Hi everyone! Today I’m sharing a card that was a bit of a challenge for me. If you know me, you know I usually gravitate toward cool colors and lots of intricate die-cutting. It’s definitely where I feel most at home! But for this project, I decided to push myself a little and step way out of my comfort zone. Yes, it still has a lot of layers, but not dimensional.Oooooohhh, here we go 🙂

I started with a very warm color palette—lots of pinks, oranges, and yellows. I began by creating a soft watercolor background to set the stage. Once that was dry, I moved on to some stamping. The design I used is actually one of my own that I created for rubberstamps.com. It has that lovely flower-y feel that I thought would work perfectly with this style. Yes, it got hidden somehow among all the other layers, but you can see it in the corner near my hand and the opposite corner.

To add even more interest and layers, I brought in some washi tape (a scripty one) and even more stamping on top. But the real star of the show for me was the stencil butter. I’ve had this tucked away in a card kit from A Cherry on Top for ages, and honestly, I can’t believe I haven’t used it sooner! It adds such a fantastic, slightly raised texture and a bit of a shimmer that really brings the whole background to life. The final look is like heat embossing, but different. I’m definitely going to be reaching for it more often now.

Even though I said there wasn’t as much die-cutting as usual, I still had to incorporate a little bit to finish things off! I used a mix of different cardstock textures for the floral elements and the “Hello” sentiment—including flat cardstock, textured pieces, delicate vellum, and some shiny gold mirror cardstock for that extra pop of elegance.

I’m really curious to hear what you think of this departure from my usual style!

Do you ever find yourself stuck in a color “comfort zone”? I’d love to hear your suggestions—what would you have done differently? Or is there a technique you think would look great with these warm tones? I’m always so eager to learn from all of you!

Happy Crafting!
~Varada