How to Maintain a Clean and Simple Style on a Layered Card

Hello friends! This really crazy thing has been happening in my cardmaking lately . . my crisp, clean and simple card-making style has been morphing into a really layered and collage feeling style. Not all the time - but sometimes. It's interesting. There's probably some deep meaning behind it, that I've yet to find. At any rate, today I thought I'd share a really collage-y card that I created with stamps and dies from Lil' Inker Designs. How FUN are those striped clouds from the Cut It Out Clouds & Accessories Die Set!? Oh, I just LOVE them. I die-cut them from gray cardstock as well as vellum.  

(And can I rant for a moment. . . every time I type CARDSTOCK on my computer, the auto-correct changes it to YARDSTICK. Seriously. Stopit. I only type the word 500 times a week, you'd think it would figure out what the heck I mean.) 

But, I digress. . . 

I did a few things to create this layered little lovely - but still maintain enough white space that I don't go crazy. 

Leave Some Breathing Room

I added most of my elements to the blue block, which gives a little breathing room around the white border. I like that. I'm loving adding a little swirly mess of twine as one of my layers. It adds a great pop of black in the background. When I was finished, I also added a splash of silver. It's taken my a LONG time, but I'm finally getting brave enough to add a splish or a splash or a splatter of something at the end. 

Utilize the Rule of THREE

One more thing just to keep the whole card focused and not TOO busy - I very purposely have three distinct areas of black. The sentiment. The twine. The washi tape. I love that rule of THREE. . .three of anything keeps the eye moving around the image. (and if you want to get technical, I - accidentally - have twine showing on THREE sides of the cardstock block. A happy accident indeed!) 

Thanks so much for stopping by today. I challenge you - try a little layered loveliness, even if it's scary. You might just like it!! xoxo

PS. Join us on July 22-24th for the July release from Lil' Inker Designs! It's going to be tons of fun!

Supplies I used on today's card:

Lil' Inker Designs Cut It Out Clouds & Acccessories Die Set

Dance In The Rain Stamps

Dual Dotted Rectangle Dies

Fun Stampers Journey Silver Silk

Fun Stampers Journey Black Licorice Journey Twine

A few notes:

(All Fun Stampers Journey products can be purchased through a Journey Coach. Find a coach local to YOU on the website! Just to clarify, I am not a Coach - I am an employee of Richard Garay/Fun Stampers Journey but I do not personally sell these products.)

Lil' Inker Designs links are affiliate links. When you purchase through my links, I receive a small compensation, but you don't pay a penny more! Sweet, huh!? Thanks for using my links when you shop!