Hi there, Seeka here and today I’m sharing a card that combines an ink-blended background with a stenciled overlay.
I started with a 4.25″ x 5.5″ piece of Strathmore Bristol Smooth cardstock. Using Post-It tape, I masked off the borders and then used foam blending tools to blend Mustard Seed, Carved Pumpkin, and Abandoned Coral Distress Inks over the exposed area.
I let the panel dry for a few minutes and then removed the Post-It tape and replaced it with fresh tape. Next, I placed the Midnight Mandala stencil over the panel and used washi tape to hold it in place. Using a clean foam blending tool and tamping motion, I applied Hero Arts Unicorn white pigment ink over the stencil and onto the background. To keep my white ink pad pristine, I smooshed some ink onto my glass work surface and then picked it up from there with the blending tool.
I removed the stencil and the Post-it tape and set the panel aside to dry.
Next I used the Big Hello Sugar Script die set to die cut “hello” six times from white cardstock. I stacked two and adhered two layers together to end up with three sentiments. I adhered each to the shadow layer of the sentiment which I cut from vellum.
To assemble the card, I adhered the three hellos to the background with foam tape, and then adhered the card front to a card base.
This card has been created to hold a small gift. It’s a great way to present “a little something” extra inside a card such as a tea with a packet of honey, or a package of seeds, necklace, small pen, or notepad – anything that is about 1/4″ thick.
Today I’m going to show how each section of the gorgeous Enchantment Plate can be used to carry the design all the way from the outer sleeve to the inside of the card as it is opened by the recipient. Be sure to check out the video below to see this card in action. I’ve also prepared a written/photo tutorial below for those who prefer to read instructions.
I used silver for the background, watercolor wash for the middle layer, and white for the top layer. The Enchantment Plate design looks good in any orientation.
The main exterior of this card is actually a sleeve that holds an inner card. The design’s sections have been distributed between the outer sleeve, the inner notecard, and the inside of the notecard.
Here is a photo of what the sleeve looks like with no notecard inside. I love the patterned paper background made from Memory Box Springtime Bouquet – so pretty!
Here’s a link to a step-by-step video of how I made this card. For a photo and written tutorial, please scroll below the video. If you don’t see the video below, it can be viewed by clicking here. All products used are also linked below. Have a great day!
TUTORIAL: First off, each plate from this set die cuts 3 “sections.” This offers enormous possibilities with mixing colors.
Base layer is Silver, Middle Layer is Watercolored, Top Layer is White
As we go along, I’ll refer to each of these sections as outlined in the below photo: Section 1, Section 2, and Section 3.
When looking at this card straight-on, the entire design is visible.
When the recipient pulls it out of the sleeve, Sections 2 and 3 are attached to the notecard. When the notecard is opened, only the small section 3 shows, and still gives a nice design when the card is opened.
See the wonderful depth this creates between the card sleeve, the card, and the inside of the card when something bulky is inside?
The sleeve and notecard are cut from two pieces of white card stock. The first measures 9-3/8″ x 6-1/8″. The second is a standard-sized A2 card base, which measures 8-1/2″ x 5-1/2″ (scored down the middle for a normal side-folding notecard).
As shown in the photo below, I needed a quick wash of color for the middle layer. I used the new watercolor paper (available here at Birch Press Design) which is a beautiful, thick, 140-lb. paper. It holds all the water needed to create beautifully blended backgrounds. I wasn’t too particular, and this took no time at all.
While the watercolor background dried, it was time to score the outer sleeve that will hold the notecard. Using the larger piece, I scored 1/4″ all the way around.
Once it was scored all the way around, with the longer edge against the top of the scoreboard, I needed to score right in between two of the grooves of my scoreboard, which isn’t possible. To get around this, I made a tick-mark at the non-scorable section between 4-1/2″ and 4-5/8″ as shown in the below photo:
Then I bumped the mark over to the next groove on the right so I could score it there. I then scored two spaces over (1/4″).
Once all the scoring was done, I laid the piece out so one of the short edges (6-1/8″ side) was on top. To make the space for the design of Section 2 to show through, I made a template from a spare Section 1 and placed it where it will be on the card. Once placed, I traced where the half-circle needed to be. (I used a circle die that happened to fit perfectly from a nested circle set in my stash. This could also be done by hand with scissors.) Notice below that the top of the template only goes to the scored line; not to the top of the card. The very top will be folded under for extra reinforcement, so that’s not going to count.
