It’s all about nature in this month’s blog hop so I decided to use the Prairie Grass stamp set, ink pads from the new 2025-27 In Colours and the small blending brushes. I chose this set as we’ve just come back from a week’s holiday on the North Norfolk coast and there is a coastal theme to the images in this set for me. Shall we just jump straight in so I can share how I made my nature inspried card?

Nature inspired card making steps

First of all, cut a Cloud Cover card base which is half a sheet cut down the middle in portrait mode and then scored in the middle.

Secondly, the bottom mat layer is Secret Sea cardstock and this is cut to size at 14.4cm by 10cm. Glue this layer to your card base front. Then I cut a white top layer at 13.9cm by 9.5cm and an inside white layer measuring 14.4cm by 10cm, pop the inside layer to one side for now.

Creating the blended colour block

Next I created a strip across the lower part of the white layer to create the blended background. The masking paper is brilliant for this as you can cut them to size. If you don’t have our masking paper you could use post it notes or washi tape instead. The idea is to blend inbetween the masked areas to create a perfectly straight block. I inked up my blending brush with Darling Duckling first and using a swirling motion applied this to the top part of my masked off strip. Repeating this process with Cloud Cover and then Secret Sea blending swirls. Each section slightly overlays the previous colour creating a smooth transition of colours.

Adding in the additional card elements

The masking paper was removed and I stamped the “rushes” in Secret Sea directly over the top of the blended block.

I added a random spot of Cloud Cover using a very fine paintbrush tip as I’ve not got the markers or blends in this colour yet. The greeting was stamped in Secret Sea onto a strip of Cloud Cover cardstock and fixed to the top right corner with dimensionals.

The inside white layer uses Cloud Cover ink to stamp a couple of the reed images and another greeting. This brings the elements of the front of the card through to the inside too.

Thank you for joining me today and I hope you enjoyed seeing how you can easily create a background using some masking paper and blending brushes with ink pads. If you have the time please jump around the rest of the blog hop to see some more nature inspired cards.

Until next time, inky hugs Carrie x

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