Small Fringed Peony from the new Garden Bouquet Collection by Jean Okimoto

The new Small Fringed Peony - beautifully detailed and dimensional - is perfect for embossing and diecutting. A matte watercolored background seems to recede as the pearlescent peony becomes the star. Hello, Jean Okimoto here with a May Challenge inspiration card featuring another great new design from the April 2019 Garden Bouquet Collection.

Diecut a piece of watercolored paper - like this one from my stash - with the 2-¼" x 3-1-/2" Rectangle Basics die. Pressure emboss the Small Fringed Peony near the left edge. Use the embossing mat and plates recommended by the manufacturer of your machine.

Diecut the peony from a Post-It-Note - to be used as a stencil - and from white cardstock for an overlay.

Sponge Pearlescent Lavender Brilliance through the stencil onto the embossed peony. Daub Sunflower Yellow Brilliance in the center of the flower. Set it aside to dry.

Attach the peony diecut to the embossed image. Cut a ¾" x 3-⅞" strip of purple cardstock and a 3" x ⅞" strip of pale green cardstock.

Stamp the greeting - from the new Big and Little Words Clear Stamp Set - on white cardstock with Purple Delight VersaFine Clair. Dry the ink, then trim the cardstock.

Assemble the card and add green gem stickers.

I love the dimensional, curled edges of the peony's lower petals. They create a bold accent and balance the delicate detailed petals. The Small Fringed Peony is just one of many beautiful flower dies in our latest release. There's a Large Fringed Peony too!

Special thanks to everyone who drove, flew or ferried to Impress for last weekend's ASIA NOW class! The April Garden Bouquet Collection arrived just in time for class - the "almost-Asian" designs were perfect for simple, contemporary cards. Thanks too - Ann, Shari and Erin - for helping everyone fill their shopping baskets with the latest, greatest designs!

If you're in the Seattle area, join us for another stash cards class - BIRTHDAYS HAPPEN. Everyone receives a packet of "extras" from my stash so they can make a few more class cards at home. It's not really an Asian-themed class - but we're making a simple origami sailboat - and a folded flower.

Thanks for stopping by - be sure to enter May's Embossing Extravagance challenge...good luck!