Bloom Reflections

Ever since starting the AECP program, I’ve been pushed to step outside my comfort zone—sometimes way outside. The Beautiful Details class was one of those moments. Colored pencils aren’t my usual medium, but this lesson taught me how powerful they can be for adding depth, texture, and realism. What started as a hesitant experiment ended up as Bloom Reflections, a card that feels both serene and full of life.

For this class, I worked with the

• Build-A-Garden Magnificent Branch stamp set
• Aloe Vera Fresh Dye Ink
• Soft Lilac Fresh Dye Ink
• Faber-Castell colored pencils

I began by stamping the floral image in Soft Lilac Fresh Dye Ink for a soft no-line look. Using the coordinating stencil set, I inked the first layer of the flowers with Soft Lilac and the leaves with Aloe Vera.

Now, here’s where it got tricky—this class was quite challenging for me because I’m not naturally drawn to using colored pencils. To warm up, I first practiced adding details on stenciled images to get a feel for the medium (see my practice sample below).

Once I felt more confident, I moved on to my main project. The first card I made looked nice, but after stepping back, I realized it could use more highlights and depth. So, I decided to redo the image—same stamping and stenciling steps—but this time I paid closer attention to where I wanted my light and dark areas.

For my pencil work:

• I used three shades of purple for the petals, carefully judging where the light would naturally fall and where shadows would be deepest.
• For the second version, I introduced a rich brown pencil as my darkest tone to add extra depth to the flower’s center.
• I started with the lightest color, added gentle strokes, and then blended into the darker shades for smooth transitions.

  

For the background, I was inspired by the “Orchid in the Water” lesson from the class and recreated a soft water-shadow scene. I kept the sentiment simple—stamped in Obsidian Black Ink—to ensure the focus stayed on the flower’s details.

Below, you’ll notice how the second attempt differs from the first.

Adding details with colored pencils truly brings stenciled images to life—the texture and dimension from each stroke are just amazing. But I’ll be honest, it’s also a time-consuming process! Still, the end result made the effort worthwhile.

✧ ✦ ✧