Time to do the same thing with the notecard. Since the notecard will open up to the smallest section of the Enchantment Plate, I included the base plus Section 2 of the plate. This served as my template to mark where the smaller half circle needed to be cut.
That was all that was needed for the notecard – easy! Now, getting back to the larger outer shell, I creased all folds and cut the flaps as shown below:
I then glued each flap of the outer sleeve to form a very skinny box. Notice how the flaps fold from the top toward the back so there are no glued edges showing?
As can be seen in the photo above, the top flap is glued to the base on the inside for extra strength of the top rim. Left alone, it is a visible seam when the card is removed from the sleeve. To hide this and also provide a pretty backing, I chose a piece of patterned paper from the Memory Box Springtime Bouquet 6 x 6 pad, cut it to just a hair under 4-1/4″ x 5-1/2″ and glued that down.
After gluing each of the layers together, I adhered them to where they needed to be on the sleeve, outside of the notecard, and inside of the notecard. This would be a great project to make several of to have on hand for those quick “need a little something to give” cards.
I hope you enjoy this project! It is a very simple way to give a wonderful gift. It’s fast, and it’s fun!
Good morning! Ardyth here with 4 cards using the same, fun technique: creating a galaxy sky through a stencil!
I started by adhering the most open layer of the Mandala Stencil set on a white card panel with temporary spray adhesive.
I blended random areas of bright colours – lemon yellow, lime green and bright fuschia through the stencil, leaving most of the panel white.
I blended a mid-blue ink over the whole panel, darker around the edges and lightening up toward the centre.
Then I blended navy blue ink over the whole panel, again, dark around the edges and lightening up toward the centre.
A little note about creating galaxy skies – they all look very ugly through the whole process, until the very, very end. Don’t worry if you’re not happy with it at this stage, just keep going!
I blended black ink through the stencil, this time just at the very edge of the panel. Then, leaving the stencil on, I spritzed water and lifted up some of the colour with a paper towel.
Then, I mixed some white acrylic paint with water and tapped it over the panel to create stars (this is the point where it starts to look good!)
As you can see, I couldn’t stop. And I didn’t just use stencils either!
As well as the Mandala Stencil set, I used Bold Stripes Stencil, a home-made stencil created from a String Art Frame die cut, and the negative from the PoppyStamps Peaceful Dove die.
All my sentiments came from the You Are Awesome stamp set.
I hope you like these cards – there is a 1 minute video on our Instagram feed today showing the process in detail.
Hi there, Seeka here and today I’m sharing a sunny card using the Dazzler Layer die set.
First, I die cut Dazzer Layer C from white cardstock. Then I used three markers (Copic RV14, Y17, and Y15) to color the outer ring. I started with RV14, a pink, along the inside of the die cut and then added Y17, an orange-y yellow, next to it. This was very quick coloring with not a lot of attention to blending.
Then I added Y15, a yellow, around the outside edge.
Next, I used used the Dazzler Layer A die to cut another piece of white cardstock. I added a bit of glue around the inside of this die cut and adhered it over my Copic-colored piece, leaving the tips of each point un-glued, and curling them up a bit so that they stand up from the bottom die cut for a bit of dimension.
Then, I created a quick watercolor background using a Cool Aqua Karin Brushmarker Pro pen. I scribbled the pen over a piece of watercolor paper and then used a paintbrush and clean clear water to spread out the color, not blending out too smoothly and leaving a bit of color variation. I also added some white paint splatter using watered down white guache.
I trimmed my watercolor panel down to 4″ x 5.25″ and then adhered the my die cut piece to it. I also adhered the center die cut from Layer C (I love that each die layer results in two separate pieces!).
For the sentiment, I used the Best Friend stamp set and die cut the word “Hugs.” I die cut three more layers and then stacked and adhered all four layers together and then adhered the sentiment to the center of the star.
To finish, I used foam tape to adhere the card front to an A2-sized card base.
Hello readers! This is Crystal here with you today sharing some rainbow cards featuring the Lovely Butterflies stamp set. I’ve been creating a lot of rainbow themed cards lately, because I find them very cheerful and uplifting and I think we could all use more sunshine (and rainbows) in our lives right now!
