Hi friends! Rick here on the Miss Ink Stamps Blog today, and I’ve got something a little magical to share. If you’ve ever struggled with mailing your beautifully layered cards—juggling extra postage or trying to squeeze dimensional embellishments into envelopes—you are not alone. That’s exactly what inspired this project. I wanted to see how much wow I could pack into a completely flat card. No foam tape, no popped-up die cuts—just good design and fun techniques.
And let me tell you, these one layer cards are anything but boring.
A Focal Point That Steals the Show
For this trio of cards, I pulled out the Storybook Alice Stamp Set—and let me just say, this set is packed with charm. I picked three characters: Alice, the King of Hearts, and the Mad Hatter, and used one image per card to keep things simple and striking. What I love about using a single focal image is how much room it gives for creative play with color and background techniques.
Here’s where the Circular Harlequin Stencil came in. By blending a soft halo of color through the stencil just around the edges, I created a beautiful spotlight effect behind each character. It gives the illusion of dimension while keeping everything flat and mailable.
Soft Color, Big Impact
When it comes to monochromatic coloring, less really can be more. I used a single ink color for each design and kept my coloring in the same tone. After laying down a soft blend with ink, I added marker shading and then deepened everything with colored pencils. This is one of my favorite tricks for making images pop without piling on layers—plus, it gives you a lot of control over where to draw the eye.
A few highlights with a white gel pen really helped the details shine, and the result is a card that feels layered and finished... even though it’s just one piece of cardstock.
Pro Tip: If you're planning to do detailed coloring directly on your card base, use a heavyweight cardstock that can take the ink and pressure. It makes a world of difference.
Sentiments That Tie It All Together
Each card needed just a simple sentiment to finish it off—nothing fancy, just clean stamping in crisp black ink to anchor the design. I added a few clear drop embellishments around the sentiment area, but even those lay flat and keep the cards totally mail-friendly.
What I love most about these one layer designs is how versatile they are. Whether you're in a time crunch, low on supplies, or just want a clean and simple look with a bit of whimsy, this combo of stamps and stencils really delivers.
VIDEO Tutorial
Thanks for joining me here today! I hope this post gives you some fresh inspiration for your next card making session. These simple techniques really prove that sometimes, less can be more—and you don’t have to sacrifice style when you need to go flat.
Until next time, happy crafting!
Rick
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