You Are Awesome ♥

Hello there!  I have to say that I love challenges where we can use the inspirational photo, the sketch or we can combine the two into one card. They are my absolute favorites and I never know which way it will go until I am very nearly finished with my project.

I love the colors in the Sugar Pea Designs 1st Challenge inspiration photo but I also really like the sketch so I wanted to include a little of the sketch into my project as well.  I am inspired by the colors, but they aren't a new combination for me.  My mom bought her house almost 32 years ago and the bathroom has Peach/Coral and Blues. It has always been a lovely combination.  In fact, it is so lovely that Double D Challenges has the same color combination this week. Plus I'll be able to include the CAS Mix Up Challenge using Stamping, Die Cutting and Sprays, Stamping Royalty #332 with Flowers as the theme and Word Art Wednesday which is always Anything Goes. I don't know if I've ever been able to participate in so many challenges with just one card!

When I sat down in my studio yesterday my first project for the day was to create a page header for my blog.  I wanted it to be mine, not just some random text I could put in the little form box.  I'm happy to have that done. I've been thinking about it for a while. While I was sitting at my computer I was thinking about a thank you or encouragement type of card I wanted to make to send to a scrappy friend that lives in Europe.  I use the term "scrappy" because I started as a scrapbooker 20 years ago and those friends were "scrappy" friends. I think most card makers refer to them as "crafty" friends.

This particular person does a lot to share her knowledge and expertise with others who are getting started making cards and her YouTube videos are top notch all the way.  I have followed her blog (and YouTube Channel) from the first time I saw a video that she had done when I got seriously into making cards last year in August. Although English is not her first language, she speaks it incredibly well.  She is on several U.S. design teams and I love her style.  It is classic and elegant even when she is working on something more cutesy.  It's a style I mimic in my own projects.

I was trying to think about the card I would make for her and I wanted it to be different than the things she uses and has access to which meant using a stamp set from Papertrey Ink. Once I did that, it was easy to determine which one I would use; Tulip Time wins out almost every time.

I started with an A2 top folding note card made from Papertrey Ink Rustic White Cardstock. I wasn't sure I would like this cardstock even after it arrived but now I wish I would have ordered the bigger package as I've used it several times and only have about 5 sheets left.  It's a soft white with little flecks of color in it.  It's a nice alternative to crisp bright white without having to go with cream cardstock. It's the one I will use the way other cardmakers use Kraft.  I spritzed two 4.25 x 5.5 inch panels in Sea Glass (a Creative Memories paper) and Berry Sorbet with Tsukineko Sheer Shimmer Spritz and set them aside to dry while I was working on my other elements.

To stamp the Tulips, it definitely called for my MISTI Stamping Tool.  I cut the die cut pieces from Stamper's Select White and then used the negative in the MISTI to hold those pieces in place while I stamped all of the layers.  There are two layers for the leaves and three for the tulips. I used Spun Sugar, Abandoned Coral and Picked Raspberry Distress Inks for the blooms and Papertrey's Vintage Jadeite with Mowed Lawn Distress Ink for the leaves. I grouped them together using a combination of Ranger Multi Medium Matte and Thin 3D Foam Squares. I wanted to get the bow tied around them before I attached the bouquet to the card so that was next.  On the back side of the bouquet, I used a little Glossy Accents to keep the ribbon in place.

I die cut the frame from Spellbinders Labels 42 and Labels 42 Decorative Elements.  You have to have both sets to get the frame but you could also use just the label without the center cut out of it.  Look through the dies you already have to see what you have that would work as a frame or label.

Next I die cut the Sea Glass and Berry Sorbet panels using the largest Simon Says Stamp Stitched Rectangle.  I re-aligned the sea glass panel back into that same die to take a bit more off of 2 sides rather than going down to the next size die. This allows a narrow mat all the way around the panel. Then I started assembling everything to the card base.  I used Scor-Tape (Sookwang Paper Tape) on each of the background panels and adhered them to the card base as well.  For the tulips, I know the person I am sending this too really loves to have dimension on her cards so I used Foam Squares (Thin and Regular) to add dimension to the gold frame, the bouquet, and the little banner across the front.  I die cut the Waffle Flower "Awesome", adhering that and the little heart using Ranger Multi Medium Matte.  The little hearts are the extras I keep in the (real) Vintage Jadeite bowl that sits on my desk.  I use this Mini Hearts Die a lot and there are always extras from that die in my little bowl of leftover pieces.

This finishes up today's post.  Thank you so much for stopping by and I very much appreciate it when you take time to comment.