Creating multiple cards from one layout is one of my favorite ways to streamline the card-making process while still ending up with unique and thoughtful designs. Today, I’m excited to share three fun and cozy cards featuring the You Fill My Cup Stamp Set, Valentine Heart Die Set, and Coffee 6 x 6 Pattern Paper from Pixi Dust Designs. If you’ve ever found yourself staring at your supplies, unsure where to start, a good card sketch can be a lifesaver — and that’s exactly what inspired these designs.
Three Cards One Layout:
Why One Layout Works So Well
One of the best things about using a single card sketch is that it takes the guesswork out of design. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time you sit down to create — just tweak a few details like color, focal images, and embellishments, and you’ve got a whole new look. I love how working from a sketch helps keep my creative momentum going, especially when I’m making multiple cards for a set or a special occasion.
For today’s cards, I picked a sketch that had a clean but layered design — perfect for highlighting the adorable coffee-themed images from the You Fill My Cup Stamp Set. Once I had the sketch in hand, the rest came together so easily!
Picking the Right Supplies
When I’m working with patterned paper and multiple images, I like to stick to a coordinated color palette to keep everything cohesive. The Coffee 6 x 6 Pattern Paper from Pixi Dust Designs was perfect for this — the mix of coffee-themed patterns and soft pink, teal, and brown tones made it easy to match my colored images with the background papers.
Pro Tip: If you’re working with busy patterns, try breaking them up with solid cardstock mats in coordinating colors. It helps give the design some breathing room and keeps the patterns from overwhelming the focal image.
I started by stamping the three little girls from the You Fill My Cup Stamp Set onto Hammermill Smooth Cardstock with Memento Tuxedo Black Ink — my go-to combo for alcohol marker coloring. I colored them with my Triblend Markers, which gave me nice, smooth blending. Once they were colored, I fussy cut them with my paper snips.
Pro Tip: When fussy cutting, leave a small white border around your image — it gives it a clean, polished look and helps it stand out against the background.
Card One: Coffee To-Go
For the first card, I chose the little girl holding a large to-go coffee cup as my focal image. I picked out the pink coffee bean pattern paper from the Coffee 6 x 6 Pattern Paper pad and cut it down to 3 ¾” x 5”. To give it a finished look, I matted it onto a piece of teal cardstock cut to 4” x 5 ¼”.
I love how the teal tones pulled out the color from her coffee cup and added a fresh pop to the design. I added a strip of pattern paper with a teal background and "coffee" written in different fonts in brown to the top third of the card — it helped anchor the design and balance out the focal image.
To finish it off, I stamped the sentiment onto a circle die cut, matted it with a teal cardstock circle, and tucked it next to the little girl holding her coffee. I love how the layering gives it such a cozy feel!
Card Two: Coffee Pour
For the second card, I flipped the sketch 180 degrees — which is one of my favorite ways to stretch a layout. This time, I used the little girl pouring coffee into a cup as the focal image.
I picked out the brown coffee-themed drinks pattern paper from the Coffee 6 x 6 Pattern Paper pad and layered it onto a pink cardstock mat. I wanted to give this card a warmer feel, so I cut a strip of the pink coffee bean pattern paper and placed it along the bottom third of the card front.
To ground the focal image, I cut a square of white cardstock, matted it with pink, and placed it on the left side of the patterned strip. I stamped the sentiment "You Fill My Cup" underneath and popped the little girl pouring coffee onto the square. This layout came together so effortlessly — and the flip made it feel like a fresh design even though it’s based on the same sketch!
Card Three: I Like You a Latte
For the third card, I wanted to highlight the sweet little girl holding her coffee cup. I used the teal coffee bean pattern paper as my background, cutting it down to 3 ¾” x 5” and matting it with teal cardstock.
I die cut a scalloped heart from the Valentine Heart Die Set out of white cardstock and stamped the sentiment "I Like You a Latte" on the right side. I love how the heart shape adds a soft, playful touch that ties in perfectly with the coffee theme.
I positioned the little girl onto the die-cut heart and added a strip of the pink coffee bean pattern paper along the bottom edge of the card front. This gave the design a nice balance and pulled all the colors together.
Finishing Touches
No card feels complete to me without a little extra detail! I added white gel pen highlights to each of the stamped and colored images — it helps brighten up the design and makes the characters look more dimensional. A few strategically placed highlights on the coffee cups and hair really made them pop.
Pro Tip: Adding gel pen highlights to the edges of clothing, hair, or accessories creates the look of reflected light and gives your images more depth — just don’t overdo it!
Why This Technique Works
Using one sketch for multiple cards is such a time-saver, but it’s also a great way to build confidence in your designs. Once you’ve got a sketch that works, you can experiment with different patterns, color palettes, and focal images — the options are endless!
These three cards came together so smoothly thanks to the coordinated supplies and the flexibility of the layout. Plus, the You Fill My Cup Stamp Set is just so charming — I love how the little coffee-loving girls give each card a cozy, personal feel.
Three Cards One Layout Video Tutorial:
If you have problems watching the video here on my blog you can always watch it on my YouTube Channel by Clicking here!
Give It a Try!
If you’ve got a card sketch you love, try using it for a set of cards like this! Mixing up the patterns and focal images will keep the designs fresh while saving you time and creative energy. And if you haven’t checked out the You Fill My Cup Stamp Set and Coffee 6 x 6 Pattern Paper from Pixi Dust Designs yet — you’re going to love how easy they are to work with.
I hope these cards inspire you to pull out your favorite sketch and start creating. Let me know which design is your favorite — I’d love to hear how you make it your own!
(Wondering what I used in this video? Everything is linked to multiple sources in the thumbnails at the end of this post, or in the text below. Compensated affiliate links used when possible). As always I appreciate your support of my videos!
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 Stampin'
Rick Adkins
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