Stamping on Colored Cardstock to Create a Nature-Inspired Thanksgiving Card

Posted on November 3, 2026 by Imagine

By Jessica Lin ~

Skill: Intermediate
Time: 45 minutes

Hi everyone! It’s Jessica here. Have you tried stamping on colored cardstock before? My go-to cardstock for stamping is Classic Crest Solar White cardstock, but I wanted to change it up today. You can achieve a completely different look by stamping on colored cardstock. I chose to stamp on green and khaki cardstock today to make the images look more realistic and natural.

Step 1:
Trim a piece of Classic Crest Solar White Cardstock to 3 ¾” x 5”. Then, use the leaf embosser dies from Stampin’ Up’s Nature’s Root die set to create a leafy patterned embossed background.

Step 2:
Once the base panel is created, we can move on to stamping. I decided to stamp on Environment Desert Storm cardstock today. If you have only tried stamping on Classic Crest Solar White cardstock before, I highly recommend trying the Environment Desert Storm cardstock as well! It’s a great neutral alternative and the final look is so different. The VersaFine Clair Sand Dune ink looks like a richer, darker shade when stamped on Environment Desert cardstock.

Step 3:
Next, dab VersaFine Clair Acorn ink to the outer edges of the stamp with a sponge dauber to create a more realistic look.

Step 4:
For the leaf stamp, I picked DCS Canvas Textured Galax Olive Green Cardstock. This cardstock has an embossed texture, but it’s surprisingly easy to stamp on with VersaFine Clair Shady Lane ink pad. You can see that the textured surface did not hide any of the vein details from the stamp.

Step 5:
After all of the images have been stamped, die cut or fussy cut them with scissors. I also die cut a berry branch with DCS Gold Glitter Heavyweight 12 x 12 cardstock. This die is from Stampin’ Up’s Flourish die set.

Step 6:
I stamped “Thank You” with VersaFine Clair Pinecone ink pad for the sentiment. Lastly, I tied twine around the background panel to add another natural touch to the card. Then I adhered all of the die cut and stamped elements, and the card is complete!

Supplies Used

Imagine Supplies:

● VersaFine Clair – Sand Dune, Acorn, Shady Lane, Pinecone
● Sponge Dauber
● StazOn Cleaner
● Tear-It! Tape
● Craft Mat

Other Supplies:

● Stampin’ Up! – Stamps – Rooted in Nature
● Stampin’ Up! – Dies – Nature’s Roots
● Stampin’ Up! – Dies – Flourish
● CutCardStock – Paper – Classic Crest Solar White
● CutCardStock – Paper – Environment Desert Storm
● CutCardStock – Paper – DCS Canvas Textured Galax Olive Green
● CutCardStock – Paper – DCS Gold Glitter Heavyweight 12 x 12

Let’s Make a Happy Thanksgiving Card

Posted on October 30, 2026 by Imagine

By Anna Escalada York

– Thanksgiving cards are a great way to send our thoughts and love to those who are celebrating far away.

Skill: Intermediate
Time: 2 hours

Directions:

Step 1:
Stamp a variety of pumpkin stamps and a squash with Summertime VersaFine Clair Ink on watercolor paper. Color the stems of each of the pumpkins and squash with Emerald Fabrico Dual Marker. Heat emboss all of the images with clear embossing powder.

Die cut each of the images with their corresponding die.

Step 2:
Die cut a piece of watercolor paper with a background die cut set. (This die also created additional smaller die cuts that will be used later in the card.) The die cut was colored by swiping Potter’s Clay Memento Ink, followed by coloring the edges of the panel with Rich Cocoa Memento Dual Marker, ink blending the edges of the boxes with leftover Nocturne VersaFine Clair ink on a sponge dauber, and then swiping the whole panel with Celestial Copper Delicata Ink. Splatter the panel with a both Rich Cocoa and Tuxedo Black Memento Dual Markers mixed with water.

