While sorting through an old hard drive (with my husband doing tech wizardry to save everything — thank you, Steve!), I found this handmade card I'd completely forgotten about.
It made me smile — not just because I love the vibrant colours and playful layers, but because it reminded me how much I’ve grown. This card was one of the first times I really challenged myself to embrace white space... something I used to be afraid of! Possibly still am!
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I never shared it before as a single project, so I figured now’s the perfect time to revisit it — with fresh eyes, a refreshed voice, and a few easy steps if you’d like to try it yourself.
A bit of back history ...
When I made the card, I also wrote out a set of "how to" instructions but as a PDF download. Getting feedback from everyone, people prefered to be able to read the instructions on my blog and were not keen on a download. So I have converted them to PNGs which means if you wish to save them, right click and save to your PC.
Instructions are below:
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Like a flower you bring colour to my world!
Supplies:
Acrylic stamp blocks or stamp platform
White card (from stash)
3D foam pads & glue (from stash)
Although I have embraced the white space for this card, I couldn't resist adding lots of layers. However, I do not always know how many I want to add so always stamp more images than I probably need ...! For this card, I chose to use water colour pens, my Sakura Koi's, to colour all the images.
I layered up all the images around my chosen sentiment, "Like a flower you bring colour to my world", to make it appear as if it's inbedded amongst the flowers. The butterfly image you see, is actually taking one of the petal stamps and stamping twice to give the illusion of wings for a butterfly.
After I finished the card and "embraced the white space", it was just a little too white in places so I couldn't resist adding a few splatters.
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A little bit about Shady Designs
I used stamps I designed as part of my A Bit On The Side collection. These were created to let you build layers easily — whether you love florals, geometric play, or creating your own visual rhythm.
While these stamps are no longer part of my current design journey, they’re still a part of my story. And I’m proud of what they helped me make. Revisiting this project was a small but important step in reclaiming parts of my creative voice I’d put aside for too long.
I’m learning that letting go of perfection — whether that’s filling all the space or doing things “the right way” — is what helps me make with more joy.
I hope this project inspires you to use what you already have, try a technique you usually avoid, or simply play.
Until next time, take care,
Lou
xxx
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