Hi friends! Christina here to share this vibrant pond scene featuring the gorgeous new Block Print Elegant Koi die set. I paired this elegant fish with the Block Print Koi Duo and created a fun bokeh-inspired background using just a few circle stencils. This card is perfect for any occasion and would surely brighten anyone’s day. Keep scrolling to find out how this card design came together!
I started by creating the bokeh-inspired background. This is such a simple technique, and it creates a really versatile background that can be used for many different card designs. Plus, it can easily be customized to coordinate with the color palette of your card design. All you need are circle stencils in different sizes, two to three inks of the same color but different shades, and a white pigment ink! Here’s how I did it:
First, I trimmed a white cardstock panel to 4 x 5 ¼ inches. Then, using multiple circle stencils in different sizes and a trio of teal ink colors, I stenciled circles across the panel, overlapping some of them. I started with the lightest color and the biggest circle and then added smaller circles in darker colors, slightly overlapping some as I continued to stencil the entire panel. The inks I used are reactive with water like Distress Inks, so my next step was to splatter the panel with plain water for some texture and interest. Lastly, I used white pigment ink and two smaller circle stencils to add the final bokeh effect.
With the background completed, I got to work on the focal point of my card – the koi fish. First I die-cut all the pieces from white cardstock. Then I inked the pieces using two shades of orange and two shades of yellow ink. Before assembling the fish, I wanted to give them some added texture and interest too. I splattered all of the pieces with coordinating Mica Stains to give them some sparkle. Then I splattered the smaller koi with white spatter and the large koi with black spatter. Finally, I assembled the diecuts and attached them to my background with glue.
The last couple of steps were to add a sentiment and some embellishments. I die-cut the Big Hello Sugar Script from white cardstock and inked just the shadow portion with the darkest ink color that I had used for the background. I attached the sentiment and chose light blue crystal droplets as the finishing touch.
Thank you so much for reading about my vibrant koi pond card design featuring the new Block Print Koi dies with a bokeh-inspired background technique. See you again soon!
