If You Play...

Our Daily Bread Design's current challenge on their blog is one-layer cards. As someone who LOVES using layers, this is indeed a challenge for me! This is my first go at a one-layer card.

I did not start by choosing a sketch for this card. Instead, I started with products. I knew I wanted to use this "Truck" stamp from ODBD, and I felt the greeting from this Simon Says Stamp set would go perfectly with it. I decided to do selective embossing (at least, that's what I call it) to create interest, while still using only one layer.

I first cut a piece of matboard to the same size as my card front, to make a diffuser. I determined where my stamps would go, then marked & cut out holes from the matboard piece in those areas. I used the "Squares" texture plate from this set by Fiskars, and embossed my card front with my Grand Calibur machine. I used my homemade diffuser in place of the rubber mat to ensure that only the areas around the stamping would be embossed.

I chose to do my stamping after the embossing was done. I positioned the truck stamp first, then picked it up with my Fiskars stamp press, and stamped it with Versafine Onyx Black ink. I did the same with the greeting.

Once I had finished stamping, I felt the card still looked a little blah. So I took my Brushed Corduroy Distress ink pad, and lightly swiped it over the embossed areas. To get the area in the middle, I masked off the stamped portions with Post-it notes, then inked the embossing. I like the grungy feeling it gives to the card, totally in keeping with the truck image.

I will send this card in to Operation Write Home. Hopefully, one of our overseas heroes can send it to his/her son (or tomboy daughter!).

I am also entering this card in Simon Says Stamp's Monday "Anything Goes" challenge.