I’m back again with another Triple 1 Challenge, but this time with the Dragonfly Garden stamp set. Just to refresh, the Triple 1 Challenge uses only 1 stamp set, 1 color ink and 1 color cardstock (the base of the card doesn’t count) to create a card. It’s great for those who beginner stampers and even for those who want to create a quick, yet attractive card.

This particular Triple 1 Challenge features the Stampin’ Up! Blender pens to cover up a little mistake I made. If you haven’t read how I used them and what they are, you can read more about them here.

My card features one of the 2021-2023 In Colors, Evening Evergreen, Basic White cardstock and the Dragonfly Garden stamp set. Using the Stampin’ Up! Blender brush, I inked the brush directly from the ink pad to add a nice wash of color. When using the blending brush, begin with a very light hand and start OFF the cardstock. You’ll notice in Step #1 that I have a piece of copy paper beneath. I use a small circular motion starting on the copy paper and, without lifting, move onto the cardstock. If you don’t like the result, simply flip your piece of cardstock over and try again!

In Step #2, I used the smallest cluster of dragonflies to create a stream of dragonflies that gradually disappear in the distance. This effect is achieved using the stamping off technique, which is very simple. You start with a fully inked stamp and stamp onto your project then do NOT re-ink your stamp. Stamp again and your 2nd image will be lighter. Depending on the how dark your initial color is, you can sometimes stamp off multiple times. In the case of this card, I stamps twice at full strength and then stamped off not once, but twice. My suggestion would be to try this on a scrap piece of paper first to see how your images will look before attempting on cardstock.

In Step #3, I add my focal image. This is where I messed up. Notice you can see the smaller dragonflies through the wings? This is where the blender brush came into play in Step #4 to color in the wings and hide my mistake! My last steps included adding a sentiment to my card and then assembling. Keep scrolling for a list of the dimensions and supplies used to create this card and to see a companion card that included one tiny punched dragonfly and how I created it.

The base of both cards is Evening Evergreen. I cut a piece of 8.5 x 11 cardstock in half at 5.5″, then folded to create a 5.5 x 4.25 card base. The Basic White panel that I stamped on is 5.25 x 4. I also added a Basic White panel to the interior of the card that measures 5 x 3.75.

For the second card, you’ll notice I stepped it up just a bit with a small punched dragonfly. That tiny dragonfly is actually one of the large dragonflies in the set that I stamped off (2nd generation of stamping) on a scrap piece of basic white. I then took the Dragonflies punch, that punches both a large and a small dragonfly. I used the smaller dragonfly to punch out a tiny dragonfly from the larger stamped image! I adhered the small dragonfly by adding a tiny bit of Tombow liquid glue to the body only.

Both cards are examples of the Triple 1 Challenge. Cards that are simple and quick don’t have to look it. Give the challenge a try with your favorite stamp set! I would love to see your finished product!