Happy Tuesday from the Creative Squad! Today we have a grouping of handmade cards from Maura Hibbitts that will really catch your eye! They feature bold colors and patterns including my Maze Hex and Groovy foam stamps and are inspired by the theme this month: Boldly Going – Go BOLD with color or pattern this month and really make something that is packed with visual POP! This is no time to be subdued or subtle. Go Bold!!!

Why not make a statement with some bold, handmade cards? There are a lot of cute and pretty cards out there (I know, because I make some too), but every once in awhile, you just need an attention grabber. That’s when going bold with your design can be a lot of fun! I made a trio of square cards, shimmering with possibility.

My project uses a few simple materials.  I began by cutting the white card stock into the card base to make a 5.5 inch square card. (5.5” x 11”, and fold in half) The dark red paper is a 5.25 inch square, and the black is a 5 inch square.

Whenever I am stamping with paint, I reach for a gel plate. This is the perfect tool to lay the paint on and smooth it out with a brayer, then stamp into, to pick up the paint. The foam stamps are amazing with paint, just be sure to clean the paint off right away, using a baby wipe or soap and water.

I’m using Pyrrole Red acrylic with the Maze Hex foam stamp. Since I am stamping the red onto black card stock, I got the paint nice and juicy on the stamp, so it would show up against the black. I made a single image on one card, and a diagonal image by stamping two partial prints on the edge. The third card has a central image, and then I stamped partial images all the way around. 

When I look at the Groovy stamp, I see an Asian image or a tree with clouds, which inspired me to stamp with Gold acrylic for a bold statement. Once again, you can brayer the gold onto the gel plate and stamp into it, to pick up a nice even coat of paint. Your other option is to use the brayer and roll it over the stamp. I varied the number of images on each card to create variety.

I had a bit of gold left on the gel plate, so decided to experiment by rolling a very light layer of paint with the brayer over my stamped images. Since, the red paint had some depth to it, edges of the hex design picked up the gold, giving it more definition.

I went around the black card stock with gold paint using a cosmetic sponge to frame the design.

Finally, I tied a double layer of maroon embroidery floss around the card, tied it at the bottom, and separated the strands to create a tassel.

Now, I have a trio of bold and shimmery cards ready for the perfect occasion. Why not try making an easy set of stamped cards with paint, yourself?

Layer several colors of paper, use a couple of stamps and paint colors, and just imagine the variety of cards you could create! What occasions would you use these for? It’s time to Go Bold!

Thank you Maura! Love this combination of black red and gold! You can find all of my Foam Stamps in my online shop. Here are some of the other supplies Maura used:

Feel inspired? Working on something yourself that you’d like to share?  I love to see how you interpret our monthly themes. Email me how you used my stencils and stamps with the theme and email me an image – I would love to share your projects in my next  “n*Spiration From Around the Globe“.

Nat