Hi friends and welcome to today’s fun tutorial!
How to make striking cards using patterned stamps and Dew Drops
Today’s tutorial will show you how to create a striking card using a few simple techniques; ink blending, stamping, heat embossing and of course Dew Drops!
Supplies list
- Coloured inks of your preference
- White smooth card for ink blending on to
- A large patterned stamp of a variety of smaller patterned stamps
- White embossing powder, anti-static powder tool, embossing ink pad & heat tool
- Black card for mat layer and sentiment
- Foam tape
- A sentiment stamp
Starting off
To start off this project, you will need to decide on your colour scheme and choose ink pads that will blend nicely together and not create muddy, unattractive blends. You can use any inks and blending tools you have at hand, or are your preference. I quite like ink blending brushes and in this project I used predominantly Distress Inks, but its fine to mix different companies inks with each other. I decided on a rainbow type blend, but a blend of one or two colours, such as blue and green, or various shades of pink would look equally lovely.
Next, in order to make your striking card using patterned stamps, you will need to choose either a large patterned stamp, like I did, or one or more smaller stamps and arrange them so you can cover the card panel. It is best to do the stamping and heat embossing in stages, as you get better results. Make sure you watch the video for extra tips and techniques on how to achieve good results with both your ink blending and your heat embossing.
YouTube video: https://youtu.be/TtITZwzD8YY
Ink blending
I tend to blend my colours from lightest to darkest. After first creating an area of yellow at the bottom of my card panel, I moved onto orange directly above and also slightly over the yellow area. After I had laid down enough orange ink, I went back in with the yellow ink to soften the stark contrast between the two colours. You repeat this step each time you add in a new colour and that is the key to getting a seamless blend.
Stamping & Heat Embossing
It is my preference in the vast majority of my crafting to use a stamping platform. This gives more room for error as you can always add extra layers of ink if you need to. For this project, because the stamp was large, after stamping it in the centre of the card, applying white embossing powder and then melting that with a heat tool, I had to move my card panel around the platform, so that I had enough space to stamp each corner. A good tip for improving your heat embossing results is to always ensure your heat tool is hot (has been turned on for about 10 seconds), before you take it to the paper. Once the powder has melted, don’t leave the heat tool there much longer as you risk burning the paper.
Assembling the card
I think a card always looks more professional when it has at least one mat layer. Because this project is so colourful, using a black mat layer and sentiment strip is an excellent contrast, making the card more eye catching and striking looking. Ensure you either use rectangular dies of decreasing size, or that you measure your main panel and any mat layers, to ensure the borders are even. A card can be amazing, but if the border is wonky and uneven it will let down your masterpiece and we don’t want that!
Next, the fun part of deciding how you want to position your Dew Drops! I adore patterns in crafting, home decor etc and making cards using patterned stamps can be so much more effective and striking when adding Dew Drops and Gems. I opted to use some of the tear drop shaped Dew Drops within the larger portions of the Mandala itself, as well as arranging single Dew Drops or small clusters around the panel. In this project I opted to use Dew Drops that were the same colour as the area of the panel I was placing it.
Summary
I hope you have enjoyed this written tutorial and head over to YouTube to watch the video for a more thorough explanation and to see the card come to life. I have included some more close up photos below for you, along with details of my own Socials, if you want to check them out. Happy crafting, Terri xx
Terri’s/VeegsTez Creates Socials:
Instagram: @veegstez https://www.instagram.com/veegstez/
Facebook: Veegstez Creates https://www.facebook.com/VeegstezCreates
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/VeegstezCreates
Wow!! love that ink blending!! Fabulous colors! The dew drops really accent it beautifully!