Now that I have a background, then what?!?

Brusho allows you to do all of these interesting looking backgrounds that in their own right, look spectacular! But, as Mary asked, 'How do you then make the background into a card?' I do have to admit that a blank piece of paper or even a stunning Brusho background can be intimidating and difficult to answer the questions, 'Now what? Where do I go from here?' There are many ways to go but I admit, I spend hours trying to decide! Here are some tips that I have found helpful.

1) Make a decision first on card base and if you are going to put any accent color around the Brusho or other DSP (Designer Series Paper - Stampin' Up term) background that looks gorgeous in an of itself. I still have tons of DSP from years of Stampin' Up purchases as the DSP is just too pretty to use as a background to cover up!

 (First image with gold paper behind Brusho background, second with different colored cardstock and third sample with just purple cardstock)

2) Decide on theme of card such as thank you, birthday, just because, get well, thinking of you, or other theme. OR You might find a stamp or die that you really, really like and once it is the cover of the card, you then decide the sentiment and theme that it inspires.

3) If you want the background to 'stand out' more, choose an open die and small sentiment. I used a card on line from Linda Hoyt's Cat Tail Designs to get a basic card layout or pattern. Use Pinterest to start your own collection of card patterns that you like and organize in a way that it makes sense to you. I created a card of my Brusho background with the basic layout pattern from Linda's card.

My version

4) You can search for card patterns and then, find papers and stamps or dies to create the cover of your card. I used this card from Shannon Kay Paperie to pattern my design.

My Version

5) Use a large die or stamp to add to the cover of your card. I did this with a IO fish stamp that I cut out on the previous post. Debi Messiner uses a large dragonfly die in her card below. 

My version with white flower (probably needs a 'little something' yet)

6) You can add a panel with image and sentiment over part of the background. Here is an example from Jane's Crafty Cabin. 

7) Use a large background die in white, black or neutral color to go over the colorful background but allows one to still see background. I used this card image from Splashes of Watercolor for inspiration.

My version with muted colored background - ribbon on top

Brush using Spray Starch & ClingWrap

With my friend Mary today, we played with spray starch, cling wrap, and Brusho. What fun!!! We used a Youtube video - Brusho Techniques to learn the technique. The video suggested the Ultramarine and Turquoise Brusho colors and we used these colors to create several stunning examples such as these two samples:

Even if you make a mistake and dump too much Brusho on the spray starched watercolor paper like I did (see below), you can still salvage the background to create a card (see fish card below.)

The SU stamp is on the inside of the card with a small heart stamp. The embossed fish is from Impression Obsession F2328 and uses orange, brilliant red, and yellow Brusho.