A Little Sunshine in Two Lemon Cards | Altenew

Two Cards, One Lemon-Inspired Idea

For both cards I used the Creative Cuts Lemon Tree Layering Die and worked with the same beautiful combination of yellows, greens and blue.

The yellow of the lemons immediately brings a happy feeling to the cards. But even though the colors are similar, the different backgrounds and shapes make a big difference.

For the first card, I went for something more graphic and playful. For the second, I softened the design and gave it a quieter, more peaceful feeling.

I really enjoyed discovering how much the overall mood of a card can change simply by changing the background and the shapes around the focal point.

Card 1 – A Little Extra Sparkle

For this card, I kept the blue stripes from the original workshop inspiration, but instead of plain blue cardstock, I made the stripes of glitter paper.

I used the Fine Frames Diamonds Die Set to create diamond-shaped openings in the white panel. The glittery blue paper peeking through immediately adds sparkle and makes the yellow lemons pop.

I then arranged the lemon branches across the card, allowing some of the leaves and lemons to extend beyond the openings. I really like that this keeps the design from feeling too rigid.

The sentiment comes from the Craft Your Life Project Kit Bold & Beautiful.

A few Crystal Moonlight Stellar Sequins add just a little more sparkle without taking attention away from the lemons.

This card definitely feels cheerful, bright and playful to me.

And I have to admit… I really enjoyed working with all those little lemons! 🍋

Card 2 – A Quieter Lemon Tree

For my second card, I kept the same general idea of blue background areas surrounded by white space, but changed quite a few things.

Instead of the diamond-shaped openings, I used round openings created with the Nesting Circles Die Set.

And rather than using glitter paper, I chose a beautiful piece of design paper from my stash. The softer background immediately changed the feeling of the card.

I also decided to use the pot from the Lemon Tree Layering Die and let the lemon tree grow from it.

That small change made a surprisingly big difference.

The first card feels more energetic and playful, while this one feels softer, calmer and more peaceful. It is still a happy card—the yellow lemons make sure of that—but it has a completely different mood.

I love discovering things like that when making cards. Sometimes you don't need to change the main image or the colors at all. A different shape, background or arrangement can completely change the feeling.