Very Simply Susan

Global Design Project is celebrating their 100th Challenge this week with “Case the Designer” #GDP100, Your Pick. The Challenge Designers did an assortment of cards and you could pick any you wanted to CASE. Or, to explain it better,  “Copy And Share Everything“.  Hop over to Global Design Project and see what they are doing by clicking on the image below.

I chose Brian King’s card.  Mostly because I was blown away by his use of a background stamp I never even noticed, the new Marbled.  Of course, I don’t have the stamp…yet.  So, I had to choose something else as a background and that something else was the Color Theory DSP.  I chose an Ombre DSP in Berry Burst. I Then anchored the right side  with a really big sentiment from Big Birthdays and ran a balloon up the side in honor of the challenge logo above. Please note the balloon was stamped on a somewhat marbled paper! Not exactly a “Copy Everything”, more of an “inspired by“.

The Big on Birthdays stamp set has large, bold sentiments that really make a card.  And make card making simple in that the stamped image is really your card design.  You just need to decide on your backgrounds and colors.  These stamps do all the other work for you. Check out this wonderful stamp set HERE!

I found more inspiration for ombre backgrounds on the Stampin’ Up blog with some Ombre Cards that 2017 Artisan Winner Paula Dobson did.  You can see them HERE! If I had seen this blog before completing my challenge card, I would certainly have tried this technique for an ombre background.  I am sure I will do something soon and share it with you. It is a fabulous technique using the sponge brayers. And Paula makes it look so beautiful.

I encourage you to CASE one of the cards on the Global Design Project this week.  I found this a fun challenge and I may try one more this week.  By casing, you don’t have to come up with a completely original design. And you can change things around a bit to make it your own.

Card Recipe

Papers: Color Theory DSP Stack, Berry Burst, Crush Curry
Stamps: Big on Birthdays, Balloon Celebration
Embellishments: Crushed Curry Backer’s Twine
Tools: Balloon Bouquet punch

I love the decor style called “Americana”. And Wood Words is the perfect stamp set to create a unique Americana look.  I know I probably say this about every stamp set, but Wood Words was one of the first sets to catch my eye.  I like rustic looks and this stamp set is perfect for this.

Also perfect for this look is one of the papers from the Wood Textures DSP Stack. I love these papers for their realistic look and what I will be able to do for both decor items and cards.  I had not tried a thing with these fabulous papers.  But today I saw a great Americana room look on an e-mail from Birch Lane.  While I love the look, re-decorating a room is not something I want to do right now.  Next best thing to getting my creativity fix for Americana?  A card, of course!

Here’s a close-up of the card so you can see just how realistic the paper looks! It appears I have stamped on a whitewashed board. But this is paper.

Americana is the first thing that came to mind for the Wood Words set, but it also perfect for fall and Thanksgiving cards.  And I can’t wait to try out some decor using the coordinating Wood Crate dies!  You can see the beautiful rustic designs in the stamp set below. Click on the image to learn more and see a video!

And with all the beautiful DSP and embellishments that go with this suite, you can see below how perfect this set is for fall decor and card making. The wood crates are cut from the dies in the Wood Crate Framelits. I can see them as perfect treat containers for fall, Thanksgiving, Halloween or Christmas!

Check out this new suite soon! I know you will love the rustic , vintage look and come up with great ideas for using this for your fall gifting, decor and card making!

Card Recipe

Papers: Wood Textures DSP Stack, Real Red, Night of Navy
Stamps: Wood Words, Label Me Pretty
Embellishments: Night of Navy 1/2″ Gingham Ribbon
Tools: Pretty Label Punch, Wood Crate Framelits, Big Shot

This card with the Merry Mistletoe stamp set and Be Merry DSP was made for a swap I participated in earlier this summer.  The swap was for Christmas cards using sets from the 2017-2018 Stampin’ Up Catalog.  And of course, I  had to choose the new Christmas set, Merry Mistletoe!  This set has big, bold holiday sentiments, which I love.

When creating  holiday cards, I love a big bold greeting.  And  lots of holiday colors. This houndstooth pattern from the Be Merry DSP caught my eye right away. It is really simple, but the colors just say holiday. The simple pattern makes it easy to pair with solid colors not in the DSP.  So, you can be as creative as you like coming up wth card designs.  I can see this with Real Red or even Early Espresso.  It all depends on the look you want.  I choose to go traditional and paired it with Cherry Cobbler.

The big bold DSP pattern is a great look with the even bolder “merry Christmas” stamp. A simple Metallic Foil Doily  and Metallic Enamel shape in gold were all the embellishments needed.  Its is very simple, but elegant.  I did a similar card a while ago that was one of my most pinned cards on Pinterest that season!  I thought maybe it was just too simple to even post. But I think the easy design combined with the holiday colors appealed to many who needed a simple, fast card.  You can see that card HERE!

This would be a great design if you had to do lots and lots of holiday cards!  And it is not too early to start planning your holiday card making!

Card Recipe

Papers: Be Merry DSP, Garden Green, Cherry Cobbler, Whisper White
Stamps: Merry Mistletoe
Embellishments: Gold Metallic Foil Doily, Gold Metallic Enamel Shape
Tools:Lots of Labels Framelits, Big Shot