The base of this first card was made using 80 lb. Neenah Solar White smooth cardstock. Using the Delfina Layering Plate A, I die cut the lattice background from white cardstock. I adhered a piece of rainbow paper behind the lattice using a Tombow dot runner before adhering both layers to the card base. I stamped the sentiment “Make a wish” in Memento Tuxedo black ink on a piece of scrap paper and notched the bottom end. I adhered thin pieces of orange, red and blue ribbon behind the sentiment and stapled it together. Yes, stapled! Why not?! It’s art!
I stamped a variety of butterflies from the Lovely Butterflies stamp set on vellum cardstock in Versamark ink and heat embossed them with white embossing powder. I die cut the butterflies using the coordinating Lovely Butterflies dies and adhered them to the card small pieces of 3M foam adhesive for added dimension.
To create the second card, I die cut the Butterfly Garden Layer Plate C from white cardstock. I adhered this over a piece of rainbow patterned paper. I stamped one butterfly on each of five different colored cardstocks (red, orange, yellow, green and blue) and heat embossed the butterflies with white embossing powder. I used the coordinating Lovely Butterflies dies to die cut the butterflies out.
I die cut a circle of vellum cardstock and stamped the sentiment in the middle of the circle in Versamark ink. I heat embossed the sentiment with white embossing powder and adhered it to the center of the card. I adhered the die cut butterflies down the left side of the card in a rainbow pattern. I adhered the butterflies to the card using small pieces of 3M foam adhesive.
I have created a YouTube video tutorial for you to watch and learn how both cards were created!
Thanks for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!
Hi there, it’s Tracey here today and I have a card and video to share with you. I remember as a kid that is was very common to receive funny store bought slimline cards for birthdays and other occasions. Slimline cards seem be popping up all over the web lately so today I created a 3 1/2″ x 8 1/2″ card that can be mailed in a standard No. 10 envelope and a video to show you what I did.
One of the challenges with creating these cards is what to fill all that space in with. The Regal Peacock layer set is a great design to work with this tall, slim card size.
To begin I cut a 7″ X 8 1/2″ piece of white cardstock for my card base and I scored it at 3 1/2″. Then I cut a 3 1/4″ x 8 1/4″ panel from Bristol Smooth cardstock that I blended Distress Oxide inks onto. I used Tumbled Glass and Salty Ocean Distress Oxide inks to create a blue background. Once I had the panel blended out I mixed some Perfect Pearls with water and splattered it on to the panel then set it aside to dry while I prepared the Peacock die cuts.
The main die for this set is Regal Peacock Layer A which cuts the peacock body and the solid tail. I created a rainbow tail because we could all use a little colour right about now. I die cut all the layers with cardstock–Layer A with a bright blue, Layer D with green, Layer C from bright pink and Layer B from orange. All the layers were glued together with liquid glue and I set it aside. I folded the card base along the score line and then attached the inner blended panel with tape runner.
The two line sentiment is from the ‘You Are Awesome‘ clear stamp set. I stamped and white embossed the large word ‘awesome’ near the bottom of my panel and then the line ‘you are so’ was white embossed on a strip of black cardstock and added just above.
The peacock was added to the top of the panel with foam tape. A tiny piece of foam tape was added behind the peacock’s head to give it a bit more support. You want your card to survive the mail and allow your recipient to enjoy it once it comes of out the envelope too!
Thank you so much for joining me today and I hope you are finding time to be crafty while you are staying/sheltering at home. Enjoy the rest of your week! Stay safe.
Hello everyone. Amanda Wilcox from Twiddler’s Nook here and I’m so excited to be joining Birch Press Design Creative Team. Today I have my first card share for you. It looks a little involved but it really is simple. Let’s get started.
I die cut each of the layers for the Frilly Triangle twice and glued them together.
Next, I moved on to ink smooshing my background. This is a fun technique that gives a great effect. You just color Tombow, or other water based markers, on a clear block, spritz with water and smoosh your paper on it.
After the first round, I used a heat tool on it and smooshed it on the liquid that was still on my block for a layered effect.
And a quick tip: If you have a laminator, run the panel through that once it’s dry to flatten it back out. It really helps.
Next, I moved on to my sentiments. I die cut the Big Lingo Happy 3 times – the shadow from white and the letters from black. I used my Quickie Glue Pen to adhere them together. This pen is great for skinny little spaces and keeping your fingers out of the glue.
