Simple Backgrounds for CAS Cards

Hello, Tallie here.

More often recently I am finding I am creating cards that move towards the CAS - clean and simple - style. Lots of white space, one layer and perhaps one central image. Sometimes, just adding a simple shaped background can frame your central image and create a focal point. Today, I used the Mama Elephant Fuzzy Hugs stamp set, two sentiment sets and my alcohol markers to create two different cards.

I started by stamping out the adorable central image of hugging bears in some MFT Extreme Black Ink onto some blending cardstock. I then stamped out the sentiment from the Sugar Pea Designs Everyday Sentiments Stamp Set, centred underneath the hugging bears.

I then took out my alcohol markers and coloured the image in.

To create the background, I drew around one of my heart dies that perfectly framed the image lightly in pencil (make sure it is lightly as the pencil will be trapped under the marker ink). I then selected three coordinating teal markers and coloured in the heart, keeping it darker at the bottom and lighter at the top.

A little light grey shading under their feet grounds the image nicely.

This design is versatile and can be adapted to any shape or stamp set. Here's another example using the Mama Elephant Fuzzy Hugs stamp set and the MFT Bitty Thanks & Gratitude Stamp set.

Thanks for reading, catch you next week.

Tallie

  

Thank Ewe!

Hello, crafters!

Tallie here with you today with a quick and simple (at least, for me!) card design featuring the Avery Elle Peek-a-boo Pets stamp set and some alpha dies. A simple pun livens up this thank you card!

Starting with the background panel, I made a DIY stencil from some acetate and a Nesting Circles die. I aligned the circle over a white A6 panel and blended on some Distress Oxide inks in my favourite sky combo: Faded Jeans, Mermaid Lagoon and Cracked Pistachio.

I stamped out two shee and their trotters (if that's what you call them?) from the Avery Elle Peek-a-boo Pets stamp set with some MFT Extreme Black Ink onto some blending cardstock and coloured them in with my alcohol markers. To get the impression of really fluffy sheep, I used small 'C' shapes with some light earthy colours. I cut these out with the coordinating dies.

To create the punny sentiment, I used some more contrasting Distress Oxide Inks in Fired Brick, Candied Apple and Abandoned Coral to colour a white panel. I have a few favourite alpha dies for such occasions : (1) Lawn Fawn Finley's ABCs for taller and chunkier letters; (2) Concord & 9th Simple Serif Alphabet Dies for wider and squatter letters; or (3) Neat & Tangled Journalling Alphas dies for tall and skinny letters. I chose the Finley's ABCs as I thought these would fit better in the space, stacking three layers to give some dimension.

I needed a simple sentiment so I white heat embossed a partial sentiment from the MFT Bitty Thanks & Gratitude stamp set, trimming it into a strip and foam mounting it above the the alphas.

I'm now trying to think of other sentiments that I could use with this type of design. Or perhaps you could use the letters to personalise the card with the name of a recipient!

Thanks for reading, catch you next week.

Tallie