Simple Card Design for Many Occasions

Today I have a simple and useful card to share.  There are times when you need a card for a friend or relative who is ill, having a hard time or has suffered a loss.  These cards are difficult to make when you are "on the spot" so it is a good idea to make some to have on hand when an occasion arises when you'd like to send a card quickly.

I started with this pretty Florette from Webster's Pages and tried to find the best shade of purple or lilac for the card base from my stash.

Next I needed to add a layer to the base.  I went to one of my favorite "finds" - a pack of wedding cardstock that is very wedding specific on the front side...

...but has this beautiful gold damask design on the "B" side.

I tend to make a lot of cards with pretty standard graduated layering mats.  So this time, I tried something a little different.  I cut the gold layer at 2 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches so it would create a stripe across the card.  This left room at the lower right for a sentiment.  I like the way you can "audition" clear stamps by holding them over your project to see how they fit.

 

This Sincere Expressions stamp set from CTMH has some lovely and useful sentiments.  You can find this stamp set on my friend Joy's CTMH site HERE.

I wanted to add a little bit of contrast at the long edges of the gold layer.  I looked for ribbon but couldn't find any that coordinated nicely.  Then I looked up and saw some of my washi tape and had an "aha" moment.  The washi tape would work perfectly to add a subtle edge to the gold damask.

The best way I know to get the tape lined up straight across the card is to work on a gridded mat.  I sat the paper in position along the grid and placed the top 1/4 inch above one of the bold inch lines on the mat.

Washi tape is very forgiving,  You can pick it up and put it down several times so if the line isn't straight the first time just lift it and try again.  I also used a bit of orange washi tape to keep the piece from slipping on the mat.

When the washi tape line is straight you can lift the entire piece and smooth the tape to the back.

Here is the back side of the piece.  On another card, I might choose to use this as the front with the interesting scroll work that remains from the wedding side of the paper.

It works best to trim toward the outer edges from the center to get a nice even cut.

I stamped the sentiment with Versamark ink and then sprinkled gold embossing powder on the wet ink.  The first powder I used was the Ranger Super Fine Detail embossing powder and I didn't like the way the words looked when they were finished.  The fine detail embossed sentiment (at the bottom) actually makes the words less attractive in this case because it blends in too well with the texture of the cardstock.

I decided to try again and this time I used the Zing brand embossing powder from American Crafts.  I think the fatter and smoother letters look much better.

Once I had added the layer and sentiment, it was easy to pop on this large flower with leaves.  This simple formula could be followed with all sorts of papers and cardstock.  You could make up some bases and have them ready to finish up quickly when you need a card.

Can you guess what I added to the boxes today?

 If you said flowers you would be right.

I like to fill the boxes with items that are as close to identical as possible - and I had three sets of these flowers.  The patterns are a bit different than the one I used for today's card but I think you will like them.

How do you play along in the blog celebration giveaway?

To enter for a chance to win one of the three boxes - see all of the details on the first blog celebration post HERE.  Then come back and get your comments in on this post.  Remember, if you sign up for the new newsletter (see the box at the top right of the page) I will be choosing one person from the subscribers as a box winner (you don't need to leave a comment here since I can see that list).

Today's question to answer in your comment is:

A few years ago, everyone seemed to be buying jars of little flowers to add to their projects.  The flowers that have become available in recent years are different in style, larger and quite lovely.  Many people also making their own flowers now since there are dies and cartridges that have rolled flower cuts to use.  Do you use a lot of flowers?  What type do you like to use? 

Happy President's Day vacation week - I am not going anywhere but I hope you have a great trip if you are taking the school break as a chance to get away with your family.  I'll be here...filling up these boxes with some more goodies!

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