Sometimes the best birthdays are the ones that invite us to slow down and relax—and this peaceful card came together beautifully with a softly blended background created with blending brushes and a rowboat colored with Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers.
The focal point of this card comes from the beautiful Peaceful Dock Bundle from Stampin’ Up!. This bundle makes it easy to create peaceful lakeside scenes with images like rowboats, oars, books, hats, and water lilies that instantly bring a relaxing, outdoorsy feel to your projects. The coordinating dies cut out the stamped images perfectly, making it simple to layer elements and build a tranquil little scene that feels right at home on a birthday card.
To bring the scene to life, I started by blending shades of blue ink onto Basic White cardstock using blending brushes to create the look of calm water. The rowboat image was colored with Stampin’ Blends alcohol markers to add depth and warmth to the wood tones, then die cut and layered across the background for a little dimension. I added a bit of natural twine around the oars for a subtle rustic touch and finished the card with a few simple embellishments and the sentiment, “Take Time to Relax,” paired with a Happy Birthday greeting (BBQ Masters Stamp Set). The result is a peaceful design that feels like a quiet moment out on the water—perfect for celebrating someone’s special day.
card tutorial: time to relax birthday card
- Begin with a 4 1/4 x 11 piece of Basic White Cardstock. Score and fold at 5 1/2 (portrait style card).
- Use a Blending Brush to add Misty Moonlight Ink to a 4 x 5 1/4 piece of Basic White Cardstock. I like to blend more on the edges and keep it lighter in the middle.
- Stamp the following in Early Espresso Classic Ink onto Basic White Cardstock:
- Take Time to Relax sentiment
- Happy Birthday sentiment
- Boat
- Oars
- Cut the Happy Birthday sentiment to size.
- Crop the Take Time to Relax sentiment with a 1 3/4″ Circle Punch.
- Crop a 2nd circle with the 2″ Circle Punch. Adhere together with Multipurpose Liquid Glue.
- Crop the boat and oars with the coordinating Peaceful Dock dies.
- Color the boat and oars with Crumb Cake and Pecan Pie Stampin’ Blends.
- Dry fit the placement of the boat and oars onto the blended background. Stamp the water ripples in Misty Moonlight ink next to the boat and oars as shown.
- Adhere the blended layer to the card with Multipurpose Liquid Glue.
- Adhere the circle sentiment, boat and oars to the blended background with Stampin’ Dimensionals.
- Tie a knot of Crumb Cake Baker’s Twine where the oars criss-cross. Adhere the knot to the boat with a Mini Glue Dot.
- Place a Mini Stampin’ Dimensional behind the “y” of the Happy Birthday Sentiment. Adhere the dimensional to the oar. Adhere the sentiment ends to the card with Multipurpose Liquid Glue.
- Embellish with White Natural Matte Dots.
download a free tutorial and make this take time to relax birthday card:
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