Daisy Birthday

This stamp is from an very old set from Hero Arts, one of the first I bought, I think, although my memory isn't the best for stamps. They all sort of blur from those early years when I was definitely in "see it, buy it" mode.

The base is either SU summer sun or maybe morning marigold (I've never been able to keep those two straight), for all y'all who wanted to see more colored card bases. How's that for in-your-face color? Actually, I really like it, and it's not nearly as eye-watering as I thought it would be.

Design Tips: I've made a lot of colored card bases lately, and I find the only ones I really love right now are this basic layout: base, contrasting matte, white stamped panel. It's one I've seen very frequently in the Hero Arts catalogs over the years. This layout has lots of advantages. First, there is nothing distracting from the strong focal point and sentiment; it really highlights the stamping. Second, you can move the image around the card. Here, I'm taking advantage of the rule of thirds by placing the line of the top third of the stamped panel over the line of the top third of the card. (You might need to read that sentence twice to absorb it. It's awkward. I'm sorry.) The amount of yellow cardstock on three sides of the panel is the same, while there's extra on the bottom. By sticking to the thirds, the card is more interesting as well as super-balanced.

When using a fairly basic layout like this, it's a good idea to use some sort of unexpected element, either in the arrangement of the stamped images (not useful here since the image and sentiment are on the same stamp) or in the embellishing. Here, I used glitter (Yellow Stickles) on the flower centers...not hugely original, but it lends a very nice sparkle to the bright colors of the card.

Scrapbooking: I'm still not sure when I'll start scrapbooking again, so don't hold your breath. But It seems many of you were interested in seeing scrapbook pages occasionally, so it'll be in the future as a small part of Simplicity.

Update: I told you all about my friend Mary Grimes, who is a mother of three small children battling colon cancer. Mary had surgery Wednesday, and they didn't find the metastasis they expected. Yeah! She's not clear yet, and has had a horrible long surgery and a 90-minute chemo "bath" while she was on the operating table, followed by another "look and see" surgery Thursday. So continued prayers are definitely in order.

Supplies
stamps: Hero Arts
ink: Memento
paper: Papertrey white, SU black, summer sun or morning marigold
accessories: dimensionals, Bic Mark-It Markers, Stickles