Four techniques – and seven cards – with Peaceful View

As soon as I saw the preview of the Stampin’ Up!® Annual Catalogue, the Peaceful View stamp set spoke to me. Even though it’s only one big background stamp, I knew I could get lots of mileage out of it.

These projects are just the start of my Peaceful View journey, I’m sure. Here I show you four different ways to use this lovely background stamp, plus some tips for getting the best impression.

Peaceful View with Designer Series Paper

For quick and easy cards, simply stamp your Peaceful View background stamp on some suitable Stampin’ Up!® Designer Series Paper. I tried this on four different designs from four different packs, all of which are available from my online store.

 

Full of Life 6"x6" Designer Series Paper (163357) is one of my favourites as I love the bright rainbow colours and watercolour-style designs. This gorgeous Melon Mambo and Daffodil Delight sheet provides the perfect backdrop for the silhouetted tree.

This was the first time I used this stamp, and I stamped with Memento Tuxedo Black. Read on to find out how I achieved a better impression for subsequent projects. 

I’ve finished this card off with some retired Lemon Lolly ribbon and a simple “Thank you” stamped using Simply Said (163756). 

 

Everyday Happiness 12"x12" Designer Series Paper (166632) gives you the impression of texture thanks to the effect of watercolour paper in this gorgeous sheet. I love how the yellow and blue design can look like sea and sand, or sun and sky as it does on this card. 

This image is stamped in Secret Sea ink and mounted onto some Secret Sea cardstock and some retired Wild Wheat to pick up the colour of the Everyday Happiness Designer Series Paper.

It’s finished off with some Linen Thread and “hello” stamped using Blooming Phrases (165523). 

Otterly Adorable 12"x12" Designer Series Paper (164936) would not be my first port of call for this stamp but as you can see, although this sheet is actually water, it looks like a beautiful blue sky when stamped on top using Peaceful View. 

 

The stamped image is mounted onto Secret Sea cardstock and a Balmy Blue card base, then finished off with some retired Balmy Blue ribbon. If you have any of this double-layered ribbon left, I only discovered when making this project that you can separate the layers if you are careful. This way I could use the two-tone ribbon along the width of the card, and the narrower Balmy Blue ribbon to tie a bow without adding too much bulk. 

Beautiful Gallery 6"x6" Designer Series Paper (165196) from the new Stampin’ Up!® Annual Catalogue was my choice for my fourth Designer Series Paper card. As this paper is quite dark, I chose a sheet with one of the palest designs to help the tree and fence stand out more. Again, this is stamped in Secret Sea. 

 

This time I mounted the image on Peach Pie cardstock and a Mossy Meadow card base, then finished off with Linen Thread and a sentiment from Simply Said. 

 Blending brush technique

 

But of course you don’t have to stamp onto Designer Series Paper. For this project I began by creating a background using Darling Duckling and Secret Sea ink, applied with blending brushes. I then stamped on top using Secret Sea. 

 

The Darling Duckling Designer Series Paper used here is 2025-2027 In Color™ Designer Series Paper (165300).

Direct-to-paper technique

I achieved another cool background by applying stripes of ink using ink spots. I save these up from Stampin’ Up!® kits so now have quite a collection. The ones I used here are Coastal Cabana, Old Olive and the now retired Bumblebee. All you do is take the small ink pad and swipe it across the white cardstock. 

 

For this project I swiped a quarter of a sheet of white then stamped on top using Peaceful View and Secret Sea. Then I cut it out using the retiring Countryside Corners Dies (161471, currently in the Last Chance sale, so get them while you can!). I applied two dies to the image to cut out a border, then raised this to reveal the Secret Sea border below. This is called the Eclipse technique.

Next I marked the widths of my coloured bands on my grid paper and swiped a second piece of white cardstock to create my layer which I mounted onto Secret Sea cardstock. I am obsessed with Secret Sea!

Sponge dauber technique

Finally I wanted to colour the image instead of creating a silhouette. For this I applied the ink to the stamp using sponge daubers. I used various Garden Green, Old Olive and Mossy Meadow on the grass and foliage, and Pecan Pie on the tree trunk, branches and fence. To get the bark effect on the trunk, instead of dabbing with the sponge dauber, I swiped along the length. This give it a hint of a grain. 

 

This image is mounted onto Mossy Meadow cardstock and a Pecan Pie card base, then finished off with a tab cut from Beautiful Gallery Designer Series Paper, mounted on a swirl of Linen Thread.

Tips for using Peaceful View

1. Use a stamp positioner, if you have one. This will enable you to stamp 2-3 times in exactly the same position if needed. My silhouette images are all stamped twice.

2. Use a firm foam ink pad, such as a Stampin’ Up!® Classic Ink Pad, if you can. I got a much better impression using Secret Sea than I did with Memento Tuxedo Black. If you only have linen pads, or want to stamp in black, make sure your pad is well inked.

3. If you are creating a background with blending brushes, do this first. If you blend after stamping in a dark colour such as Secret Sea, you risk smearing the dark ink.

4. Try different backgrounds and different designs. Think outside of the box - sea can become sky, as you saw from my Otterly Adorable card.

5. Don’t be afraid to cut up the image. You don’t need to use the whole image every time.