I sat down yesterday to create a stack of quick and simple "thinking of you" cards and the result was anything but quick and simple! It's funny how our styles can change from day to day, isn't it?
I wasn't quite sure where to begin, so I decided to flip through the catalog for inspiration. I stumbled upon the Peace, Joy & Love Christmas card on the bottom of page 26 in the Annual Catalog. I loved the layout.
My next step was to choose a color palette. So, I flipped back a few pages to the Designer Series Papers and decided upon the Moroccan DSP.
Is this how you design your cards? What is your routine? Granted, I'm sure for many of us it varies. I often turn to Pinterest for ideas.
Let's dissect this card, shall we? I used a Cajun Craze card base. I'm not sure if you notice, but I tend to display top-fold cards on my blog. I personally think they look better in blog photos. But, I prefer side-fold cards for mailing. Why? Because if someone chooses to display the card standing up, it won't collapse like a top-fold card would. Yes, I give it that much thought! If I'm preparing cards for a class, I lean towards side-fold as well since I package up all of the supplies in an envelope and the side fold sticks out less. I bet you didn't realize I put that much thought into the folds on my cards, did you? I know over the years many of you at classes and workshops have commented that my sample may fold differently than the supplies I've cut. Now you know why! The sample was made for my blog. But, the supplies were made so they'd be more recipient friendly and packagable. Have you fallen asleep?
ANYWAY....I embossed the Very Vanilla layer (4" x 5-1/4") using the new Sparkle Embossing Folder. But, what you may notice is that I adhered the raised side to the card base so that my plus signs were debossed.
The Cajun Craze layer of Moroccan DSP measures 4" x 1-3/4". I started with a 2" wide strip but decided that it was just a bit too overpowering. Also, during the design phase, I decided that a little strip of Night of Navy would look sharp running right along the bottom of that strip. So, I adhered a scrap of 4" wide Night of Navy with just the slightest edge peeking out. You might not even notice it at first, but it adds a lot.
The more colorful DSP banner measures 1-1/2" x 4". Why did I choose 1-1/2" wide? Two reasons: it fit in my triple banner punch AND I liked the way the pattern lined up. The Very Vanilla banner measures 1-3/4" x 3-1/2". I chose 1-3/4" wide because that was the width of the sentiment I'd chosen. I do kinda wish I'd made the banner a little shorter, but I decided that after the card was assembled and didn't trust myself to fussy cut a straight line.
Speaking of fussy cutting, on my inspiration card, there is an incredibly detailed fussy cut embellishment. I chose to use some Thinlits instead.
I also added some of the new 5/8" burlap ribbon, some very hard to see copper thread, and a Cajun Craze enamel dot to finish it off.
Even thought the card is the exact opposite of what I was trying to accomplish, I'm really happy with how it turned out. Now it's back to the drawing board to design that quick and simple card!
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