Posted by Jayne Nelson
on February 01, 2022
Hi, friends! One of my favorite things to do during the long winter days of January and February is to make birthday cards that I can keep on hand to use during the year. I also like to find ways to reuse my favorite supplies but still make each card unique. Today, I’m using the wonderful Birthday Message Cover Plate to create three inked birthday backgrounds.
For each card, I started by using the Birthday Message Cover Plate to cut a “stencil” from masking paper. If you don’t have masking paper, you can overlap several strips of wide masking tape to create a larger piece for die-cutting. Or, you can cut a reusable stencil from an Acetate Sheet. After I die-cut my stencils, I positioned them on card-sized cardstock panels and then inked over them using these three different techniques.
1. Tone on Tone Background - This is the simplest way to create an inked background but it might be my favorite. By inking cardstock with a similar hue of ink, the result is a subtle, tone-on-tone design that can be used as a foundation for any collection of stamped images. I inked the background message with Blue Hawaii ink onto a Lapis card. Then, I stamped, colored and die-cut images with the adorable Party Animals set and the coordinating Frame Cuts. To create shadows, I used the same Frame Cuts to cut shapes from Pitch Black cardstock and then glued them behind the images with Precision Glue. I also added a simple birthday sentiment from the Rainbow HeroScape set.
2. Color Blocked Background - To create a colorful background, apply a variety of ink colors over your die-cut stencil, each color in a specific area. After positioning my stencil over a piece of Dove White cardstock, I isolated individual words for inking by temporarily covering other parts of the stencil with masking paper. One word at a time, I applied reactive ink over the stencil. The result is a crisp, bright, and colorful background, perfect for a birthday. Then, I added sweet images from the Flower Girls and Number Candles sets to make a personalized card for someone special.
3. Fully Blended Background - To create an overall blended background, start by selecting three inks next to each other on the color wheel. I applied Fruit Punch, Grape Slush and Blue Hawaii inks over my stencil which I had secured to a piece of white cardstock. After sufficiently inking the design, I removed the stencil and then lightly inked over the entire panel using the same three inks. The result is an ink blended background with the same design as the cover plate. Before adding a collection of embossed and colored peonies from the new Peonies Bunch set, I splattered the background with water drops. Then, I finished the card with a few Purple Enamel Dots.
I hope you’re inspired to create some inked backgrounds with your favorite cover plate. I’m planning on making a few more for my 2022 stash. Thanks for stopping by today. Wishing you a wonderful, crafty day,
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