Mother’s Day Cards with Mixed Pattern Backgrounds

2017 Spring Catalog Kelly Purkey Mother's Day page-ideas

Apr 25, 2017 Aaron Leventhal

Mother’s Day is less than three weeks away so if you plan to make a special card or two before then, it’s a good time to get started! This year, inspired by some of my mother’s quilts, I made cards with mixed pattern backgrounds.

I started by embossing the Foliage Bold Prints background stamp onto a piece of watercolor paper, trimmed to the size of my card front. Using three similar shades of Distress inks, I watercolored over the embossed panel. After the watercolors dried, I opted to remove the embossing with a low-heat iron and copy paper. Then, I secured the watercolored panel to a white card base.

Next, I applied the same inks onto white cardstock over the Honeycomb Stencil, blending the inks to create graduated color. I secured the stenciled cardstock along the top edge of the card and then I added a strip of black cardstock between the two patterns.

Because I used the same inks to create both the watercolored and stenciled patterns, it was easy to achieve a cohesive pattern mix on the card’s background. At the same time, adding the narrow black strip to the background emphasizes the different patterns.

To create the sentiment, I stamped “MOM” onto a white flag-shaped panel using Kelly’s Everyday Alphabet. I colored the outline letters with colored pencils and then secured the flag to the card with foam tape. I also embossed the “Enjoy Your Day” sentiment from the Birthday Messages set onto a black cardstock strip and added it to the card.

To finish the card, I stamped a collection of delicious treats from the Bon Appetit set with Intense Black ink and then loosely watercolored each image before cutting around them with the matching dies. After securing them to the card, I added three gems.

What will be your inspiration for making Mother’s Day cards this year? Whatever inspires you, I’m sure that your cards will be beautiful and cherished! Wishing you a wonderful and crafty week,