My first attempt with it stayed super simple--not even a sentiment. This card is 5.5-inch square, and the ferns, stamped in SU's certainly celery on PTI's white cardstock, are accented with soft green half pearls. (The pearl placement idea came from last year's Hero Arts catalog, I think.)
Nice and peaceful, but a bit boring. As with the big cup of coffee, a good option with the big fern stamp is to stamp it off the edge of the card, creating a more interesting asymmetry, as well as a good place to put a sentiment.
See what I mean? The sentiment is in one of the sweet spots on a card. If you imagine two horizontal lines and two vertical lines dividing the card into a grid of nine rectangles, the two sweet spots are the upper left and lower right intersections. Our eye likes those two places, probably because that's how we read...starting in upper left, finishing in lower right. Sentiments placed in the lower right just feel right somehow.
I wonder if it's different for people who read other languages differently, say, top to bottom or right to left. Anyone who knows, please chime in!
By keeping most of the stamping in the lower portion of the card, there's a sense of stability and calm in the design, so I turned it into a sympathy card with a PTI Mega Mixed Messages sentiment. (Sadly, I have needed five sympathy cards in the last week. This one is going to my uncle, whose mother passed Monday.) I also changed the pearls from soft green to white, for just a bit more subtle contrast, and made the sentiment a soft brown.
The third card I made with this stamp went off in a completely different direction, so I'll save it for another post.
And please, if you can, hug, call, or email your loved ones today. Even when they are blessed with long life, they leave us too soon.
Supplies
Stamps: Hero Arts three ferns, PTI mega mixed messages
ink: SU certainly celery, VersaColor brown
cardstock: PTI white
accessories: pearls
I like the second example, it's very calming. Nice fern stamp, no wonder you had to get it.
ReplyDeletePetra
Susan!
ReplyDeleteThis is so beautiful! LOVE how you offset the image and the color is PERFECT! Is that an Areca Palm? The addition of pearls give it great interest and the sentiment great balance! Hugs to you! Cookie :D
Weird. I used these colors on the last set of sympathy cards I made. I love the fern stamp too! Well done!
ReplyDeleteI love it off the edge a bit in the 2nd card. Very nice design-and I like the info on the "sweet spot"-I never knew there was a name for it, I just knew it looked good-LOL.
ReplyDeleteSympathy cards rank right up there with masculine cards in terms of difficulty and comfort and ease when making them. You've done a marvelous job on these. And thanks for the reminder about the "sweet spots" - I forget about those important details. Also, thank you for the nudge about contacting loved ones - so important - they, or we, can be gone from here in the blink of an eye.
ReplyDeleteWell done! Love the stamp. I can see how it would be calling to you.
ReplyDeleteAnother great example of simple is stunning! I've used a number of your ideas the past few weeks & got rave reviews from them. I know I can always come here to find inspiration right away.
ReplyDeleteI love the second one with the sentiment. Very pretty and photographed so well!
ReplyDeleteYou rock. I love both cards. You inspire me every single post.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you needed so many sympathy cards in one week. However, we benefit from your fresh ideas and some design theory. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThe second card does somehow feel "better" and I didn't know why until you explained the "sweet spot". I love when you share tidbits like that because I'm quite design challenged and always wonder why some designs work and others don't.
ReplyDeleteYes it's true how you learn to read is where your eye will fall on the page. That is why ads in other countries sometimes look funny to those of us that read left to right.
ReplyDeleteI'm lovin' your off the side stamping lately - I always forget that you can do that (or crop an image). Thanks for reminding me to be more creative!
ReplyDeleteForgot to say that I'm sorry that you needed so many sympathy cards!
ReplyDeleteWow, I really like them both! :)
ReplyDeleteOnce again, thank you for the lesson and beautiful examples.
ReplyDeleteMy condolences to you on your losses. Even when the death is a blessing, it still is painful to those left behind. That is the case with my uncle's death this week. My prayers go to you and your family, Susan.
"Even when they are blessed with long life, they leave us too soon."
ReplyDeleteI think of that very often with my great-aunt. I don't get to see her often, and she's 101. We don't have years left for a visit.
Thank you for the gorgeous card. Very inspirational.
oh! I love the second card, that fern is perfect off the card like that.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how a sentiment stamped across the stems of the fern in the first card would look?
These are both lovely! I even like the "boring" one, but that's just how I am. :) I am amazed at what great cards you produce EVERY day!
ReplyDeleteBoth of these are very nice! I really appreciate the design tips with the rationale behind it. I was fortunate enough to have dinner with my mother tonight, so I really appreciate the message you have sent out about connecting with loved ones. I am very sorry that you have needed so many sympathy cards, especially in such a short amount of time.
ReplyDeleteLovely, lovely. Just beautiful! I am such a fan of yours. I've never been able to do "clean and simple," but following your examples, I intend to learn. :)
ReplyDeleteKaren
Lovely cards especially the second one and now I know why some card designs just feel right .... you are soooo clever!!
ReplyDeleteSo sorry for your recent losses and thank you for remindng us to take the opportunity to hug and love our nearest and dearest when we can... life is very short in the scheme of things.
TFS all your thoughts and ideas and hugs to you :)
oooooh, aaaaaah, I love these!! The second one is truely a masterpiece :-) I too have been resisting this particular stamp.....but there you go tempting me again!! darn you, LOL!!
ReplyDeleteI love that stamp {that is why I bought Paradise by SU, it was close to the look & feel of this stamp}
ReplyDeleteBoth cards are nice, but the second one certainly would work better as a 'situation specific' card.
This one is a beauty as well, Susan!! I just saw this stamp on sale somewhere...and I'm trying to remember where. Hmmm.
ReplyDeleteAs much as I like the first one, I agree that the second one is more interesting to look at because of the offset stamping and the contrast of the sentiment. The pearls are a nice accent.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry you have had so many sympathy occasions lately.