Studio Tips; 1 of 4: Jill

The month of September has us thinking of back to school and learning new things.  With that in mind, we are bringing a brand-new feature to the STUDIO... 


Am I the only one who is sometimes in the mood to stamp and color, but when I go to assemble my card, I get stuck?  For my first STUDIO Tip, I wanted to share with you one of my favorite design ideas/layouts that I turn to frequently when I'm just not sure how to "pull it all together."  Here's the sketch:

And here's a card using this sketch.
To create this card, I began by layering Penny Black's Creative Die 51-134 Flourish, onto white cardstock for a subtle textural look in the background.  The bottom portion of my card was inked with Leaf Green Ranger Archival Ink and then stamped with Penny Black 40-382 Blips using Spanish Moss VersaFine ink.  My focal point panel was created with an Inchie Arts White ATC Art Square (I love using this layout/sketch with my Art Squares!).  I stamped the flowers, Penny Black 30-298 Enamor, using Jet Black Ranger Archival Ink, and painted them using Sakura Koi watercolors. The sentiment, Penny Black 30-283 Snippets, was stamped with VersaFine Onyx Black ink.

Note: You can find more info about Art Squares on the Inchie Arts blog, website, and Facebook page.

And for an extra bit of fun, here are a few more projects I've created using this layout/sketch. It works with a die cut focal point...
...and for any style of card, from Valentine's Day to Christmas.

The layout/sketch also works for tag designs.

I hope you find this first STUDIO Tip helpful next time you might be facing a creative "block" but still want to get inky!  

All stamps and dies by Penny Black.