Encouragement Cards

I am a teacher and part of that job is about being a cheerleader for your students. My students are in high school and have been reporting to me the amount of stress they have been under for college, grades and all the other stuff that we had to go through too. I wanted to make cards for my students to let them know I'm in their corner. I was inspired by Jennifer McGuire's campaign to share kindness within your community. 

I was in Joann Fabrics and came across this stamp from Hero Arts in the Bargain Bin. Now, I know I should stay out of those bins, but I really liked the message of forging your own path and the fact that it included the continental USA which made me think of my students heading off to college or points beyond and making their own way. I thought it would make a good graduation card or celebrating any life event where someone takes a risk and tries something new in their life.

But what to do with this stamp...Immediately Emboss Resist came to mind. I decided to do the resist two ways...one was to emboss with clear embossing powder and use Distress Inks all over the image and the paper and the other was to cut out a mask and only use the Distress Inks on the USA image itself leaving the rest white. 

Embossing Techniques - Resist

When embossing the first thing you need is an anti-static powder tool. I use the Anti-Static Powder Tool from EK Success which I find to have a lot of powder and is easy to apply. Second, you need a good Embossing Powder. I am of the mind that less is more so I only have a few colors in my stash with Hero Arts Clear Embossing Powder to be a go to. The Hero Arts brand melts quickly and evenly. Third, you need a sticky ink and VersaMark Ink is the way to go.  

If you're having trouble blending the inks, use water or shimmer spritz to help mix the colors.

USA in Rainbow. I stamped the image onto paper and cut out the USA image to make a reverse mask.

After embossing a few cards, I used some Distress Inks in a rainbow of colors. I cut out a mask from some regular paper that masks off the outside of the USA image so I could just ink up the image itself and not the background. The Distress Inks I used are: Seedless Preserves, Blueprint Sketch, Salty Ocean, Tumbled Glass, Scattered Straw and Tea Dye. I wanted different colors to match the regions of the US: tea dye for desert, salty ocean for coastal regions, scattered straw for the plains and when the blue and yellow Distress Inks mix they make green for the forested regions. I also did a straight rainbow across the USA but again only used a few Distress Inks allowing them to blend to create the secondary colors. If you feel like you are having trouble getting the Distress Inks to blend, you can use water or even a shimmer spritz like Tsukineko Sparkle Spray to help the blend.

Putting it all together...

For the card bases, I used some A2 sized ivory pre cut and scored card bases from Michael's. I cut out the USA images using Memory Box Cross Stitched Frame Border Dies. On the USA I had used Distress Inks all over, I used the largest and two sizes down frames to make a border. I then used my Cuttlebug with the magnet plate to hold the dies in place to cut out the border and frame. For the Rainbow USA card, I attached the frame to the USA background and cut out a piece of fun foam before mounting it to a pre made A2 card in ivory. For the other base, I attached the thin left over frame to the card base and then foam mounted the panel onto an A2 ivory card base. For the envelopes, I used Hero Arts Dare to Dream Stamp Set to stamp: Set Your Own Path on the envelope flap and used the path stamp on the front right bottom corner of the envelope. Inside I stamped:  Be Fearless  as the sentiment.

Using frame dies to make a border stretches what you can do with them.

Just one die cut makes pieces to use on multiple cards.

The envelope is important, too! On the front, the road is inked in black permanent ink and clear heat embossed. The back flap is inked with a coordinating sentiment.

These cards were very quick and easy to make and I'm inspired by them. I gave some to my students who needed a word of encouragement as they work their way through high school and onward to achieve their dreams. I listed the supplies I used below and some may contain affiliate links which help to support this blog; thank you for your support. Please comment below as to which card you like better: the Rainbow or Overall Distress Inked. Have a great day and happy crafting!

EK Success - Powder Tool
from: Scrapbook.com

Cuttlebug® Machine
from: Cricut

Hero Arts - Embossing Powder - Clear
from: Scrapbook.com