A Vintage Floral ATC Collection

Today I'm sharing a trio of Artist Trading Cards created using a soft vintage colour palette and a selection of my favourite Distress Inks. I wanted these cards to feel delicate and feminine, with plenty of texture and layering while still allowing the backgrounds to remain the star of the show.

For this collection I used the following Ranger Distress Inks:

• • Speckled Egg
  • Cracked Pistachio
  • Bundled Sage
  • Antique Linen
  • Tattered Rose
  • Victorian Velvet
  • Hickory Smoke  

 

I began by creating the backgrounds using a simple smooching technique, pressing ink onto my craft mat, spritzing with water and repeatedly dipping the card stock into the colour until I achieved the soft distressed look I was after. Once dry, I added texture and interest by stamping a text stamp and postage stamp in Hickory Smoke Distress Ink. Using the same ink for both the background stamping and sentiments helped tie the entire collection together.

To finish the backgrounds, I added splatters of diluted white gesso, creating the appearance of aged paint flecks and giving each card a little extra character.

For the focal points, I created coordinating inked panels using the same Distress Ink colours. The flowers were cut from card stock coloured with Tattered Rose and Victorian Velvet Distress Ink, along with white lightweight card stock for contrast. After die cutting, each flower was shaped on a foam mat using a medium embossing ball tool to create natural dimension and softness.

The foliage was die cut from card stock coloured with Bundled Sage Distress Ink. To keep the arrangements light and airy, I also added several leaves cut from vellum. The translucent vellum softens the floral clusters beautifully and prevents the design from feeling too heavy.

Behind each arrangement sits an embossed vellum strip. I created these using my Sizzix Big Shot and a wood grain embossing folder before lightly swiping Memento Moonlight White ink over the raised areas to highlight the texture. This subtle detail adds interest without competing with the flowers.

 All of the dies used were already in my stash and were cut using my Baby Blue Die Cutting Machine, which is currently only available on eBay. The various elements were assembled using my usual liquid glue, while a simple Pritt Stick worked perfectly for adhering the embossed vellum pieces behind the floral arrangements.

Each ATC was finished with a Hickory Smoke die-cut sentiment, each letter individually die cut to build the words from an old Tattered Lace Alphabet set:

Bloom
Grow
Hope

Mounted onto clean white mats, these three cards became a coordinated collection celebrating growth, beauty and possibility. I love how the muted colours, distressed textures and soft vellum layers work together to create a gentle vintage feel while still keeping the overall design fresh and modern.

 

Thank you for stopping by today. I hope this project inspires you to look at your Distress Ink collection in a new way and create coordinating backgrounds, flowers and embellishments from the same colour palette. Sometimes limiting the colours can create the most harmonious results.

 

Happy crafting,

Bon