 3 1/2 x 4 3/4” and began coloring. The idea is not to do any blending. To achieve this, you need to let the ink you’ve applied dry before you apply the next color on top.
You can use this coloring method with many different images and I’ve demonstrated the technique in the past featuring both small and large images. It works not only for flowers but other types of images too.
The darker you go, the less of an area you cover. Remember not to blend anything, just apply a solid layer of color. It is up to you how many marker colors to use to color your image in this way. I would say use 3 markers, a light, a medium, and a dark. If you have a big marker collection you can add a 4th or even a 5th color to add greater color variation to the flowers, especially if you are coloring a larger image.
I love this coloring method and the final result. It looks very different from the blended coloring. I know this is not for everyone, but ever so often I like to color this way. If you struggle with blending using your alcohol markers, this might be a very easy way for you to color.

Next, I stamped a sentiment for my card – I selected one that reads Have Faith. We all need to have faith these days and believe in a peaceful tomorrow. Here I used Versafine Onyx Black ink to add more contrast to the sentiment.
To add detail to the flower centers I used my 0.5 Sakura Gel Roll pen and added white dots in small clusters onto the brown centers. They helped create the highlights for the seeds.
I foam mounted this panel onto a light blue card base and added a “things will work out” sub sentiment cut out from one of Simon’s pre-printed sentiment strips. I also embellished my card with the Four Leaf Clover sequins from Simon.
Thank you for spending time with me today. Thank you for your encouraging comments, emails, and DMs. I have faith and I hope peace will be here soon.
WATCH THE VIDEO:
SUPPLIES:
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lovely card, love the coloring technique
Beautiful card, helpful technique advice and lots of prayer for Yana, her family, her people and her country
Wonderful Sunflowers with color & detail.
Melissa
“Sunshine HoneyBee”
you did an awesome job with your coloring. very pretty card… tyfs :)
Your coloring is amazing! What a great cause!
I love, love, love the way you colored those lovely sunflowers! Your card is gorgeous! Sending hope for peace and lots of love to the people of the Ukraine! May peace come to you very soon! Thank your for being a part of this important blog hop!!
Absolutely love Yana’s gorgeous design!
I like how the flowers were colored so simply. I can do that!
Beautiful card and I love this technique as I have trouble blending, I will definitely try this.
I send prayers for peace in your country. ❤️??
beautiful project. Thank you for supporting the people of Ukraine with the hope products and this hop to create awareness.
Truly beautiful card! The Prize at the end of this hop would be Peace for Ukraine! It is a prize that we all wish for! Thank you for doing all that you are doing to help raise awareness! and support!
Gorgeous card
Beautiful card! Thank you for supporting the children of Ukraine with this hop!
Such a beautiful card!
What a vivid card!
So beautiful! Lovely to watch Yana create this and the cool colouring technique she used. A gorgeous creation xoxo
Gorgeous uplifting card!!!! This is one you need to keep for now and look at everyday until this is over!! <3
I love your coloring technique! I will have to try it. Peace and prayers to you and all who are fighting for their freedom!
Gorgeous Card ~
I love sunflowers and this card is gorgeous!