Penny Black Dahlia on Distress Oxide Background

 I stamped the Penny Black Dahlia on watercolor paper with Memento Tuxedo Black ink 2x and the small dahlia stamp 1x. I fussy cut the centers of each of these stamps, colored them all in and popped the these center pieces to give the stamp some dimension. The stem is a die cut from Sizzix Wildflower Stems  2. The "thanks" sentiment is from Walter and Winnie, cut and stacked 3x. The Distress Oxide ink background is  in Tumbled Glass, Faded Denim and Wilted Violet. I misted the background with water and used a towel to blot to leave the color variations. The dots are white Enamel Accents.

Here is how I like to color my images. I use Faber-Castell Polychromos colored pencils, in 3 shades of purple. I randomly color in the petals, using each of the 3 colors. Here is what it looks like after I'm done using the colored pencils. You can see the pencil strokes if you look closely.

At this point I usually use a Copic Marker to blend the colors, using a light shade. I liked the way RV02 (Sugared Almond Pink) looked over the pencil. 

After die cutting the stem, I used watercolors to color and shade the stem. I wove the bottom of the stem through the word, THANKS. I feel like that little bit makes the card look more interesting, just as popping the center of the flower does. I hope you like it...I hope someone is reading this:)