ThePowerOfACard: Shadowed Strips

Wednesday, April 29, 2026

Shadowed Strips

I've been seeing a lot of cards on the internet with this technique, so that inspired me to make this video for you. I'm not sure if this is the "official name" of the technique, but it works for me! Often, you see the Shadowed Strips made with paper that has a scene on it. But as you will witness, you can make it with a variety of papers, even embossed cardstock! I have a special tip that makes adhering the strips easy and with precision! The card I make in the video uses Dimensionals, but my sample used Foam Strips, which definitely give more lift and shadow. I show you both side by side so you can decide which look you want. Let's get started!

Gather your supplies:

Cardstock: Basic Beige 8-1/2" x 5-1/2" scored at 4-1/4", 3" x 4-1/4"; Pretty Peacock 3" x 4-1/4", 2-7/8" x 5-1/2"; Nature Walk DSP 2-1/2" x 5-1/2"
Stamp Bundle: Nature's Symphony
Ink: Pretty Peacock
Ribbon: Linen Thread 37"
Embellishment: Antique Pearls
Blends: Dark Pretty Peacock
Adhesive and Tools

After folding your card in half, cut out the large leaf cluster from Basic Beige and Pretty Peacock. Set these aside until we prepare the panel of strips. Cut the piece of DSP into 1/2" strips, keeping them in order until we can adhere them. One thing to note is that whatever piece you cut into strips must be evenly cut into 1/2" increments. (For example, you can't evenly cut a horizontal piece of paper that begins at 4" x 5-1/4" because you'll be left with a 1/4" strip.)

My helpful tip is to use Glad Press'n Seal to assemble the strips. This is a thin film that has a light adhesive that isn't too sticky for paper, but will adhere to your containers in the kitchen. Turn your strips over, one at a time and place them on the piece of Press'n Seal. Keep adding strips right next to each other, making sure there are no gaps and that the tops and bottoms align. When your have all the strips on the Press'n Seal, you can add glue to every other strip, then pick up the entire arrangement and add it to the larger piece of Pretty Peacock.

Carefully peal back the Press'n Seal, keeping the unglued strips in place. Add either Dimensionals or Foam Strips to the back of the first strip and add it to the end of the panel. Repeat with each unattached strip until they are all adhered. I like to do the strips one at a time so they don't get out of order. Set this panel aside as we work on the leaves.

For the leaves, I kept one intact, but cut the second one (Basic Beige) into two pieces. Use a Silicone Craft Sheet to work out your arrangement of the leaves. When you get them positioned as you like, use Mini Glue Dots to adhere them together. This will allow you to pick it up as a single unit.

You'll need just over 3 feet (not yards like I said in the video!) of Linen Thread. If you use a fresh dryer sheet (not used in the dryer) to rub over the thread, it will help remove some of the curls and smooth it out. Wrap it around the Shadowed Strips layer twice and tie in a bow. Add this panel to the card front with glue. Then you can slip in the leaves, position as desired, and adhere with more Glue Dots to the strips.

To finish, stamp the sentiment in the lower right corner with Pretty Peacock ink. I decided to leave this sample without an inside sentiment so that when I need to use this card, I can customize it for the occasion - birthday, graduation, retirement, etc. I did stamp some leaves (stamped off for a lighter version) on both the inside of the card and the envelope.

Paper with scenes are so great for this technique! Here I have the musical bugs from the Cute as a Bug DSP. After cutting it into strips and mounting them to the piece of Old Olive, I added a few more bugs, which were cut using the dies from the Sweet Bugs Bundle, on the elevated strips. The sentiment straddles several strips and is from a new set called Exciting Times.

Instead of patterned paper for this card, I used the Greenery Lane Washi tape on a piece of Basic White. From the Greenery Lane stamp set, I used the small flowers to stamp on my card base around the edges in Lost Lagoon ink. The strips were mounted on Pretty Peacock and the sentiment was embossed in white on a panel of the same color. I added a few more leaves from the washi tape to finish the card.

For this next sample, I wanted to show a completely different look. First, I embossed a panel of Basic White with the Sunflower 3D embossing folder. Then I cut it in half on the diagonal. On my trimmer, I placed the cut edge of the diagonal piece at 3/4" and cut a strip. I repeated this process until I had four pieces for each half of the embossed panel. Then I adhered them in the same manner to a piece of Golden Glow, one of the new In Colors. Before adding this to the card front, I tied a bow with Golden Glow Bordered Ribbon. I embossed the sentiment from Friendly Foliage and decorated with 2026-2028 In Color Dots. I embossed two more strips of Basic White to place on the inside and envelope.

This next sample is a variation of the Spotlight technique (which has only a portion of the paper colored). I stamped the Flowers Fair image in black on a panel of Basic White. After cutting it into strips, I colored every other panel with Stampin' Blends in Hydrangea Hue, Crisp Cantaloupe (not cucumber 🤣), and Granny Apple Green. As I adhered them to the panel of Hydrangea Hue, I did not peel off the backing of the lower end of the strips so I could tie a strip of ribbon around the lower strips. When that was done, I adhered the strips with Dimensionals over the ribbon to create a woven look. Lastly, I added that panel to a piece of Basic White and glued it to a Crisp Cantaloupe card base. My sentiments are from Phrases and Frames and I used more 2026-2028 In Color Dots.

This sample features one of my favorites from the new Online Exclusives for May - Silly Old Bear Suite. While I seem to prefer layouts with vertical strips, I decided to make this one with horizontal strips. There are a lot of great scenes on the Silly Old Bear DSP but this one was perfect for Eeyore. I placed the strips on Early Espresso paper which was matted with Hydrangea Hue. The card base is Very Vanilla and the sentiments are from Sweet Words & Labels. I made this a gift card holder by adding a rectangle embossed with the Hundred Acre Woods folder. I pulled in a stamp from the Gears & Textures stamp set to add texture to the envelope flap and strip on the inside.

My last card features the paper from the new May - August Mini Catalog called Scenic Coast Specialty DSP. It is so lovely that I hate to cut it into smaller pieces! That makes it perfect for this technique so you can still see a large portion of the paper. I kept it simple by putting the strips on Blueberry Bushel and adding it to a Daffodil Delight card base. I used the Sunset Coast bundle for my sentiments and sailboat. By trimming the sentiment with my snips, I covered up less of that pretty sunset.

I hope I've given you plenty of ideas for trying out this technique. It's super fun and so easy when you use the Press'n Seal! Have fun!

Karen

ThePowerOfACard@gmail.com

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