Step 3:
Press the frames inside each of the panel’s windows into the Celestial Copper Delicata Ink pad to color them. Heat emboss each of them with clear embossing powder.

Step 4:
Watercolor smoosh the window die cuts with Tangerine Fabrico Dual Marker mixed with water. Splatter the die cuts with the leftover watercolor smooshing mix. Set aside to dry.

Step 5:
Stamp a sentiment from the stamp set on the right edge of the largest die cut window with Nocturne VersaFine Clair ink. Shift the die cut a little to the right and stamp the sentiment again with Celestial Copper Delicata ink to create a shadow effect. Heat emboss the sentiment with more clear embossing powder.

Step 6: Use a pumpkin shaped stamp with small flowers and foliage images to stamp each of the four other (smaller) window dies with Celestial Copper Delicata Ink to create additional interest. Then use washi tape on the back of the panel to hold all of the background die cuts together.

Step 7:
Die cut the leaf branch die cut out of watercolor paper and swipe Potter’s Clay Memento ink across the die cut. Then color the stems with the Rich Cocoa Memento Dual Marker and scribble over some of the uncolored parts of the leaves with Tangerine Fabrico Dual Marker. Spray Dandelion Fireworks! Craft Spray on a piece of acetate and press the leaf die cut into the spray to add shine and color. Once that dried, spray the whole die cut with Frosth Shimmer Craft Spray.

Step 8:
Glue the die cut leaf cluster on the lower left corner of the card panel. Then glue one of the larger pumpkins and the gourd on the lower left corner of the card. Add the shorter pumpkin die cut over the other die cuts with foam tape. Glue the whole thing onto a card base to finish the card.

Art Supplies

Imagine

Delicata Ink – Celestial Copper
Fabrico Dual Marker – Emerald
Fabrico Dual Marker – Tangerine
Fireworks! Craft Spray – Dandelion
Memento Dual Marker – Rich Cocoa
Memento Dual Marker – Tuxedo Black
Memento Dye Ink – Potter’s Clay
Sheer Shimmer Craft Spray – Frost
VersaFine Clair Ink – Nocturne
VersaFine Clair Ink – Summertime
Sponge Dauber

Other

Altenew – foam tape – Instant Dimension Foam Tape
Picket Fence Studio – die set – A2 Scene Building Rectangle Two
Simon Hurley Create. – stamp set – Fall Sampler
Simon Says Stamp – die – Autumn Leaf Branch
Spellbinders – die set – coordinating die set for Simon Hurley Create.’s Fall Sampler stamp set
Clear Embossing Powder
Heat tool
Glue
Watercolor paper
Washi tape

Stencil-Layering Thanksgiving Card Using VersaFine Clair Inks

Posted on November 4, 2025 by Imagine

By Jessica Lin

Skill: Beginner
Time: 30 minutes
Hi everyone! It’s Jessica here. Have you tried blending inks on kraft colored cardstock before? It’s an easy way to create a new look and I love using this trick for fall and Thanksgiving cards. I’ll be using several VersaFine Clair ink pads for today’s project. Let’s see how these color changes on kraft colored cardstock!

Directions:

Step 1:
Cut a piece of Neenah Desert Storm cardstock to 4’’ x 5 ¼’’. Then ink blend VersaFine Clair Cheerful ink onto Layer 1. The layering stencil set I’m using today is called Abundant Beauty from Stampin’ Up.

Step 2:
Using the same layer of stencil, ink blend the center of the sunflowers with VersaFine Clair Tulip Red ink pad. This is an orangey-red shade on white cardstock, but on kraft cardstock, it has a golden brown undertone.

Step 3:
Then I ink blended VersaFine Clair Sand Dune on Layer 4 of the Abundant Beauty stencils.

Step 4:
For Layer 3, I used VersaFine Clair Acorn. This is a darker brown shade so I ink blended very lightly. You could also use Sand Dune for Layer 3 and Acorn for Layer 4 instead.

