Climbing Berry Orchids - PP352

Hi friends!  I took a short unplanned break while family was in town for my hubby's 50th birthday!  I'm back today at The Paper Players with a pretty monochromatic color challenge from lovely LeAnne:

 I combined it with the awesome sketch this week at the Global Design Project:

Todays colors seemed like the perfect opportunity to play with my new stamp set, Climbing Orchids. I couldn't wait to get my hands on this set.  Not only is there nothing else like it in my collection but it's also photopolymer (love) and has coordinating dies (double love)!

The monochromatic color palette provides the perfect combination of colors for shading--each one slightly darker than the next.  I used the lightest shade, Sweet Sugarplum, for the base color of the orchid bloom.  Berry Burst was used to stamp the flower petals and Rich Razzleberry shades the tiny centers of the blossoms.  Not wanting to bring in another color, I also thought the dark Rich Razzleberry made the perfect stem for the flowers. It's actually a die from another set called, Seasonal Layers Thinlits.

I thought the plain white background set off these colors nicely but it also needed a little something....I washed the card base (Thick Whisper White cardstock) with Wink of Stella and the effect is gorgeous IRL.  Difficult to capture in a photo but it gives a soft shimmer to the background and just a little bit of interest.  Another tip, the retired gold stripe vellum was attached to a scrap piece of white cardstock and then popped up on dimensionals.  Attaching it to the cardstock gives it weight so it doesn't sag when popped up and also hides any adhesive which would otherwise show through the vellum.

Another cool tip....extend the use of your photopolymer stamps by using the solid back of the stamp! For the inside of the card, I needed a solid base of Sweet Sugarplum.  I flipped over the stamp and attached it to my clear block with the wrong side facing up.  I stamped first in Sweet Sugarplum then, took the stamp off the block and reattached it to the block right-side up.  Next, stamped the details of the image in the darker shade of Berry Burst for a full color orchid.  Here's a couple photos to illustrate:
Although they started last week, this is my first week playing alongside our two new Guest Designers, Annie & Jan!  Along with returning GD, Deanne, I am so happy to be crafting with all of you!  Check out all of our team's amazing works over at The Paper Players.  Maybe you will be inspired to play along before the challenge closes on Friday, July 14th at Noon (PST).  Thanks for visiting!

Edited 7/11/17: So excited that my card was chosen as a #GDPwinner at The Global Design Project--wow!  Many thanks to the team for selecting my card.  There are always so many gorgeous entries, it's an honor to be selected!

The Paper Players Design Team 

Claire Broadwater

 Jaydee

Joanne James

Laurie Schmidt

LeAnne Pugliese

Nance Leedy 

Sandy Mathis 

Deanne 

Annie Abrahamson 

Jan Clothier