Since it is a long weekend, I had some extra time for some crafting along with the usual weekend chores. I decided to participate in a couple of color challenges so that I had a guide for my creativity. I find that I do better with a set of parameters or a goal for when I’m creating. Having everything be fully open is kind of paralyzing for me, and I can’t figure out where to start. So… this is the first card that I created and it features a background stamp that I’ve had for a while, but never used. Until now, that is!
This color challenge caught my eye when I first saw it in my email inbox late last week. I haven’t done a Just Add Ink challenge in a while, and this one seemed a perfect time to jump back in. My first inclination was to make a Holiday themed card featuring snowflakes, but I just wasn’t feeling it. All of my thoughts would return to the card that I made for the swap featuring the Heartfelt Wishes I shared earlier here. I decided to go in a totally different direction, and this is the card that I came up with.
The Coastal Cabana ink was too strong for the look that I wanted, so I stamped that big-boy stamp off on scrap paper before putting it to the Basic White cardstock. One delightful side-effect from this is the slightly distressed look that the stamped image has. I think it was the perfect touch for a subtle background on my card. All of this helped my embossed greeting strip to really pop and stand out.
I used this past sketch as the layout inspiration for my card. I don’t think that I created a card for this challenge when it was live, but it seemed absolutely perfect this weekend for my purposes. I typically would use some patterned paper in the shaded area instead of a stamped panel, but using a background stamp in this way is a great alternative.
This sketch also gave me an opportunity to bust out my Stitched Rectangle dies. I use these dies all the time, and they are a favorite for me. A subtle stitched edge around the perimeter is a perfect touch!
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