I am always forgetting people’s birthdays so sometimes I need to make a quick birthday card. Not only that, but shop bought cards are expensive! This card tutorial shows you how to use a simple inking technique that will allow you to make a great looking card. Even better this card will cost pennies to produce and only takes a few minutes to put together.
Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links (*), meaning, at no additional cost to you, I will earn a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.
Here’s what you’ll need for this card tutorial:
- Stamps of your choice (I used a stamp that came free with a craft magazine,temporarily mounted onto an acrylic block).
- White 17.5cm/7in square card blank (although you can use any size card blank).
- Inkpads in two coordinating colours – I used Spiced Marmalade Ranger Tim Holtz Distress Inkpad and Dandelion Memento Inkpad.
- Jet black Stazon Ink Pad.
- Post-it notes.
- Clingfilm.
- Plastic supermarket bag.
Step one:
Place post-it notes 2cm down from the top edge of the card blank and 9.5 cm from the top of the card leaving a 7.5cm space in between. You can see that I have used tape to help keep the two post-it notes together, you don’t need to do this but you may find it helps to keep the edge straight.
Step two:
Take a piece of cling film and scrunch it up. Use the cling film to stamp the Dandelion ink onto the space between the post-it notes. Roughly fill the space using this technique rotating the cling film with each stamp so that the ink is placed more randomly on the card. I forgot to take a photo of the finished look – sorry! I’ll do better next time.
Step three:
Next, scrunch up the supermarket shopping bag and repeat with the Marmalade ink pad. This adds an extra layer of colour over the yellow.
Step four:
Allow the ink to dry fully (if you have one you could use a heat gun to speed up the drying time) then carefully peel off the post-it notes to reveal a panel of colour across the card. NOTE – if the ink is not completely dry, the post-it notes could tear your card!
Step five:
Stamp your chosen image in the middle but on the left-hand side of the yellow panel using Jet Black Stazon Ink Pad. I used a sunflower stamp which was slightly larger than the inked panel to add a little bit of drama to the card.
Step six:
Finally, stamp a sentiment on the right-hand side just below the yellow panel using Jet Black Stazon Ink Pad and your quick birthday card is finished. You may have spotted that the inked panel in the photo above is larger than the previous photo… this is because I accidentally dropped the inked sentiment stamp onto the card and had to start again. The inked panel ended up being larger than the original but I think both styles look great don’t you?
You could experiment with the size of the panel or even create a square panel in the middle of the card instead of across the top. This technique will work just as well with other shaped cards too, have a go and see what you can come up with.
If you have a go at this card tutorial, or try experimenting with the inking technique, I’d love to see the results. Tag me on Instagram #GorgeousCraftsUK
Happy crafting!
