In today’s post, you’ll see 5 all occasion easy card ideas! These elegant cards were inspired by a simple card I love!
I’ve had the card sample you see in the photo below for probably 17 years! It’s a simple, elegant layout that I loved way back when I first made it and I still love it now! It is the inspiration for today’s set of 5 all occasion easy card ideas.
To recreate this design, I knew that I would need a long, somewhat large sentiment and a border stamp or long linear image of some kind.
Up until recently I just havn’t had images that fit the bill, but with theintroduction of the Heartfelt Wishes Stamp Sets I knew I had what I needed to recreate this design. The Heartfelt Wishes set will be available in the July to December 2021 MiniCatalog. I just love this new sentiment set!
I’m so happy that I kept this sample all these years and was able to use it as inspiration for my cards today! Now, all I needed to do was figure out what stamp(s) to use for my long linear elements along the top and bottom of my card.
After searching through my collection of stamps I found a lovely linear style element in the Elegantly Said Stamp Set from the New Annual Catalog. With my sample and these two sets I was pretty sure I had all that I needed to recreate my new design.
On the original card the linear elements were much bigger than the ones I’ve used here and when I tried them on the top and bottom of my larger Evening Evergreen panel, there was just too much space in the middle.
The scale of the shapes just wasn’t right. So, to solve the problem, I heat embossed my long images, on a smaller panel of Evening Evergreen cardstock, backed it with some black cardstock and popped the whole element up on dimensionals. It’s a small change but it brings all the pieces back into the right balance.
As you can see in the photo below, I’ve added some extra layers to the design to accommodate the different size and shapes of the images.
This card is made with Evening Evergreen cardstock which is one of the new 2021 – 2023 In Colors. I just love this color!
After I finished making this first card, I knew that it would be super easy to recreate in different color schemes with the other sentiments in the Heartfelt Wishes Stamp Set.
So, I picked a number of colors that met two important criteria.
- I chose colors that I thought would go well with gold heat embossing, and
- I picked colors with a regal feel so they would go with the elegant look of the stamped images.
Another consideration I had in mind was that I wanted at least some of my card versions to have a gender neutral feel to them. This first alternative is made with Soft Suede cardstock and ink. I can see using this for a Thanksgiving card or for a general thank you card as well.
Cherry Cobbler is the color used on this next card and it’s simply perfect for this elegant, holiday themed versionl
My set of cards wouldn’t be complete without a version in some shade of purple. Not only is purple and gold considered a regal combination but I’m simply a sucker for purple! “Sending Love” seemed like the perfect sentiment to pair with this color too!
So in case it’s not obvious, the sentiment piece on these cards is made using Vellum Cardstock. The sentiment is stamped using Jet Black StazOn Ink.
Tip: I recommend tearing off the edges of the Vellum cardstock first, adding some color to the edges second, and then stamp the sentiment last. When you stamp on Vellum it will take a while for the ink to dry. By stamping after completing the other steps you’ll be less likely to smear your sentiment by accident.
Here are four out of my five finished versions:
My last card is made using Misty Moonlight cardstock and ink and it’s also the one I made during my Facebook Live video.
There’s a link to this video at the end of this post.
One of my goals as a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator is to share ideas and teach methods that allow fellow crafters to create and design with more ease!
In this post I’ve shared details about what inspired my design and I talked a bit about my design process. There’s always a reason for every design choice. It’s all about creating balance in my layout, the size and scale of my elements, color choices, and additional accents to bring the design together. Every design process takes effort and thought even for the easiest of designs! I hope that by sharing my design process it will help you understand your own creative process and help you get to the fun of creating faster!
So… I encourage you to:
- Use my design, or someone elses and recreate it to make it your own.
- Pay attention to your own design choices and why something works or doesn’t.
- Step away from your project if you’re stuck and come back to it later with fresh eyes.
- Show your project in process, to a fellow crafter to get feedback or suggestions. Be open to ideas and then go with your gut on your final choice. The most important thing is that you like what you created and enjoyed the process of creating even though some of the process might not have been easy. 🙂
- Share what you’ve created! There is great satisfaction in completeing something (psychologists confirm this) and if you share it too, it’s like a little celebration of your accomplishment!
- Once you’ve made something you love, don’t stop there! Create variations on the same theme because once you’ve made one design that you like it’s so much easier to create variations on the same theme! I am a big fan of taking advantage of finding a creative groove and making lots of design variations! It’s just so fun and can feel very productive, if you crave that kind of satisfaction as I do! 🙂
I hope you enjoyed seeing these easy card ideas and that you’re inspired to created!
You’ll find project dimensions, a complete supply with links to my online store, and my video tutorial at the end of this post!
Happy Crafting!
Melissa 🙂
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The August to December 2021 Mini Catalog is coming on 8/3/21.
Learn how to make this in my Facebook Live video tutorial here:
The project demonstration begins at around 12-½ minutes in case you’d like to jump ahead.
If you watched this video here on my blog and enjoyed it, please go on over to my YouTube channel and give it a Thumbs Up, Share it with friends and Subscribe to my YouTube Channel. I’d be so grateful! Plus, once you subscribe, you’ll have the option to click on the bell, to be notified whenever I publish a new video.
Project Dimensions:
- Basic Black Card Body: 5-1/2″ x 8-1/2″
- Colored Layer #1: 4″ x 5-1/4″
- Basic Black Layer: 3-1/4″ x 5-1/4″
- Colored Layer #2: 3″ x 5-1/4″
- Vellum Cardstock: 1-3/4″ x 5-1/4″
Project Supplies:
Supplies Available to Get on 8/4/21:
- Heartfelt Wishes Stamp Set (Item #156541)
- Brushed Metallic Adhesive-Backed Dots(Item #156506)
Supplies Available Now:
