Simple Delight

One of my very best friends is celebrating a birthday next week and I needed a special card to send to her at her new home in North Carolina. Purple is her favorite color, so that was the starting point for this card. Recently I've seen lots of no layer cards on Splitcoast Stampers using this technique, so I decided to give it a try. It uses masking to create a background for the card's focal image. This is really easy to do-- here's how to get this effect.

You need a white cardfront, a piece of sponge (I cut my stamping sponges into quarters to make them go farther and to get more flat surfaces to use), an ink pad, and a mask. I made this mask by punching out a large scalloped circle from a piece of scrap cardstock, but you could also use the Coluzzle to make one in any shape you want.

Place the mask over the cardstock. Tap the sponge into the ink pad, then tap the sponge over the space inside the mask. I started at the edges of the shape and worked towards the inside of the circle to fill it in. You could also use a brayer to fill in the mask. This would get a more intense and even color application.

Remove the mask and stamp your images over the shape. Add other images and embellishments to finish the card. I kept mine simple, keeping with the no layer theme. I added the flourish image along the left side and tied a piece of narrow organdy ribbon over the images, and highlighted the flower's center and petals with my Sakura Stardust gel pen for a little sparkle. This set has been hard for me to use--the images are not my usual style, but this card worked out well anyway.

Supplies Used:

Stampin' Up: Delight in Life stamp set; Whisper White cardstock; Almost Amethyst and Basic Black ink
Other: Marvy Uchida Mega Scalloped Circle punch; Sakura Stardust gel pen; white organdy ribbon from Joann's