Hello friends, today I’m sharing not one, but two projects created with the beautiful Tracy Evans Boutique Designs Create a Garden stamp set—a mixed media journal page and a coordinating bookmark.
I love the versatility of this collection. With flowers and birds in a variety of sizes, there are so many possibilities for cards, tags, journal pages, bookmarks, and more. And, of course, I couldn’t resist pairing these stamps with some colorful gel prints from my stash!
🌸 Creating a Garden from a Gel Print
I started by digging through my collection of gel prints and choosing one that I thought would make an interesting background. One of my favorite things about keeping gel prints on hand is that I can pull one out whenever I want to create without having to start completely from scratch. The layers of color and texture are already there—you just have to decide what story you want to tell on top of them.
For this page, I decided to create a bold silhouette-style garden scene using the flowers from the Create a Garden set.
💙 Creating the Silhouettes with Embossing Powder
Instead of stamping the flowers in traditional black ink, I reached for WOW! Embossing Powder in Pea Coat. The deep blue creates a beautiful silhouette effect against the colorful gel print while still allowing the background to remain part of the design.
I love how the detailed flowers stand out against all those loose, unpredictable layers underneath. It’s that contrast between structured stamped images and free-flowing gel prints that makes mixed media so much fun.
🐦 Adding the Birds & Sentiments
Next, I added the birds and sentiments from the set using clear embossing powder. The clear embossing creates a more subtle layer that catches the light without competing with the bold floral silhouettes.
Those little differences in finish help create depth and encourage you to look a little closer at the page to discover all the details.
✨ Don’t Forget the Scraps!
After finishing my journal page, I still wasn’t ready to put these stamps away. I had a leftover piece from one of my recent gel prints sitting on my desk, so rather than adding it back to my scrap container, I decided to turn it into a bookmark.
I stamped the leftover piece with images from the Create a Garden set and heat embossed them with WOW! Vintage Gold Embossing Powder. That beautiful metallic gold completely changed the look of the same stamps and gave the scrap a second life as something useful.
One stamp set, two gel prints, and two completely different looks!
💛 Why I Love This Combination
Projects like these are exactly why I love keeping my gel prints and scraps. You don’t always need to start with a blank piece of cardstock—or buy something new—to make something beautiful.
Sometimes all you need is:
- A gel print from your stash
- A versatile stamp set
- A couple of embossing powders
- A willingness to experiment
Changing something as simple as your embossing powder can give the same stamped images a completely different personality.
💡 A Little Creative Challenge
Before you clean off your craft desk this week, take another look at those leftover pieces.
Could a strip of a gel print become a bookmark?
Could a colorful scrap become a tag?
Could the same stamp you used on a journal page become the focal point of your next card?
Challenge yourself to create one extra project from something you would normally put away—or throw away.
You might be surprised by which project becomes your favorite!
Thank you so much for stopping by today! I had so much fun creating with the Tracy Evans Boutique Designs Create a Garden set, and I already have ideas for how I want to use these beautiful flowers and birds in future projects.
I hope this inspires you to dig into your gel print stash, play with your embossing powders, and see how many different ways you can use your favorite stamps.
Have a wonderful day and happy creating! 🌸🐦✨
 Tracy Evans Boutique Designs – Create a Garden Shop at: TP |
 WOW! Embossing – Clear Shop at: WOW US | TP |
 WOW! Embossing – Clear Embossing Pad Shop at: WOW US | TP |
 WOW! Embossing – Tracy Scott Gold Vintage Lace Shop at: TP |
 WOW! Embossing – Tracy Scott Pea Coat Shop at: TP |
 Lavinia – Sentiment Stickers – Uplifting Collection Shop at: TP |
 Altenew – Cloud White Shop at: Alt |
 Lavinia – Elements Dye Ink – Henna Shop at: TP |
 Tsukineko – VersaFine Clair – Nocturn Shop at: AZ | TP | |
 Tsukineko – Versafine Clair – Twilight Shop at: TP |
 Gel Press – Reusable Gel Printing Plate Shop at: AZ | TP | Misc |
 Hero Arts – Wagner – HT400 Precision Heat Tool Shop at: AZ |
 Lavinia 5/8 Stencil Brush Shop at: TP | |
 Speedball – 2″ Brayer Shop at: TP |