My Favorite Cards of 2020
While spending a lot of time at home in 2020, I crafted a LOT of cards – probably about 400 – trying new dies and stamps in fun themes, and all kinds of new techniques. It has really been a lifesaver for me, keeping my mind and hands busy, and keeping the worry away. And I hope the cards brightened the day of people who received them.
Crafting with dies and stamps is definitely a different direction than my handmade paper cards and crafty projects, but I’m really enjoying how all the intricate shapes and beautiful colors come together.
For each card, I started with something that inspired me whether it was a new technique, a crafty purchase, a color scheme, or a fun theme. I especially love Crafters Companion products because I think their style and inspiration ideas match my skill level. They are based in Britain and have daily shows on their Crafters TV channel (on Facebook and Youtube) where they demonstrate how to use their products. Plus the shows are super fun and lighthearted.
Flower and butterfly theme cards: What could be better than flowers and butterflies? They are bright and cheery and make me smile.
I love this set of 3 cards in a modern take on primary colors – coral, gold and blue – something I don’t normally pick, but don’t they look great together? I love the large birthday die with the little cluster of flowers and one purple accent butterfly. And check out that big butterfly stamp! Yes it IS possible to create a clean stamped image – a new concept for me. 🙂
This is probably super basic for most, but I now love using silhouette stamps in different colors, cutting them out and layering them up. So beautiful and fun. And check out the stencil leaf and bark backgrounds – another first for me – love it!
Die cut flowers – in all shapes and sizes – is such an easy way to add a warm feeling to a card. New technique idea: die cut a flower several times from a colorful background paper in rainbow colors. Then glue them in place in a spectrum order to create a beautiful background on a white card base – so simple.
Dimensional cards like this pop up box Mother’s Day card – who knew this card can fold flat to mail in an envelope? I didn’t until I tried it. What a beautiful bouquet anyone would love.
Stamping with metallic markers, so amazing! Here’s my favorite butterfly stamp again – this time colored with water-based metallic markers, then stamped on black card stock. WOW. Look at that detail! I crafted this using Spectrum Noir metallic markers in Rare Minerals – another Crafters Companion product.
Coloring in stamps with alcohol markers. They are blendable and add dimension without leaving stroke marks. On these cards, I used Spectrum Noir Triblend Markers. These are perfect for a beginner with three colors in one marker – it makes adding dimension super simple. Find my Beginners Tutorial here. I love the camping stamps and dies – they remind me of Colorforms from the 80’s!
Christmas cards: I started my Christmas cards early and managed to make 40 different cards to mail to family and friends. There are sooooo many Christmas stamps and dies, it can definitely be tempting to buy them all. I bought a set of dies that cut out a whole card front in one pass, then crafted them into shaker cards and dimensional scenes. In the reindeer woodland scene above, I tried painting with watercolor – I just love how it turned out! New technique idea: dimensional flowers crafted from vellum. How do you make them dimensional? Crunch them in your hand of course!
Crafting cards has been such a joy. They are little art pieces where I can experiment with new techniques without any pressure. If I make a mistake, add a flower on top or just toss it in the recycling bin and start again. And most importantly, these little gems can be easily given to people with a note of encouragement or celebration. Happy crafting!