I recently challenged myself to use one stamp set, Doodled Borders, to come up with two completely different looks. I’m a firm believer that you don’t need a lot of items in your crafting arsenal (though they are fun to buy 😃) to create beautiful projects.
As a reminder, here is the stamp set we are focusing on, as well as the first project, I shared:
In the first card above, I used subtle tone-on-tone stamping to create the illusion of snow falling in the background. If you missed that post, you can learn all about how I created this look, here. Then come on back to see the second project.
Today, I will show you how to use the same stamp set as the feature part of a card.
Card #2: The Star of the Show
The inspiration for this card came from the lined sheet of patterned paper from the Perfect Match collection. I loved the idea of stamping different borders and sentiments between the lines, almost like notes I used to write in class to my school crush (that would NEVER be sent, obviously). You could easily recreate this look without the patterned lined paper by either drawing lines on a piece of white cardstock with a black marker, or even skipping the lines altogether and just stamping the borders one above the other (though I recommend using a ruler to space them out evenly).
Next, I shopped my stash for all stamp sets that have borders and lovey-dovey sentiments (that would fit between those lines). I did reach for some older products to find enough stamps to keep from repeating a border/sentiment, but this card could easily work with a repeating pattern of just 3-4 border stamps from the Doodled Borders stamp set, as well.
Once I had all the stamps chosen, I started by stamping the sentiments first, using black ink. Then I went back and added the various border stamps to fill in the white spaces, alternating using CTMH Exclusive Inks in Candy Apple and Flamingo. Since I was going for a “hand doodled/written” look reminiscent of school notes passed around in class, I wasn’t preoccupied with perfectly straight and continuous stamping – you’ll notice that stamps on the very top and bottom lines aren’t perfectly connected.
Next, I matted the card on black cardstock, and then added some Candy Apple and Flamingo card stock pieces in the back to tie the colours together. I used French Vanilla card stock as my card base, as the lined paper from Perfect Match has a slightly darker white hue than the usual card bases I use from CTMH.
As a last step, I cut out two hearts in Candy Apple and Flamingo to tie it all together. I used the retired Stitched Hearts thin cuts for this. You can use any heart thin cuts, or even cut the shapes out by hand – simply fold a piece of paper in half and draw half a heart on the fold, then cut it out and use it as a stencil on cardstock to create your hearts #easypeasylemonsqueezy
When I first envisioned this card in my mind, I wasn’t sure if it would work out, or end up being a Hot-Mess Express with all the different patterns and words. I think in keeping the colours cohesive (the same red and pink inks and papers), as well as using the hearts to create a focal point for your eye, I helped to keep this busy card from paper project disaster.
What do you think? Does this busy border background work for you? Or are you more of a subtle background kind of person?
Supplies (all CTMH unless stated otherwise):
- Inks: Intense Black Exclusive Ink, Candy Apple Exclusive Ink, Flamingo Exclusive Ink
- Stamp Sets: Doodled Borders (February Stamp of the Month), Howdy Neighbour (Stamp + Thin Cuts), Months of the Year – February,
- Paper: Perfect Match Paper Packet, Black Cardstock, Candy Apple Cardstock, Flamingo Cardstock, French Vanilla Cardstock – (as an aside, I prefer to buy my solid cardstock using the 12 or 24-custom sheet option, which allows me to select different colours, rather than buying the colours in bulk.)
- Thin Cuts: Stitched Hearts (no longer available)
About CTMH Stamp of the Month Special:
- Available only for the duration of the month (Doodled Borders will retire on Feb 28th)
- Regularly priced at $25.75, customers can get it for $6.75 with a qualifying order of $60 (before tax)
- VIP customers can add the SOTM for free to their qualifying order of $60 (before tax) – click here to learn more about becoming a VIP customer to take advantage of this special offer.
Interested in purchasing this card or similar ones? Head on over to the Handmade Cards section of this website.
Thanks for joining me!
Aggie – Arrows of Hope Designs 💘
arrowsofhopedesigns.ca 