I have not been a big collector of background stamps. I am not sure why, maybe because they aren’t as exciting as stamp sets with lots of options. At the moment I have three background stamps and I rarely use them. That said, when I spotted the Rays of Light background stamp in the 2022-2023 catalog, I knew I wanted it. There were some great sample cards made with it and I could see the possibilities in it.
For my first card with it I wanted to start simple – background stamp and sentiment. And I knew right where to look for the sentiment – Stepping Stones stamp set. This sentiment stamp set in the 2022-2023 catalog has great quotations so I knew there had to be one that would fit well with the Rays of Light stamp. Sure enough, this quotation about dreams seemed perfect. To keep with the simple idea, I decided to go traditional with the colors. I chose So Saffron to stamp the rays of sunshine as well as for the card base. I almost used it for the sentiment as well but decided that would be a little too monotone. Plus, So Saffron can be a little too light sometimes for a sentiment. In looking over the color choices, Calypso Coral seemed like a natural choice to pair with So Saffron for a sunshine card. I started to stamp the sentiment directly on the background but changed my mind and decided to pop it up on a strip of Very Vanilla. I also used Very Vanilla for the card front. I trimmed the edges with the Lovely Labels Pick a Punch, one of my favorites. I was challenged by another demonstrator to use a ribbon on a card this week in a different way so I wove a piece of Faux Suede ribbon through the dimensionals that I had used to pop up the sentiment.
As you can see, I didn’t just adhere the card front to the card base, I made a simple fun fold. The card base is 5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″ and it is scored at 4 1/4″. Rather than leave it there and simply adhere the card front, I thought it would be fun to score it again at 2 1/8″ and fold it back. This meant the the card front could be adhered to the front flap and serve as the card front but it would also be visible when the card was open. This allows the recipient the choice of displaying just the card front or opening it to display the card front and whatever was written on the inside of the card. It also allows for the inside of the card front to still be hidden by the card front when it is closed.
I hope you enjoy this simple fun fold. I know I did and I am looking forward to many more cards and blog posts this summer. Leave me a comment to let me know what you think. Until next time, have fun crafting!
Papercrafting With Amanda 