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Radiant Pearls ~ the Legend of the Water Lily

M. Elizabeth Lee
Rubber Roadsters
Advanced Stamping Design Team

Brazil, located in South America on the east central side of the continent, has the most incredible and largest Water Lilies in the world.  They are situated in the rivers and lakes of the Amazon Rain Forest.  The Flowers of the Giant Amazon Water Lily span about 12-20” in width while the huge round leaves span 6-7’ in diameter.  It is remarkable to note that the leaves can actually hold up to 150 lbs. of weight.  They have a white flower that only opens for 2 nights in a row.  During this process, they are pollinated by the scarab beetle and then turn purple before withering away.  Afterwards, it takes about one year for the seed to germinate.

There is an intriguing legend about the Giant Amazon Water Lily.  From the distant past deep in the Amazon Rain Forest, lived a Brazilian Indian Tribe.  The chief had told his Princess daughter a tale about how the moon was really a warrior.  She soon fell in love with the Moon Warrior and, sadly, would marry no other man in the village.  On the nights where there was a full moon, she would chase after moonbeams trying to embrace her Moon Warrior.  On one such night, she was dashing through the jungle and came upon the calm waters of a lake.  There, brightly shining on the water was the reflection of her beloved Moon Warrior.  The Princess had thought the Moon Warrior had finally come down to earth to be with her.  She dove into the water and tried to swim out to the Moon Warrior, but soon drowned.  The Moon Warrior proved to be no myth and had great compassion for the Princess.  Although he did not possess the magical ability to restore her life, he thoughtfully transformed her into a magnificent earthly star upon the waters.  In the heart of the Amazon jungles, this star blooms in the form of a giant Water Lily.  During a full moon, the star blossom floats serenely on the river and opens up to gaze upon its beloved Moon Warrior in the heavens above.  It is not surprising that the meaning of the Water Lily is “Purity of Heart”.

Supplies
Water Lily stamp, retired (TAC, the Angel Company)
Versamark stamp pad (Tsukineko)
Black Detail Embossing Powder (Ink It!)
Heat Tool (Milwaukee ~ TAC)
Radiant Pearls: Snowqueen, Sapphire on Ice, Dragonfly Wing (LuminArte)
#1 Fine Liner brush
#3 Round brush
#6 Round brush
White Watercolor Cardstock; ½ sheet
Water Patterned Paper; cut to size 4”x5¼”
Teal 80 lb. card stock; cut to size 5½”x8½”
Carl Rotary Disk Cutter
X-Acto Personal Trimmer
Bone Folder (TAC)
Yellow Embroidery Floss (DMC)
Mono Adhesive (Tombow)
Sticker Machine (Xyron)
Foam Tape
Diamond Border Punch (Fiskars)
Basin of Water
Viva Paper Towels

Instructions

Ink up the leaves on the Water Lily stamp with a Versamark stamp pad and stamp image on the green batik specialty paper.   Using the Versamark stamp pad, ink up the flower on the Water Lily stamp and stamp out 4 images on the white watercolor card stock.  Re-ink the Water Lily stamp each time it is used.    Sprinkle on the black embossing powder and heat emboss all images.  Cut out the leaves from the green batik specialty paper.  Cut out one whole Water Lily flower.  For the second flower, cut out the 6 middle flower petals.  For the third flower, cut out the center 4 petals and make a slit in the middle.  For the last flower, cut out the top 2 petals.  Cut out one dragonfly.

Rinse out brushes between colors and dry on a Viva paper towel before proceeding with a new color.

Using a #6 round brush, paint each flower petal with Snowqueen.  Starting at the base of each petal, apply Sapphire on Ice with a #3 brush.  Load only the tip of the brush with paint and thinly spread the paint towards the tips of the petal.  The heaviest concentration of color is going to be at the base of the petal.  The color should be very sheer towards the end of the petal allowing some of the white to show through.  After all the petals have been painted in this manner, apply shading to the base and sides of each petal.  Using a #1 detail brush, load only the tip of the brush in Sapphire on Ice paint.  Stroke the paint on starting at the base and ending about ¼” up the petal.   Stroke the paint on in the crevices of the petal going all the way to the tip of the petal.  The paint should be stronger at the base while fading out towards the petal tip.  Refer to the photo for a color placement guide.  Apply Dragon Wing paint to the Dragonfly.  Allow all painted pieces to dry. 

With a Diamond Border Punch, punch each side of the water patterned paper.  This will take 2 punch cuts, which is an easy process.  Line up the paper on the back of the punch in the grooves for the second punch.  Longer border punch cuts can be achieved in this manner.

Fold the Teal card in half with a bone folder.  Apply Mono Adhesive to the back side of the water patterned paper and attach to the front of the Teal card.  Run the Green Batik leaves through the Xyron Sticker Machine face up and attach it to the water patterned paper.  Cut six ½” lengths of embroidery floss and slip through the flower cut-out that has a slit in it.  Secure the floss with tape to the back side.  Apply foam tape to all the 4 cut flower sections and dragonfly.  Place the whole flower down first onto the Green Batik leaves.  Align the cut-out with 6 petals onto the whole flower.  Next, attach the cut-out with the four petals and floss.  Align the last 2 petals on top.

Clean brushes with soap and water.

Published previously on SS Reflections

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