Elegant Thank You Card

Happy Monday - I hope you had a  great weekend! 

If you have a Tuesday Morning store near you, there is a great deal on cardstock and paper right now.  They have packages of 25 pieces for just $1.99.  For cardstock, you can always use more (am I right?) and if 25 pieces of the same patterned paper seems like too much, you can go together with a friend and split the packs.  My neighbor and I had a good time choosing our favorites last week and then we divided them up at home.  Sometimes we found 26 sheets in a package so it came out exactly even, otherwise we just alternated which person got the 13th sheet.

We were able to get some of this beautiful metallic shimmer cardstock in a heavy cover weight.  It's a wonderful buy at about 8 cents a sheet!  We also found some lovely floral designed paper from India - 12 sheets for $0.99.

I enjoy working with papers that shimmer and shine - they seem special and elegant.  I decided to put these two papers together for a card.  I thought they'd make a pretty thank you card.  The "Thank You" sentiment and the doily are both from the Cricut Artiste cartridge.

I added the layer of black to give a bit of an edge to the decorative paper so it would stand out against the shimmer cardstock.  I started with a slightly larger layer and then noticed that one edge was a little thicker, so I trimmed it.  Once I started trimming I ended up in a "bangs cutting" situation where I kept taking off a little to even things up!  I ended up with a very thin line of black - but it is enough to serve the purpose of framing the special paper.

I cut the doily shape from black Core'dinations gemstone cardstock.  This is actually a sort of dark gray color because of the shine.  When I put it on top of the card, I didn't think there was enough contrast so I simply flipped the shape over.

The back side is a strong black with a bit of a shine.  I used the Gypsy to size the cuts for my A2 card.  I also transformed the medallion shape from a circle to an oval to fit the card properly.  The medallion is "accent 1" on the very first key (#1).  I resized it to 3.6 inches high and 5 inches wide (which is an actual width of 4.82 inches).  The "Thank You" is on page 65 of the handbook - the shift of accent 1 on the letter B key.  The height is 2.5 inches which makes the width 3.74 (or an actual width of 3.65 inches).

Gypsy Tip  In case you aren't aware of this, the Gypsy will give you the accurate height of a shape but the width is always a bit off - take a look at the box around an object and you'll see the the lines touch top and bottom but not side to side.  If you want to make something an exact width, you need to tap the True Size button (the one with an "a" with lines above and below it) to see the exact measurement.

I used some foam circles to raise up the medallion with the Thank You.  There is some really pretty word art on this cartridge and I have a few other projects in mind that will use some more of the welded phrases.

It is difficult to capture the shine and the elegant look of the finished card in a photo.  I took a couple of photos at different angles and with different lighting to try to make it easier to see.

There is a great deal for the month of September on the Artiste cartridge.  The Artiste bundle (cartridge, three stamp sets and three sets of chipboard shapes) costs $99.  Because it is National Stamping Month, there is a special double set of stamps that you can buy for just $5 when you spend over $35.   You can also purchase the Stamp of the Month set for $5 because you are spending over $50.  This means you will end up with six stamp sets, the three chipboard sheets and the cartridge for $109 plus tax and shipping (a savings of $78.54).

You can only buy this bundle through a Close to My Heart consultant.  My friend Melanie Brown (of Courtney Lane Designs and Everyday Cricut) would be happy to help you with any questions.  Melanie sent me this cartridge to review and I give it two thumbs up! You can find Melanie's CTMH website HERE.  The special offer of the extra double stamp set for $5 is good only until September 30th.

I am getting closer to finding clear horizontal surfaces in my craftroom.  In another few days I may be brave enough to share some progress photos (first I have to find a place to put all of the paper and other goodies I bought last week!).

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