Today I’m sharing a card I made for a very special occasion—our wedding anniversary. I’ve lost count of the number of years we’ve been together, but somehow along the way my husband and I developed a bit of a thing about mushrooms (don’t ask me how it started, but it’s now firmly part of our story!) So of course, when it came to making a card just for him, mushrooms had to feature!
Card Overview
- Size: A5
- Base: Crumb Cake cardstock
- Layers: patterned paper with a heart design
- Feature: Die-cut heart with woodgrain texture and watercoloured mushrooms
- Sentiment: Label maker strips on Very Vanilla cardstock
- Colours: Neutrals with warm, rustic tones
Materials Used
- Stampin’ Up cardstock – Crumb Cake and Very Vanilla
- Heart patterned DSP – from a Christmas pad in my stash
- Woodgrain embossing folder – Stampin’ Up
- Early Espresso ink – to sponge edges, Stampin’ Up
- Mushroom dies – from Amazon
- Watercolour paper and paints – for the mushrooms
- Label maker – for sentiment
- Adhesives – foam pads and wet glue
Step 1: Creating the Base
I started with an A5 card base made from Crumb Cake cardstock—such a versatile neutral and one I reach for time and again.
To layer on top, I chose a heart-patterned DSP from my stash—funnily enough, it’s actually from a Christmas paper pad, which just goes to show how useful it is to look beyond seasonal themes when choosing patterned papers. I trimmed it down to fit the card front but left a small border on either side, with the right-hand gap slightly wider than the left for a little visual interest.
Step 2: Die Cutting the Heart
For the focal point, I die cut a large heart shape from Crumb Cake cardstock, then ran it through the woodgrain embossing folder (also from Stampin’ Up) to add texture. I lightly sponged the edges with Early Espresso ink to give it more depth and definition. The heart was then popped up on foam adhesive and positioned slightly off-centre on the card front.
Step 3: Making the Mushrooms
The stars of the show—our symbolic mushrooms! These were die cut from watercolour paper using a set of mushroom dies I picked up on Amazon. I had a lovely time painting them using watercolour paints, keeping the palette warm and natural to suit the card’s rustic feel.
Once dry, the mushrooms were adhered around the base of the heart using wet glue, gently overlapping the edge for a grounded, organic look.
Step 4: Adding the Sentiment
I kept the sentiment simple and personal, with a little play on words. Using a label maker, I printed a short message and adhered it to Very Vanilla cardstock before trimming them into two separate strips. These were then glued in place.
Final Touches
I decided to keep this card quite clean and simple, letting the texture of the heart, the hand-painted mushrooms, and the sentiment do all the talking. It’s not overly fussy, but full of meaning—and most importantly, it gave my husband a smile.
Final Thoughts
It’s always special to make something with a personal touch, and I love how a silly in-joke about mushrooms has become such a heartfelt detail for our anniversary card.
Don’t forget to look through your seasonal stash—you never know what might be perfect for an everyday or special occasion card!
If you’d like to see how I used these mushroom dies on a Christmas card, you can see that here.
Happy crafting – and here’s to celebrating love, mushrooms and all! 🍄❤️
Lily-by-Gilly 
Love this card Gill – fab pop of red from the mushrooms against the neutral background. Happy anniversary!
The mushrooms are the star of the show here for me, they have so much depth and character