Looking for a stylish yet fast to make card, perfect for gifting to friends who deserve a little break? The epitome of Clean & Simple, today’s graphic card by EH Design Ambassador Carolyn Peeler combines patterned paper, rectangles, and simple watercolour painting to create something special that won’t take long to whip up!
Hi fellow card makers, Carolyn Peeler here to share a CAS card I made a few weeks ago for a friend who I thought deserved a little gift card treat so that her next tea (or coffee) would be on me.
After I decided on the purpose of my card, I went through my stamps to find the perfect set and the “A Breve Note” Essentials by Ellen set jumped out at me.
I started by Stamping the teacup and steam onto Ranger Watercolour Paper using their Jet Black Archival ink (you could use any other black, waterproof black ink too, such as the Hero Arts Bold Intense Black or Catherine Pooler Midnight).
Next, I added colour to the stamped image with watercolour. While you could certainly break out your paint pigments, or watercolour pencils, I chose to make my watercolours using Distress Inks in Spun Sugar, Worn Lipstick, Pumice Stone, Vintage Photo, and Peeled Paint.
To make my watercolours, I smooched the inks onto a Ranger Silcone/Craft mat, then added a few drops of water to mix in with the ink. From there, it was time to paint the teacup, tea and steam – oh, and remember to “ground” your image by adding a shadow underneath the cup – it’s a small thing, but adds so much.
Next, I prepped my card base. I chose the grey heart patterned paper from the HoneyBee “Sweet on You” 6×6 paper pad to reinforce the “here’s a gift because I care” vibe that I was going for on the card. Then, I offset a rectangle in the coordinating Hero Arts “Peony” pink cardstock on the upper left of the card front.
Before adhering the teacup focal point to the card front, I stamped the “This one’s on me” greeting onto the bottom right of the card with black ink. Finally, I added foam tape to the back of the teacup block so that it was raised from the background of the card. This is a simple, but effective, method of adding visual interest to a CAS card.
(As an aside, if I was giving this card to my friend in person I would not have added so much tape – I would have just put some smaller pieces around the border, and one small piece in the centre. However, when I mail a card, I like to add a bit more tape in order to be sure that when/if it’s crushed during its cross country voyage the element remains raised instead of being deflated.)
And, there you have it, a CAS card perfect for housing a gift card to your favourite coffee shop. Thanks for joining me today, and please don’t hesitate to ask if you have any questions. – Carolyn
3 Comments
So pretty!
A really nice design, I like the off cuts of paper staggered like that. Looks great. Tfs xx
this is sooooo pretty!
I’m going to share in the Coffee Loving Papercrafters FB group!