Step 5:
The leaves images are on Layer 2. I ink blended with VersaFine Clair Verdant and Rain Forest. Usually I would pick Green Oasis to pair with Verdant. However, the kraft cardbase mutes the color saturation of the ink pad, so Rain Forest brings out the dark green contrast better than Green Oasis on kraft cardstock.

Step 6:
To add a little more texture to this simple card, I embossed the stenciled panel with Stampin’ Up’s Timeworn Type embossing folder. Then I embellished the card with Doodlebug Design’s Sprinkles enamel dots and some gold thread and the card is complete!

Craft Supplies

Imagine Supplies:
● VersaFine Clair – Cheerful, Tulip Red, Sand Dune, Acorn, Verdant, Rain Forest
● StazOn Cleaner
● Tear-It! Tape
● Craft Mat

Other Supplies:
● Stampin’ Up! – Stencils – Abundant Beauty
● Stampin’ Up! – Embossing Folder – Timeworn Type
● Doodlebug Design – Glitter Enamel Dots – Limeade, Bumblebee

Let’s Give Thanks Card

Posted on October 24, 2025 by Imagine

By Anna Escalada York

To me, Thanksgiving is mostly about food but also an excuse to say thank you to those people who are a part of my personal and professional life. So I decided to make a thank you card to let people know that I am grateful for them. I decided to use some paper scraps because I always have too many and to enhance them with sprays or ink to transform them. At first, I was planning on making one card with a lot of leaves, but changed my mind after die cutting the leaves, so ended up making two.

Skill: Intermediate
Time: 1.5 hours

Directions:

Step 1:
Pull out some scraps of paper from your stash and a variety of sprays and ink. Spray the scraps with the sprays. My scraps were colored with Cantaloupe, Angel Pink, Dandelion, Lilac Posies, and Tangelo Fireworks! Craft Sprays as well as Peanut Brittle Memento Ink. After the spray dried, die cut the scraps of paper with leaf dies. Reserve some of the sprayed paper for later.

Step 2:
Press Walnut Ink colored Walnut Ink Antiquing Solution as well as Elderberry Memento ink onto acetate packaging. Add water to the different parts of the acetate and splatter the die cut leaves with the Elderberry Memento ink. Then watercolor smoosh the leaves with both the Elderberry Memento ink and the Walnut Ink Antiquing Solution. After the leaves dried, rub the edges of the leaves with the London Fog Memento ink pad. Allow everything to dry again.

Step 3:
Trim a piece of kraft cardstock with a paper trimmer to about 5 x 3.75 inches. Then spray Rose Gold Sheer Shimmer Craft Spray directly into an embossing folder. Place the kraft cardstock panel into the embossing folder and then run the whole thing through a die cutting machine.

Allow the panel to dry.

Step 4:
Use Dark Brown Shimmer Delicata ink to add some color to the panel by brushing the panel lightly across the embossed paper. The raised part of the embossed panel will pick up the dark brown ink, while the other areas will be untouched. Then press the edges with the same Dark Brown Shimmer Delicata ink panel to add color to the border.

Step 5:
I die cut a scrap piece of rose gold glitter cardstock with a stitched circle die as well as the shadow die of a two-layer sentiment die. In addition, I die cut another piece of the lilac (purple) sprayed cardstock from step 1 with the top layer of the two-layer sentiment die. I also die cut two pieces of scrap cardstock with the same sentiment die. The layers of the sentiment die were glued together to give dimension and then they were glued on the rose gold shadow die cut.

Then the card was assembled. I glued three of the leaves onto the glitter cardstock die cut circle and then glued the whole thing onto the embossed panel. Next, the sentiment was glued onto the panel. Sequins were glued onto the panel. Finally, the whole thing was glued onto a kraft cardbase.

A second card was made with the leftover die cut leaves in the same manner. The only changes were that I used a light orange vellum and some more of the sprayed scrap paper from step 1 to create the die cut circular background and the sentiment.

