Encouragement Card: Layered Lighthouse Scene

Encouragement cards are a wonderful way to brighten someone’s day, and this layered lighthouse scene is full of sunshine, dimension, and cheerful details! With shading, layering, and thoughtful placement, cardstock alone can create a bold and uplifting design.

Hi Carrianne here! I’m excited to walk you through each step so you can recreate this card and send a little light to someone special.

Supplies & Materials

CutCardStock Colors Used:

• DCS Dolphin Gray
• Classic Crest Solar White
• Pop Tone Red Hot
• DCS Surf
• DCS Yellow Jacket
• DCS Gumdrop Green

Other Supplies:

• La-La Land Crafts: June 2025 Kit of the Month, Cloud, Grass Border Dies, Snowbanks Die
• Distress inks: Tumbled Glass (sky), shading die elements
• Copic Markers: (C0) for clouds and lighthouse highlights
• Adhesives: liquid glue, foam tape for dimension
• Altenew for sentiment

Step 1: Die Cut All Elements

Before we start assembling the card, it’s helpful to cut all the pieces from CutCardStock first. Laying them out lets you see the colors and plan where everything will go.

Step 2: Add Shading to Grass and Sun

Next, we add shading to the grass and sun. This step brings dimension to flat cardstock and gives your card a more realistic and lively appearance.

Step 3: Shade the Lighthouse

Now it’s time to add shading to the lighthouse. Red highlights help define the structure and make it the focal point of the card.

Step 4: Clouds and Lighthouse Highlights

Once the lighthouse is shaded, we move to the clouds and small details. Light shading on clouds and marker highlights on the lighthouse add subtle depth without overpowering the scene.

Step 5: Blend the Sky Panel

With the pieces prepared, we create the sky. Using Tumbled Glass distress ink, blend from the top down to leave a soft, daytime sky that will serve as the perfect backdrop.

Step 6: Add Water and Adjust Sun

At this point, I decided to make a small design change. Originally, I planned to use two layers of grass, but as the scene came together, it felt a bit heavy at the bottom. Instead, I removed one grass layer and added DCS Surf cardstock using a snowbanks die to represent water. This simple change lightened the design and felt more natural for a lighthouse scene. I also swapped the large sun for a smaller one, cutting it from DCS Yellow Jacket again, to give the sky more breathing room.

Step 7: Test the Layout Before Adhering

Before adhering any of the main elements, I used tweezers to temporarily place the lighthouse on the panel. This allowed me to arrange the clouds and sun around it and make sure the sky felt open and balanced before committing with adhesive.

Step 8: Adhere the Scene

Once the layout was finalized, all of the elements were adhered to the panel. The small cloud was glued directly to the background, while the larger cloud was popped up with foam tape so the sun could peek out from behind it. The lighthouse was secured with a small piece of foam tape near the top for subtle dimension, and a tiny seagull was added as a finishing touch.

To complete the card, I stamped the sentiment directly onto the panel in the open space to the right of the lighthouse. The finished panel was then adhered to a DCS Dolphin Gray card base, which frames the scene and helps the colors stand out.

Taking a closer look really shows how all the pieces come together and the subtle details that make the card special.

Thanks so much for following along! I hope this lighthouse card inspires you to create your own layered encouragement designs. If you give this card a try, I’d love to hear about it — leave a comment below and share your thoughts or tips!

—Carrianne