Very Simply Susan

This is my entry for Global Design Project #GDP045 this week.  I am making it at the 11th hour with final entries due very soon!  This week’s challenge is a color challenge using Melon Mambo, Smoky Slate and Basic Black.  Typically I would have chosen to start with the Pop of Pink DSP and most likely a more graphic style of stamp.  This time I went a different direction.  There are some fabulous ideas and designs in the challenge this week.  I highly recommend you hop over to the Global Design Project and take a look or click on the icon below to see all the fabulous designs!

I wanted to challenge myself to do something different and experiment more with watercolor.  I found a really easy way to do watercolor on a card!  The background element was stamped in Smoky Slate on watercolor paper and then I took an aqua painter and just spread out the color some.  It is almost faultless watercoloring…at least for me!

I wanted a large floral element and of the stamp sets I have,Butterfly Basics had the element I needed.  It was an extra benefit that this set also coordinates well with the butterfly in Watercolor Wings!  I wanted a little bling and used the Metallic Enamel Dots in silver and some retired silver metallic cording.   It would have worked to use Metallic Silver thread, but that I didn’t have!  I thought a band of the silver cording was perfect to dress up the card a little.  It is hard to see on the image, but it really makes a pretty, shiny  touch.

Another detail you cannot see well is the 2 layers of butterflies I cut out in vellum that had been stamped with the same stamp used in the background.  Those dressed up the card as well.  A closeup of the vellum is shown below. 

Recipe

Papers: Basic Black, Smoky Slate, Melon Mambo, Watercolor paper
Stamps: Butterfly Basics, Watercolor Wings
Embellishments: Silver Metallic Enamel Dots, Silver Cording(retired)
Tools:Butterfly Framelits and Thinlets, Big Shot, Aqua Painter

It seems once I start on a DSP pack I cannot stop!  It is because once I start looking at all the choices, I realize the possibilities!  This card features some of the pink toned paper from the Blooms & Bliss DSP and uses the Blooms & Wishes stamp set. It is hard to tell what is stamped and what is DSP on this card! That is how great the Blooms & Wishes set is for creating backgrounds.

The Blooms & Wishes set is photopolymer making it easy to created layered looks. The stamps are designed with a watercolor look and layering images so it works well with soft muted tones, although I think you could do bright colors just as easily.  The layering would just get tricky with bright colors.  The sentiments in the set have a “handwritten” look to them that adds to the handmade look of cards. And who isn’t loving the ruches ribbons?  And oddly enough, Sweet Sugarplum was my least favorite of the new InColors, but has been the one I have used the most!

Recipe

Papers: Blooms & Bliss DSP, Sweet Sugarplum, Rich Razzleberry, Blushing Bride
Stamps: Blooms & Wishes
Embellishments: Sweet Sugarplum Ruched Ribbon

Today’s card is somewhat of a “leftover” from one I did a few days ago with the Blooms & Bliss DSP.  The sentiment was stamped and framed and the butterflies were done. But these elements did not make the cut for the card a few days ago.   I loved how the framing turned out so well for the sentiment, but decided I needed to design another card to showcase them.  I love big, bold sentiments.  Sometimes, that is all that you need for a card.  This card would have been fine without the butterfly and the doily, but I kept “adding” on and liked what I saw and decided to keep all the embellishments in.

True, there is a lot going on, but I think when you go “dainty” or “vintage”, a lot of layering and embellishment work.  And in this design, it is the bow and doily that create the “dainty” look.  Yes, this has a lot going on, but I think it all works well together and makes a pretty card. Don’t be afraid to layer on a lot when you go “dainty” or “vintage”!

Recipe

Papers: Island Indigo, Mint Macaron, Blooms & Bliss
Stamps: Thankful Thoughts
Tools: Butterfly Thinlets, Big Shot
Embellishments: Mint Macaron Sheer Linen Ribbon, Basic Pearls