Get THE MOST from your Stenciled Backgrounds!
Happy Day #1 of our National Craft Month Celebration!
I’m thrilled to be bringing you two weeks of crafty inspiration and I hope you learn something that inspires you to get in your craft room and create.
For today’s post I’ll be sharing how to get the most from your stenciled backgrounds!
For the cards shown above, I used the Layered Rainbow Stencil Set which is a 6x9 inch stencil set with five layers that fit together to create a colorful, radiant rainbow background. While this set is so fun to play with, it can take a few minutes to fully ink up which makes getting the most usage out of the background a real timesaver.
Here’s two tips for stretching the use of one background to make two card projects:
Tip #1: Strategically Cut Your Backgrounds
For the two cards above, I used one inked background to create two 5 1/4 inch square cards. My first idea what to cut a square right from the center of the stenciled background to include as much color as possible on my card-front. I trimmed about 1 3/4 - 2 inches off each side, but I recommend using either a square die or a piece of scratch paper that you use to trace where you want to cut as I found the method I chose to be a little bit difficult.
Once I had my square panel, I noticed that the two leftover scraps were just larger enough to be used on another card project! All I needed to do was adhere them along either side of another square cardbase and add a panel in the center to cover the gap. This center panel acted as the perfect backdrop for my sentiment from Color In Sentiments.
To finish off both of these cards I used a few stamped butterflies from Fluttering By and a few clear sequins. On the full rainbow card, I used the Script Greetings Die Set to cut “celebrate” from black cardstock and a shadow layer from vellum. I really did not want to cover any of the background so I opted for vellum instead of white cardstock.
If you’re curious, here are the ink colors I used for the background and stamping: Spun Sugar, Picked Raspberry, Candied Apple, Spiced Marmalade, Mustard Seed, Fossilized Amber, Twisted Citron, Mowed Lawn, Tumbled Glass, Peacock Feathers, Shaded Lilac and Wilted Violet Distress Inks by Ranger. Black Jack Premium Dye Ink from Catherine Pooler Designs and Tsukineko VersaFine Clair Pigment Ink in Nocturne.
Tip #2: Create your own Die Cuts
For my second tip, I wanted to encourage you to cut up your stenciled backgrounds to create your own die cuts! On the card on the left, you’ll see that I actually trimmed a smaller rainbow (six rays) from the center of another stenciled panel. This allowed me to fit the design onto a smaller A2 sized card and leave some white space where I could add some vellum clouds. This tip is a great way to take larger backgrounds and scale them down to whatever project you’re working on.
For the card on the right, you’ll notice there’s an interesting overlapping pattern going on on the background. This was created by using the piece that was leftover after I cut out the six rays in the center from the first card. Once you cut the center out, you’re left with a rainbow arch piece. I took that piece to my trimmer and cut it in half, turned the two cut pieces upside down (they’ll look like a U) and then overlapped them together. You’ll find that the two pieces fit nicely together and measure about the same size across as an A2 card. I know this sounds confusing, but it’s so easy! Take a peek at the video below for a visual tutorial.
I encourage you to take another peek at your stenciled backgrounds and try to think of creative ways you can get more usage from them. Whether it be cutting them apart, flipping them around, die-cutting images from them - whatever makes you feel inspired! I hope the two ideas I shared today can act as a jumpstart for your creativity!
Giveaway!
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Products Used:
