3 Handmade Cards 1 Design

Hi everyone! It’s Lindsay here with you today, from the Crafting While Caffeinated Blog and YouTube Channel, and I have a super fun video to share with you. It’s all about using 1 design/layout/sketch across multiple cards without having them all look the same!

There are so many times I head into my craft room, but as soon as I step in, the ideas are gone! Or I make a background or use a technique, but can’t think of how to FINISH the project. In today’s video I want to share different ways I like to use the same design to create many different cards. Watch the video below for all the details!

three handmade cards all following the exact same sketch!

The Video Tutorial

The video above contains products that were sent to me free of charge for design purposes. I only ever design for companies that I can stand behind 100%! Affiliate links are also present below!


The Design Layout

Each of the three projects follows the same very simple design. I created a quick sketch so you can easily see the design and compare it to the three projects below. The design is simple, stencils focusing in the bottom left corner and a sentiment in the top right.

Handmade Card Sketcjh

Hello Handmade Card

For this project, I am working on a 4″ x 5.25″ white cardstock panel. Onto that panel, I started by ink blending from the bottom left corner a light haze of blue ink with my blending brushes. I kept the color the heaviest in the bottom corner, making it lighter and I worked my way up and over on the panel. The ink I used was a dye ink for this layer.

The next layer was the stenciling. I used the new Plumeria stencil from The Crafter’s Workshop. I positioned the stencil into the bottom left hand corner, just like in the sketch, then I started ink blending. For this layer, I used pigment ink.

The reason for that is so the inks don’t mix. The dye ink dries quickly and absorbs into the paper. But the pigment ink will sit on top of the paper with little to no bleeding and blending with the dye ink. Pigment inks are also pretty opaque, so they covered the dye ink easily!

With the stencil done, I moved onto the sentiment. There are a lot of great ways to add a sentiment onto your handmade cards and for this card, I went with a die cut. I die cut a hello die from black cardstock and added that to the top right hand corner.

To finish off this simple card, I mounted the panel with liquid adhesive onto an A2 top folding card base.

Just a Note Handmade Card

For this card I am using the new Tropical Fronds stencil and working a 4″ x 5.25″ panel just like before. I started by ink blending two different green dye inks through the stencil for the first layer.

Once I had that initial layer stenciled I cleaned the stencil well. Then, to make it look a bit different from the previous layer, I flipped the stencil over and repositioned it slightly lower than the first.

For this layer, again, I used pigment ink. This just sits better on top of the dye ink with no blending.

The final component is of course the sentiment. I decided to add a stamped sentiment to this panel. To make sure it was prominent on the card I used a dark black pigment ink.

Finally, I mounted the panel onto an A2 top folding card base to finish it off.

Hey There Handmade Card

The third and final project has a few more elements, but is overall still the same exact design as the first two cards. I started this card by inking blending the Waves stencil onto the background with blue dye ink and a large blending brush.

For the second layer, I moved onto the Seahorse stencil and pigment ink. I masked off just the coral and sea weed images and sponged those on a few times to the bottom of the panel.

The third element to this card was the seahorse from the “Seahorse” stencil. But I had already added pigment ink, so I wanted something more opaque that cuold easily cover the pigment ink. I turned to modeling paste. I mixed White Pearl Embossing Paste with a bit of watercolor powder to create that gorgeous coral color with a pearl shine!

I masked off the seahorse for easy application of the paste and then used a palette knife to put it through the stencil. The modeling paste also adds a bit of dimension to this simple card!

The final step to this card, just like the other cards, is the sentiment. Again, I went with a stamp in a bold pigment ink (black), but you could easily do a die cut, handwritten, printed and trimmed, sticker, rub on, etc. The possibilities are endless!

And of course, I did mount the panel onto an A2 top folding card base.


I hope you all enjoyed a look at how easy it is to use the same design across several cards. By just switching up the elements you are able to easily create so many projects that don’t look anything alike (until you put them side by side, lol!)

If you are interested in any of the stencils I used, you can find them all listed and linked down below! Until next time, happy crafting!!


Supply List

Affiliate links are used
The Crafter's Workshop - 6 x 6 Stencil - Tropical Fronds
The Crafter’s Workshop – 6 x 6 Stencil – Tropical Fronds
Shop at:
SB.COM
The Crafter's Workshop - 6 x 6 Stencil - Plumeria
The Crafter’s Workshop – 6 x 6 Stencil – Plumeria
Shop at:
SB.COM
The Crafter's Workshop - 6 x 6 Doodling Templates - Wave
The Crafter’s Workshop – 6 x 6 Doodling Templates – Wave
Shop at:
SB.COM
The Crafter's Workshop - 6 x 6 Stencil - Seahorse
The Crafter’s Workshop – 6 x 6 Stencil – Seahorse
Shop at:
SB.COM
The Crafter's Workshop - Modeling Paste - White Pearl - 2 Ounces
The Crafter’s Workshop – Modeling Paste – White Pearl – 2 Ounces
Shop at:
SB.COM

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