Hi friends, Terri here! Today I’m sharing a fun postage collage card featuring the new Under the Sea Stencil from Waffle Flower Craftslatest release. This ocean-inspired design combines layered stencilling, vibrant colour, and postage collage elements to create a playful handmade card perfect for summer crafting.
I always start by die-cutting the A2 Postage Collage Die first. Personally, I find it easier to stencil after die cutting, but you can absolutely reverse the process if that works better for your crafting style. For this card, I used 110lb Neenah Solar Crest cardstock because I planned to pop the panel up with foam adhesive, and the heavier cardstock provides extra durability and support.
The Under the Sea Stencil is a 6-layer stencil set, and as always, Waffle Flower Crafts includes helpful etched guides on each stencil layer so you know exactly which order to use them in. There are even colour suggestions printed above each opening, making the layering process easy and beginner friendly. I mostly followed the suggested colour combinations, although I ended up creating four cards in one crafting session and changed a few colours from card to card for a little variety.
I used Distress Ink and blending brushes to add colour to the design. I’ll admit I’m a bit of a blending brush addict, so I keep several different sizes on hand to help create depth and softer ink transitions throughout my cards.
Once all the ink blending was complete, I used the sixth stencil layer to add white pigment ink for the bubbles. I applied the ink with a light dabbing motion because I knew I wanted to build up additional bubble detail later using other mediums, and I didn’t want the background to feel overly busy or overpower the focal images.
I heat-set the pigment ink with a quick blast from my heat tool to make sure everything was completely dry before moving on. Next, I used a white gel pen to add highlights to the images along with a few extra white dots here and there to mimic underwater bubbles and add more detail to the design.
To prepare the card base, I adhered a piece of blue cardstock to an A2 card blank. I then attached the finished postage collage panel using foam tape, which adds dimension and helps the design stand out beautifully.
I finished the card with a white heat-embossed sentiment on blue cardstock. To give the sentiment extra stability and dimension, I die cut the sentiment three additional times using the Essentials Sentiment Set and layered them underneath the embossed piece. This is one of my favorite tricks because it creates a chipboard-like effect and saves the hassle of cutting tiny pieces of foam tape.
After adhering the sentiment to the card, I added the final layer of bubble detail using Glossy Accents for a shiny, realistic finish that really enhances the underwater theme.
