Cute Duck Card with Prost! and Sentimentally Speaking Bundles

Sometimes, the best cards are the ones that make you smile the second you look at them. That’s exactly how I felt while creating today’s design. These two cheerful ducks, mugs of frothy beer in wing, instantly reminded me of small-town festivals I’ve been to here in Alabama. You know the ones—where there’s music, laughter, and a sense of community all around. I wanted to capture that same spirit in a card that feels playful and full of character.

Cute Duck Card with Prost! and Sentimentally Speaking Bundles

A Playful Pair with Loads of Personality

The main stars of this card come from the Prost! Stamps & Die Bundle by The Rabbit Hole Designs. I stamped the ducks in Macchiato Ink instead of black because I love how a softer ink lets the Copic coloring shine without harsh outlines. It gives the characters a hand-drawn look, which really suits their quirky personalities. After coloring, I used the coordinating dies to cut them out—clean edges always help images pop against a busier background.

Pro Tip: If you ever feel like your stamped images are looking a little flat, try outlining them lightly with a pale gray or blue Copic. It creates instant depth without extra bulk.

Adding Depth with Stencils

For the background, I wanted something that tied into the duck theme but wouldn’t overpower the focal images. The Oh Duck!!! 6x6 Stencil was perfect for this. By masking off the bottom third of my Bristol Smooth panel with mint tape, I could keep the design clean and contained. I blended Spiced Ink and Macchiato Ink through the stencil, creating a fun little parade of ducks along the bottom.

This kind of background is a great way to add interest without introducing more layers of patterned paper. It’s especially handy if you’re aiming for a lighter, flatter card that still has visual punch.

Sentiments That Steal the Show

One of my favorite tricks for stepping up a card design is to use border-style sentiments. Here, I stamped the XOXO sentiment from the Sentimentally Speaking Holidays Abroad Bundle in a row just above the stenciled ducks using Macchiato Ink . The repeat stamping almost acts like a border itself, pulling your eye across the card.

To break it up and add dimension, I stamped one more XOXO in Spiced Ink, cut it out with the coordinating die, and popped it up in the center of the row. This creates a focal point that bridges the background with the characters above.

Pro Tip: If you’re ever worried that your sentiment might get lost against a busy background, stamping it once separately and popping it up like this is a simple fix. It adds both dimension and clarity.

Pulling It All Together

Once the ducks were placed above the popped-up sentiment, the whole card really came to life. I trimmed the panel to 3 3/4" x 5" and mounted it with foam adhesive onto a crisp white A2 card base. A few Quackers Embellishments from Trinity Stamps tucked around the scene added just the right playful touch, and some white gel pen highlights gave everything a polished, finished look.

I love how this card combines quirky humor with clean design. It’s proof that with just a few thoughtful layers—stencil work, repeated sentiments, and playful images—you can create something unique without it feeling overly complicated.

Why This Design Works

This layout solves a common challenge: how to mix images, sentiments, and stencils without the card looking too busy. By keeping the elements contained in defined areas (the ducks at the top, the stenciled border at the bottom, and the sentiment row in between), everything feels balanced. It’s a design that could easily be adapted for other occasions too—swap out the stencil or sentiment, and you’ve got a whole new card.

When I finished this project, it reminded me of how much joy comes from mixing and matching supplies in unexpected ways. Sometimes the most delightful designs happen when you give yourself permission to play. And really, isn’t that what cardmaking is all about?

Thanks for dropping by today I hope that you found a little spark of creative inspiration with my project today. Wondering what I used in this project? Everything is linked to multiple sources in the thumbnails in the Materials Used section, or in the text below. Compensated affiliate links used when possible.

Materials Used:

Here you will find the list of supplies that I used to create today's card. All supplies are linked to supply sources below. Compensated affiliate links may be used at no cost to you.

Happy Crafting,

Rick Adkins

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