So it’s October 31st and another month has simply flown by. My regular readers will know I’m not big on Halloween but in the ‘spirit’ of the occasion I thought I’d bring you this black card. It’s a “Thinking of You” card using a sentiment from the Quiet Meadow Stamp Set. If you followed my 24 cards in 24 hours challenge earlier this month on Facebook you may remember it. This is probably one of my favourites from that marathon session. I don’t often design mainly black cards, but this one seems to work.

QUIET MEADOW SENTIMENT

I began by using my Paper Trimmer to cut and score some Basic Black Card. Then I folded it along the scored line and sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder to create my card base.

Next, from the Quiet Meadow Stamp Set I chose the simple “Thinking of You” sentiment. I considered stamping it onto light coloured card before attaching to the card front but then had a different idea.

Using VersaMark ink I stamped the sentiment directly onto the front of my card base in the bottom right corner. Then I sprinkled the sticky ink with silver Stampin’ Emboss Powder and tapped off the excess. After removing some stray specks I melted the rest of the powder using my Heat Tool on 2 (high).

TIP – to stop the card warping as it’s heated, make sure the Heat Tool is properly warmed up before attempting to emboss. Then heat the embossing powder from the front and back of the card to balance out any bending.

Once the embossing was done the rest of the card came together really quickly.

SIMPLY ELEGANT

For the rest of the decoration I turned to the Simply Elegant 12″ x 12″ Specialty Designer Series Paper (DSP) pack. I chose a pattern with copper flowers and silver leaves on a black background.

First I cut a 2-1/4″ x 6″ strip and used Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) to attach it to the flap of a Basic White Medium Envelope. Then I trimmed off the excess with Paper Snips, using the edge of the flap as a guide.

Next, from the edge of the sheet I used my Paper Snips to cut out a small flower and leaf piece. It didn’t matter that part of the flower was missing as that would line up with the edge of the card layer. Once cut, I used liquid glue to fix the flower to the top of a 4″ x 5-1/4″ piece of Basic White Card. Then I glued the layer inside the card base.

That just left the front of the card to finish.

I began by cutting a 2-1/8″ x 3″ piece of Basic Black Card. Then from the Brushed Metallic Cardstock pack I cut a 2-3/8″ x 3-1/4″ piece of copper card. Using liquid glue I mounted the black piece onto the copper layer, and set it aside.

Going back to the DSP I cut out a larger image, this time with two flowers on a stem with leaves. After that I used liquid glue to fix the flower piece to the bottom left corner of my mounted black layer.

Finally I added the assembled layers to the card front with Black Stampin’ Dimensionals and my project was complete.

TIP – If you’re attaching dark coloured layers to your projects, using black Stampin’ Dimensionals instead of the usual white ones will make them less obvious.

This thinking of you card is very striking. There’s an elegant, minimalist quality about it that I really like. But I’d love to know what you think, Please leave a comment below and share your thoughts.

For some other projects using the Quiet Meadow Stamp Set see these earlier blog posts:

• Petal Pink finally has me hooked
• Quiet Meadow with a vintage vibe
• Using Meadow Dies for a white silhouette

PRODUCT LIST

BUNDLE BONUS – I bought the Quiet Meadow Stamp Set in a bundle with the Meadow Dies (not used today) using a single ‘bundle’ item number. This meant I saved 10% off the cost of buying the same two items separately. I’ve included a link to the bundle in case you want to explore this option.