Got Shimmer Brushes? Try These Easy Elegant Leaves Card Ideas

Have you picked up the beautiful In Color Shimmer Brushes and wondered what else you could do with them besides simply brushing shimmer onto cardstock?

I have two easy ideas for you today!

I paired the Elegant Leaves Bundle with the Crisp Cantaloupe and Golden Glow Shimmer Brushes to create two pretty fall cards that are full of color, texture and shimmer — without being difficult to make.

And the best part? These cards use the Shimmer Brushes in two different ways: one for a fun splatter technique and the other for coloring your die-cut leaves.

Two Easy Ways to Use Your In Color Shimmer Brushes

One of the things I love about Shimmer Brushes is that they aren’t just for adding a little sparkle at the end of a project. You can actually use that beautiful shimmery ink as part of your card design.

These two Elegant Leaves cards are a perfect example.

Happy Today Card — Add Shimmer With Splatter

For the first card, I started with a Timid Tiger card base and die cut leaves from both Crisp Cantaloupe and Very Vanilla cardstock.

Here’s where the Shimmer Brushes come in!

The Crisp Cantaloupe leaves are splattered with the Crisp Cantaloupe Shimmer Brush, while the detailed Very Vanilla leaves are splattered with the Golden Glow Shimmer Brush.

It’s such an easy technique, but it keeps those solid die cuts from looking flat and gives the card that little extra WOW.

Quick tip: Saturate the brush with the shimmer ink and tap it against your finger to splatter the ink over your die cuts. I show you how I do this in the video, so if you’ve never tried splattering with a Shimmer Brush before, you’ll be able to see exactly how easy it is.

The sentiment is stamped in Golden Glow on Very Vanilla cardstock, with the bottom cut into a banner. A few embellishments finish everything off.

Grateful for You Card — Color With Your Shimmer Brushes

The second card uses the brushes completely differently.

This time I started with a Crisp Cantaloupe card base and added a Timid Tiger panel stamped with leaves in Timid Tiger ink. That tone-on-tone background gives us some extra detail without competing with the focal point.

Then comes the fun part.

Some of the leaves are stamped and die cut, while the detailed Very Vanilla die-cut leaves are colored directly with the Golden Glow and Crisp Cantaloupe Shimmer Brushes before being layered over the other leaves.

So instead of reaching for another coloring tool, you’re using your Shimmer Brushes to add color AND sparkle at the same time.

I love the way the leaves overlap and spill beyond the Timid Tiger panel. Stamp the “grateful for you” sentiment in Golden Glow, trim the ends at an angle and pop it up with Stampin’ Dimensionals. A few embellishments are all you need to finish the card.

Watch Me Make These Elegant Leaves Cards

Sometimes it’s much easier to understand a technique when you can actually see it being done!

In my video, I’ll show you how I used the In Color Shimmer Brushes with the Elegant Leaves Bundle, including how to get that pretty splattered effect and how I color the detailed leaves.

My Elegant Leaves Ordering Special

Love these cards and want to play with the Elegant Leaves Bundle and Shimmer Brushes yourself? I have a special thank-you for your order!

When you shop with me during this week’s special:

• $35 order — I’ll send you a handmade card.
• $50 order — Choose one Shimmer Brush (or a Wink of Stella) as my gift to you.
• $75 order — Get all of the above, PLUS my Glow of Harvest 12-Project Video Tutorial Bundle — and you’ll qualify to purchase the September Product of the Month, Luxe Foliage Specialty Designer Series Paper, for just $5.

If your order is $50 or more, be sure to fill out my quick form after you order so I know which Shimmer Brush — or Wink of Stella — you’d like me to send you.

Get the FREE Elegant Leaves Card Tutorial

Want the measurements, supply list and step-by-step instructions so you can make these cards yourself?

I’ve got you covered.

Stampin’ Up! has made this Elegant Leaves Cards downloadable class PDF available to demonstrators, and I’ve added my video link so you can have the written instructions and watch me demonstrate the techniques.

The PDF includes both cards, complete measurements, supplies and step-by-step instructions.

Want One More Elegant Leaves Idea? 🍂

I have one more Elegant Leaves card to share with you!

My Caring Thoughts card uses the Elegant Leaves Bundle and Shimmer Brushes in another beautiful way, and I’ve created a FREE project sheet with the measurements, supplies and instructions.

I’ll be sending it to my email subscribers on Sunday, September 27.

Join my email list by September 26, and I’ll send the Caring Thoughts Project Sheet right to your inbox!

Don’t Let Those Shimmer Brushes Sit in a Drawer!

If you’ve been wondering what to do with your Shimmer Brushes, pull them out and play!

Splatter. Color. Add shimmer.

You don’t need a complicated technique to make something special. Sometimes it’s just about finding another way to use the supplies you already have — and that’s exactly what I love about these cards.

Hugs, Joey

Beautiful cards. Made easy.

If you’d like to shop the Elegant Leaves Bundle, In Color Shimmer Brushes or any of the supplies I used today, you can shop with me below.

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