By Card Making & Scrapbooking Contributor
Peg Rounds
Sometimes it’s fun to create your own backgrounds for your cards and other times you aren’t able to find just the right paper design you are wanting. Here is a simple way to create a striped background using your Distress Inks by Ranger to create just the background you want. It’s perfect for any theme and occasion when you need a card.
Begin by choosing the Distress Ink colors you want to use and then cutting a piece of watercolor paper to fit the card size that you will be making. This piece was just a piece of scrap paper because I will cut it later on using a die.
Dip your paintbrush into a cup of water to dampen it. Add some ink onto your craft mat and dip the brush into the ink to pick it up. Begin in the corner and start painting only adding ink to the brush when you are no longer seeing any color on the paper. Work from corner to corner, edge to edge, or stop somewhere in between as shown here. Dry the paper with your heat tool between each layer of ink.
Once in a while, stop and see if the stamp you will be using will fit in the painted area where you want it.
Add more ink onto your mat and begin painting the next layer onto just the corner to darken it. Work up only as far as you want. Continue to add color until you are happy with what you have created.
Using a clean, damp brush add just a line of water along the lightest edge of the painted area to blend it a little into the white area.
Die cut the paper using your favorite die and die cutting machine. This step is optional and you don’t have to do it if you would like to have another look for your card.
Stamp the image you will be using onto a separate piece of cardstock. This is the Little Violet stamp by Docrafts. Color the image with your favorite colored pencils and cut it out.
Stamp and die cut the sentiment. Add some ink around the edges to make it pop against the background.
Create the card base that you will use. This is a 5” x 7” base created from cardstock. Add your favorite patterned paper and then layer your newly created background to on top of it adhering everything with a tape runner. Add the sentiment with a piece of 3-d adhesive.
Finish off the inside of the card with the sentiment of your choice. Your card is now ready to share.
The next time you can’t find just the right paper to use pull out your Distress Inks and paint a background to fit the card you are creating. Paint stripes or create a look all of your own. It’s a fun project to do on a rainy day so that you can have them when you need them.