Two For Tuesday - Large Background Sketched Foliage

Hello & Happy Tuesday! 

I was determined to get to make and share two cards in-between work jobs today and answering emails. So if you're awaiting a reply from me, I apologise, I *needed* to sit and create something! 

One of my jobs today was a stock check & website update. As much as this can be a tedious task, it was also a nice reminder of all the lovely stamps I have neglected to use! One that stood out to me today was Large Background - Sketched Foliage.

So I dusted my stamp off and got to inking it up. I had no particular plan or layout in mind and just went with the flow. 

With it being a large stamp, I use my stamping tool for this background. For my first card I trimmed a panel of white card to 10 x 13.5 cm and stamped the background onto it. I did mask the bottom of my panel to keep the border 'equal' by eye all the way round. 

With using a stamping tool I was able to easily ink the stamp with two colours. I stamped the top with Altenew Olive ink and the bottom with Altenew Moss ink to create a subtle two tone effect.

I think this foliage image is perfect for both feminine and masculine cards. So for this first card I kept it more masculine, simply adding the Happy Birthday sentiment from Floral Vines. I did embellish with a few enamel dots from my stash.

For my second card today I opted for a more feminine design and used just snippets of the background to create a fun focal point. 

As you can see I decided to pair the background with the smallest butterfly from English Country Garden Butterflies. I think the sketched foliage is a wonderful backdrop to pair with them. 

I inked and stamped the foliage in Altenew Olive ink. I then die cut 3 stitched circles from the panel and used the negative to help me place them onto my card base. The sentiment is from Simply Said Blocks II (available on backorder & due in 24th Jan) and I know so many people coming down with Covid, hence my choice! 

The butterflies are stamped, die cut and coloured with water based markers. I then added a colourful second non stamped die cut underneath, securing just down the body of the butterfly. I wanted to tie in the colours I used to colour and also create a feel of fluttering wings. 

I hope you've enjoyed this brief look at the Large Background - Sketched Foliage. I am always open to suggestions, if there is a particular stamp set, designer die or stencil you are looking for ideas for, just add them to the comments! 

Crafty Hugs