For assembly, I adhered the smooshed panel to a card base and the frilly triangles to opposite corners. Then, I die cut the happy shadow 9 more times from white cardstock. See how the letters will overlap the triangles? We need to raise parts of the word up to meet those. So I cut the “H” off of 3, left the middle 3 alone and cut the “Y” off the last 3. Then I adhered everything together and then to my card.
Last, I stamped the Happy Birthday sentiment from Awesome Ticker Tape Messages and cut it out. This is popped up with foam tape on the middle Happy.
For finishing touches, I added Wink of Stella glitter brush pen to the banner sentiment and the die cut letters and some gems to both of the frilly triangles.
I hope you enjoyed today’s card and found some inspiration to create something beautiful.
Happy Saturday! I hope you’re having a great day and that the sun is shining so you can spend some time outdoors today! I am so happy the weather is warmer and I can feel the sun on my face!
Today I’ve got a glittery card so share made with the Flutter Plate Layer B. Here’s how I made it sparkle!
I applied packing tape to the back of a card stock panel before I die cut the panel. The tape prevents the panel from cutting all the way through providing an outline for me to color with markers.
I colored the panel with Copic markers but any marker will work. Don’t worry about staying in the lines.. no one will see!
I mixed Glossy Accents with micro find crystal glitter and then spread it over the colored panel with a spatula and then attached a panel cut from white card stock. When it was dry I attached another white die cut panel to add some depth and give a stained glass look.
This card is so sparkly and glossy it’s like candy for the eyes.
The simple sentiment is from the Best Friend stamp set.
Good morning! Ardyth here with a duo of rainbow thank you cards using the Floral Star layering set.
I wanted to see if I could get a layered look on a flat piece of cardstock, by using the die cuts as stencils. I thought about the order of layers and ink blending for a while (and made a mistake or two) before I was successful.
Here’s what I learned:
use the top layer (the one with the biggest holes) first and blend ink very lightly.
repeat with the second layer, with slightly more ink
finish with the bottom layer, and go heavy with the ink.
I love that I got a 4-layered look from the 3 die cuts – 3 different shades of colours and the white ‘on top’!
And of course I was left with 3 pretty, blended die cuts to use on another card. As I was gluing them together, I had a simple idea to add some interest and instead of lining up the petals (yellow on yellow etc), I turned each layer so that different colours were underneath.
Hello crafty friends! This is Crystal here today sharing two cards made using the beautiful Thankful Mandala background stamp. I chose to work with this stamp set because it was something very different for me, and I am so happy that I decided to challenge myself because I love how these cards turned out! In fact, I had so much fun experimenting with this stamp set that I’ll be sharing even more cards using it at the end of the month!
The very first thing I did after receiving the stamp was to actually cut down the Mandala! Yes, this was equally as scary as it might sound! I knew this could go wonderfully right, or horribly wrong really quick and that I was taking a chance at potentially ruining a $25 stamp set! I didn’t particularly like the large square shape of the mandala, so I trimmed off the outermost layer to give it more of that peacock edge shape. Fortunately, it worked out just fine! Phew!
Card details:
The base of this A2 sized card is made from 80 lb. Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock. I stamped the large mandala in Versamark ink on black cardstock and then heat embossed it with gold embossing powder. I cut the mandala in half in order to separate it on the card. I adhered each half to the top and bottom of the card base. I die cut the larger outline word “thanks” from gold foil paper and the smaller word outline from black cardstock. I mounted the two together using a Tombow tape runner and adhered both to the center of the card using 3M foam adhesive. Lastly, I stamped the sentiment “for all you do” in the middle of the card in Memento Tuxedo black ink.
For the second card, my card base is a sheet of turquoise cardstock. I stamped the mandala in Versamark ink on another sheet of turqoise cardstock and heat embossed it with white embossing powder. I trimmed the image down to 5″ x 3 3/4″ and mounted this stamped mandala onto a scalloped sheet of white cardstock. I adhered both sheets to the card base. I die cut the word “hugs” from both gold foil paper and white cardstock, layering the two together using a Tombow tape runner. I stamped the words “it’s your birthday” in Versamark ink on a thin strip of white cardstock and heat embossed it with gold embossing powder. I notched both ends before adhering it to the card below the word “hugs” using 3M foam adhesive.
I hope you have enjoyed these cards featuring the Thankful Mandala stamp set. Thank you for visiting and have a wonderfully creative day!
