Graduation Card Created With Waterfront Stamp Set (& More)
Hello stampers! It’s been awhile since I have been commissioned to do a special card. However, I was recently asked to do a graduation card for a Vermont State Police Academy Graduate. After doing a little research, I discovered that they graduate in uniform. Consequently, I started to panic just a little! My “go to” for graduation cards is to coordinate the school colors with a mortarboard and tassel. Plus, I will incorporate the class motto if I can find it. In any event, that was not an option this time! So, I did a little more research focusing on the Vermont State Police rather than just the Academy. Thankfully, I found inspiration in the Vermont State Police Shoulder Patch and logo. You can see the patch and learn more about the design by CLICKING HERE.
How I Used The Patch to Inspire the Graduation Card Color Combo
As I kept studying the patch and logo, the Waterfront Stamp Set kept coming to mind, Given that, I pulled the set out and started pondering how to use it. Initially, I thought I would go with creating the badge or patch. However, the more I thought about it, I decided that a looser, more relaxed interpretation would be better. This lead me to using Shaded Spruce (one of our new colors) as the base color for my graduation card and choosing Crushed Curry for the Congrats and the year (which I put inside the card – see below). This left me with just choosing colors for the scenery in the badge. As luck would have it, we have a new blue called, Balmy Blue that I thought would work great for the mountains along with Night of Navy. In addition, we have another new color called, Soft Sea Foam that coordinates perfectly with Shaded Spruce. Lastly, with the color combination chosen, all that was left was to decide the layout. Please note – the new colors referenced will be available for purchase on June 1st!
How I used the Patch to Inspire the Graduation Card Final Layout
For the layout, I decided to start with the mountain scene and go from there. I stamped the Soft Sea Foam with a stamp from the Waterfront stamp set first. Then, I added the tree in Shaded Spruce. Since the trees in the Waterfront stamp set are grouped together and are a little sparse, I opted to use the single, fuller tree from Rooted in Nature instead. After adding the tree, I added the mountains. To recreate the look of the mountains in the logo, I first inked up the mountain in Balmy Blue. Secondly, I inked up the long narrow image in Night of Navy and stamped that directly on the mountain stamp. The third and last step was to stamp the mountain(s) above the Soft Sea Foam grass and next to the tree. Next was deciding where to put the congrats. With the congrats being a die, I was able to move it around to help me decide where to put it. Ultimately, I liked it best at the top. However, it still didn’t seem quite right. This was when I decided that adding the deer head would complete the layout. For this I chose the deer die from Santa’s Sleigh (which is retiring and you can learn more about the retiring or discontinued items by CLICKING HERE). I opted to use Soft Suede card stock for the deer and just trimmed the head off the body with the paper snips. Please note – the Waterfront stamp set, Rooted in Nature stamp set will be available for purchase June 1st.
The Inside of the Graduation Card and Matching Envelope
Here is the inside of the completed card (Please note that I used discontinued dies for the numbers and a discontinued stamp set for the sentiment. The Happy Graduation sentiment is from the new Itty Bitty Greetings stamp set and will be available for purchase June 1st):
I also decorated the envelope (Please note – the congratulations sentiment is from the new Itty Bitty Greeting stamp set):
Clickable Images for Available Dies Used (Please note that the Santa’s Sleigh Dies are only available while supplies last or until May 31st, whichever occurs first):
I am so happy that you stopped by to visit! If you have any questions or need any help creating cards, please don’t hesitate to ask! T Thank you for allowing me to help you create stamping happiness for you and your loved ones.
