Blended Background Prairie Grass

Hello Friends!  Today I'm going to step away from that fabulous Sunflowers 3D Embossing Folder and do a little creating with the new Prairie Grass stamp set I just received.  This is a little stand-alone stamp set that is a real treasure as far as I'm concerned.  There are three silhouette images and five sentiments to use.  You'll only find it in the Online Exclusives section in the online store.

The first time I saw this stamp set, I knew exactly what I wanted to do with it.  I love doing blended backgrounds and this would be the perfect setting for this large stamp.  The large stamp in the set almost covers a whole card front.  But it's still so delicate looking and the background shines through very nicely.  Let me walk you through the steps to make this lovely card.

The first decision was the color of the cardstock for the design layer.  I chose Basic White because I wanted the sun to be a bright white area instead of a vanilla shade.  The Basic White cardstock was cut to measure 3 3/4" x 5".  Then the large grass stamp was stamped onto this using Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  The image was positioned near the left side and the top of the grass was about 1/4" from the top of the cardstock.  This leaves a small bit of the stamp that is off the bottom of the cardstock.

The next step was die-cutting a 'mask' for the sun area.  I used one of the Stylish Shapes Dies to cut a circle from Masking Paper.  This is something I don't use often, but it really comes in handy to mask off an area when needed.  It can be re-used more than once if you're careful putting it on and off, so it's great when making multiples of the same card.

The mask is positioned tucked into the stamped design to make it look like the grasses were partially in front of the sun.

The first color that is blended onto the design is Daffodil Delight ink.  The ink is added heavier near the edge of the sun and blended out at least an inch.  Next some Coastal Cabana ink was very lightly added.  Then Balmy Blue ink was added to the edges in the sky area.

Next up is working in the ground portion of the picture.   First, I tried adding Granny Apple Green, but it didn't have enough depth to ground the card.  Then Old Olive ink was blended onto the design.  Perfect.

Carefully peel off the mask to use again if desired.  

The sentiment used here and inside the card is from the Hope You Know stamp set.  Lots of lovely sentiments in this set.  The hello was stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink inside the sun area.

I wanted some birds flying in the background.  The bird stamp in the Sunrise Sailing stamp set was stamped 3 times to fill the design a little.  Memento Tuxedo Black ink was used for these too.

It was time to get the card put together.  This layer was attached to a Basic Black layer that measures 4" x 5 1/4".  They are attached with adhesive.  After adhering together, Linen Thread was wrapped around the bottom of this three times then tied into a knot.  The ends of the thread were frayed.

This was all attached to a folded Old Olive cardstock base.  Dimensionals were used for this.

The inside of the card has a Basic White layer for the sentiment that measures 4" x 5 1/4".  This sentiment coordinates with the sentiment on the front and is stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black ink.

To coordinate with the front, I stamped part of the large image along the left bottom corner of this layer.

The edges all around this layer also have a small amount of Balmy Blue (top 2/3) and Old Olive (bottom 1/3) blended on.  I liked just a little bit of the extra color added here.  I also added a 1/4" strip of Basic Black cardstock to the bottom edge with adhesive.

This layer was added to the inside of the card with adhesive.

One last look at the final design.  Oops, I forgot to mention that two of the Adhesive-backed Dragonflies & Birds were added to the design.  I thought they coordinated well with the stamped birds and added just a small touch of bling.

Just a reminder that the 2025-2027 In Color Sale is going on through the end of the month of August.  There are actually three pages of products that are on sale for 15% off.  You don't want to miss this sale.

Thank you for stopping by today to see what I've been working on lately.  Hope you give this idea a try and then come back for another idea boost.  Should I add another card idea or two using the Sunflower 3D Embossing Folder?  I still have more ideas, but I don't want to totally bore you with them all.  Just because I'm nuts about this embossing folder doesn't mean everybody else is.  So, what do you think??  Whatever you prefer, make sure you keep creating and then sharing your "art with heart" with your family and friends.  It's sure to put a smile on someone's face!

Happy stamping and creating,

Sharon

sharoncarr50@gmail.com