Quick and Simple Congrats

Hello and happy Friday!  The weekend is finally here and that means I'm on vacation next week!  YAHOOOooo!  It's been a little while since I have shared some cards featuring alcohol ink backgrounds, so I pulled out some of these pre-made backgrounds to create a couple quick and simple "congrats" cards.  I kept the sentiment basic enough so that these cards could be used for a wide variety of occasions from retirement parties and promotions to birthdays, babies and more.

I highly recommend checking out this Easy Alcohol Ink Background Tutorial by Jennifer McGuire.  She has created a very simple introduction to working with alcohol inks to create some basic backgrounds.  This was the first video I watched after purchasing my alcohol inks and then I just spent time playing around with them!  The great thing is there is no right or wrong when it comes to art.  You just have fun (and usually make a mess) with it!  *My only tip would be that you don't need to spend your money purchasing polysynthetic Yupo Paper at nearly $1.00 per sheet.  You can use the reverse side of any high quality photo paper (like this one by Kirkland) and achieve the same results!

I will usually set aside a crafting day and make about 50 alcohol ink background pieces and store them for later use.  I find alcohol inks to be very messy, so this technique works well for me. 

Card details: 

*All three cards were created the same way, just using different colors. 

The base of each of these A2 sized cards is made from 80 lb Neenah Solar White Smooth cardstock.  Using the Gina Marie Scalloped Stitched Nesting Rectangle Dies, I cut a piece of cardstock (Blueberry Bushel, Granny Apple Green or Melon Mambo) and adhered it directly to the card base.  I then cut down a pre-made alcohol ink background to 5" x 3 1/2" and adhered it directly to the center of the scalloped frame.  I then cut the word "congrats" from either blue, pink or green glitter paper and matted that onto a white "congrats" sentiment for a slightly shadowed look. I trimmed pieces of 3M foam adhesive to fit behind the "congrats" and adhered it to the center of the card.  Lastly I stamped "sending, your way" onto cardstock in Versamark ink and heat embossed it with white embossing powder.  I fussy cut the sentiment strips and also adhered them to the card using strips of 3M foam adhesive. 

These vibrant and cheerful cards are sure to brighten anyone's day, regardless of what they might be celebrating.   Thanks for visiting and be sure to come back tomorrow as I begin to share products from the Whimsy Stamps February release!

XO, Crystal 

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