Card Texture Tips For Added Visual Interest

I often talk about adding texture and dimension to hand stamped projects to add that pop of visual interest without adding a ton of “stuff”. This card is all about mixing textures, which is something talked about in Stamping Family a lot because it's such an easy way to amp up a card AND it's a great way to use up scraps of all different materials.

The Making and Card Texture Tips

Here are the steps for you to make this card:

Dry emboss your Whisper White panel using the Tasteful Textile embossing folder. Add this onto a Just Jade card base.
Stamp the pumpkin from Harvest Hellos with Tuxedo Black onto the patterned paper. NOTE: I fussy cut around the pumpkin because I didn't want the dots from the pattern to show outside the outline which happens when you use the punch.
Stamp the leaf with the Tuxedo Black on Whisper White, color with Just Jade Stampin' Blends and fussy cut
Punch the stem from Cinnamon Cider card stock.
Cut a square from Whisper White card stock using one of the square from Stitched Shapes.
“Build” your pumpkin on the white square.
Adhere a strip of patterned paper from another project – mine is from the Flowers For Every Season Designer Series Paper collection – to the card front behind where you want to place your pumpkin panel.
Add a scrap of ribbon over the paper – mine is from the Flowers For Every Season Ribbon Combo Pack.
Take a length of Linen Thread and wind it around your fingers a couple of times. Adhere the “swirl” over the ribbon and paper strip.
Use Stampin' Dimensionals to adhere your pumpkin panel to the card front.
Stamp your greeting in Just Jade on a scrap of Whisper White and snip a banner shape into either end.
Adhere your greeting on your pumpkin.

How cute!

Now, let's talk about the card texture we created. First, the embossed panel adds that subtle background look that is almost more like a “feeling”. Then, by adding two (or more sometimes) strips of different textured and colored media in straight lines and then another textural element in curved lines (the thread), the eye has a lot to take in even though it's a small space and you didn't have to knock yourself out creating that “movement”. And now you add in the stitching on the side of the pumpkin panel, the dots on the patterned paper and the greeting over it all and the eye is really busy!