Art Supplies

Imagine

• Delicata Ink – Dark Brown Shimmer
• Fireworks! Shimmer Craft Spray
– Angel Pink, Cantaloupe, Dandelion, Lilac Posies (retired color) and Tangelo
• Memento Ink – Elderberry, London Fog and Peanut Brittle
• Sheer Shimmer Craft Spray – Rose Gold
• Walnut Ink Antiquing Solution – Walnut Ink

Other Products

• Alex Syberia Designs – die set – Large Thanks
• HAI Supply – embellishments – Cola Crystalline gems
• Simon Says Stamp – Embossing folder Modern Loop
• Sizzix – die set – Leaf Fragments by Tim Holtz
• Circular die
• A2-sized kraft card base Clear Embossing Powder Kraft cardstock
• Glitter cardstock
• Light orange sparkly vellum
• Patterned paper scraps and magazine pages
• Die cutting machine
• Paper trimmer Scissors
• Glue

Watercolor with VersaMagic, Brilliance and Delicata Ink Pads

Posted on November 6, 2024 by Imagine

By Jessica Lin

Skill: Beginner
Time: 45 minutes

Hi everyone! It’s Jessica here and welcome back to another card tutorial. Thanksgiving is coming up and I love to make cards to express my gratitude! Today I’m also watercoloring with various ink pads from the VersaMagic, Brilliance and Delicata ink lines. Let’s begin!

Step 1: Stamp the critter images from The Greeting Farm Wood Friends stamp set with VersaFine Clair Nocturne ink. This is my favorite black ink for stamping and it’s perfect for watercoloring.

Step 2: Color the images with VersaMagic inks. I used Gingerbread, Pumpkin Spice and Wheat for the deer, and to add some shimmer and shine, I watercolored a layer of Celestial Copper from the Delicata ink line. For the squirrel, I used Sahara Sand and Jumbo Java as the base color and added Cosmic Copper Brilliance ink as an accent. VersaMagic, Delicata, and Brilliance ink pads are all pigment inks and I love that you can mix and match the colors for maximum creativity. For the final touch, I added small amounts of Pink Grapefruit to create their rosy cheeks.

Step 3: I decided to use Stampin’ Up!’s Mossy Meadow cardstock as the cardbase since it’s a nice foresty color. I also stamped some geometric striped pattern with my VersaMark ink pad. Did you know that you could stamp with VersaMark as well? It’s known for being the best ink for heat embossing, but I also stamp with it quite often to create additional interest to the background.

Step 4: Then I spritzed on a layer of Sheer Shimmer Spray in Sparkle. I wish you could see the shimmer in real life! The photo does not do its justice. The shimmer is just so beautiful and it truly transformed this simple card base.

Step 5: Next, I die cut an oval panel as a frame for the little critters, and I die cut the Grateful sentiment from gold glitter cardstock as well.

Step 6: To make the sentiment stand out a little bit more, I die cut again using white cardstock and layered it underneath the gold one. This creates a subtle shadow effect. The On Point Glue has a fine tip nozzle that makes applying small amounts of glue so easy. If you work with intricate dies all the time, I recommend having this glue in your stash!

Step 7: Finally, I stamped the “For You” stamp in gold as well to complete the sentiment. Initially I picked the Brilliance Galaxy Gold ink pad as it is my go-to gold ink, but I realized that the tone is slightly too warm compared to the gold glitter cardstock I used. So I

re-stamped with Gold Encore ink instead. I have a close-up comparison below as well.

The picture on the top used Brilliance Galaxy Gold and the one below used Encore Gold. Brilliance Galaxy Gold is a really yellow, sunny kind of gold while Encore Gold shows a cooler tone. The finish is different between the two as well! Brilliance ink pads are shimmery and the Encore line is metallic.

Craft Supplies

Imagine Supplies: