Using Stencils to Create a Colorful Background on White Cardstock

Ingrid

Hello again Crafty Friends! Today I’m sharing another card made with a stencil from A Colorful Life Designs. I’m so glad they invited me to be a guest designer for the month of March because I’m having so much fun playing around with their stencils.

One of my favorite things about stencils is how easily they transform white cardstock into the look of beautiful patterned paper in colors of my choice. To create this background, I inkblended over the Changing Dots Stencil on a half sheet of white cardstock with blender brushes. I used Hammermill Premium Color Copy Cover 100 lb. This paper is great to achieve a smooth blend. The inks are Hero Arts Hero Hues Reactive Inks in Berry Smoothie, Fruit Punch, and Lemon Drop. These inks give a beautiful, smooth blend in bright, bold colors.

After I removed the stencil, I used the ink left on my blender brushes to blend back over the white space. This leaves a lighter wash of the colors, allowing the polka dots to stand out but also softening the look. Next, I used a rectangle die cut to cut the paper into a 4” x 5 ¼ panel. I diecut two more rectangles in the same size and glued them together for dimension. Then I adhered this panel to a A2 ( 4¼” by 5½”) top folding notecard.  

I then cut out the dandelion using the Pinkfresh Studio Floral Squares Die three times. I stacked and glued the diecuts together to add dimension. I wanted to soften the square behind them so I used a square die to cut out a piece of vellum the same size as the square around the dandelion. I also diecut a square of Scrabook.com’s Clear Double Adhesive roll. I used this to adhere the vellum to the card without showing any glue (which is always the tricky part of working with vellum). I added the layered floral die cut over that with glue. 

The “Happiest Wishes” sentiment is from Simon Says Stamp Sentiment Strips All Things Happy. I used a black Sharpie to color the white edges black and then adhered it to the card with a thin foam strip.

If you are interested in purchasing the Changing Dots Stencil or any other stencils from A Colorful Life Designs, be sure to use my code IngridDesigns for 10% off your complete order (excluding master creator bundles because those are already 20% off). This code is good for all of March 2023.

Stenciling on Kraft Cardstock

Ingrid

Hello Friends! I’m so excited to be guest designing for A Colorful Life Designs for the month of March. While I was gifted these beautiful stencils, I picked them out myself and my thoughts and opinions are my own. (And spoiler alert: I really love them!)

Today, I want to share with you my first design using the Delicate Flowers Stencil. I began by ink blending white pigment ink on Kraft cardstock. I removed the stencil and let the ink dry for about 15 minutes. (If I was using dye inks over it, I probably would have waited even longer or used a heat tool to set the white pigment ink.)

Next, I replaced the stencil shifting it just a little down and to the right. This leaves a little bit of the white showing and helps gives the flowers extra dimension. Then I inkblended over the stencil again in three different colors of Distress Oxide Inks: Picked Raspberry, Mustard Seed, and Salvaged Patina. I made sure to overlap these colors to get a little bit of orange and green in between. The more you overlap, the more of those in between colors you’ll get. 

When I was done, I used a rectangle die to trim the Kraft cardstock into a panel measuring 3.75 x 5 inches. I used foam tape to mount the cardstock onto a side opening A2 white card base. I diecut the Pretty Blossom Stem from Memory Box three times from white cardstock and glued the layers together.  I liked how the flower looked best hanging off the card a bit so I trimmed off the leaves and stem that were hanging off. I then looked through my stash of sentiments and found this “you’re the best” sentiment from the Positive Vibes Clear Stamp from Essentials by Ellen. It is white embossed on black cardstock. 

I love how this card feels so cheery and bright and the stencil made creating a beautiful background so easy! If you are interested in purchasing this stencil or any others from A Colorful Life Designs, be sure to use my code IngridDesigns for 10% off your complete order (excluding master creator bundles because those are already 20% off).  This code is good for all of March 2023.

A Cheery Rainbow Card

Ingrid

I love to create cheery cards. I don’t know that there are many things cheerier than rainbows!

To make this card, I started by using a stencil from the Buenos Dias Collection by Obed Marshall. I ink blended through the stencil using Hero Arts Hero Hues Reactive Inks in Fruit Punch, Lemon Drop, Key Lime Fizz, Pool Party, and Berry Smoothie. These inks blend beautifully–smooth and bright.  Then I used a rectangle die to die cut the colorful background. It measures

Next, I die cut Erin Lee Creative Rainbow Clouds Die three times. I ink blended the rainbow stripes in the same colors I had used on the background. I stamped the sentiment “God is Faithful” from Erin Lee Creative’s Be the Light Stamp Set. I then glued together all the three layers with the rainbow colors on top. 

I glued the rainbow and clouds to the ink blended background and then used foam tape to mount it to a A2 size notecard. I love the extra white space with the colorful background.

I love how bright and cheery it turned out! What are your favorite things to put on encouraging cards? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear from you!