Stampin Up - Lotus Blossom | Stamps, Paper, Scissors

I finally had a chance to play with this set, and I did what I so often do when confronted by a flower that has a particular name (not just amorphous blob flowers). I looked it up to see what colors it usually comes in. Because I like to be real, yo?

And, of course, I found that this flower is actually a water plant, something I had vaguely realized before, but every single card I have seen done with this stamp doesn't show it that way. People are making it look like a tulip, which it does somewhat resemble. So, naturally,I wanted to be different and show this as an actual lotus in its natural environment. I also saw that it is usually mostly white with some pink highlights, maybe a little purple.

I figured the easiest way to get a white flower with colored highlights was to stamp the first two layers (unlike regular multi-step stamping, you start with the darkest layer first because these are photopolymer and you can see through them, making it easier to start with the darkest one) using WIsteria Wonder and Strawberry Slush, and then do the last layer with Versamark, clear emboss it, then use that as a resist and add the water around it.

The first attempt looked terrible. For one, because the flower was white, there were no shadows on the flower, and so it didn't look right. And for the second, some colors get more intense when they are covered with clear EP, and the Strawberry Slush was way too bright. I redid it, adding some soft shadows with a blender pen and Smoky Slate ink, and stamping off the Strawberry slush on the second layer. Once it was heat embossed, it was time to add the water.

I did this by sponging Pool Party on, adding ripples with the matching marker, some soft shadows with the blender pen and Wisteria Wonder ink, and finally some highlights with the Signo Uniball white gel pen. When it was done, it needed barely anything to finish it off, so I went with some tiny pearls in one corner, and there was no more to be done. Lookie: