Summer Silhouettes -- Edited

Reader Kelly caught that Summer Silhouettes is actually from SU, not AMuse. I've edited the post accordingly, and my apologies for the mistake.

I'm glad y'all are enjoying my new format (for lack of a better word) in which I take a set and show multiple uses of it over a few days. It's part of my plan for going through all my stamps to decide which are keepers and which are not for me. Summer Silhouettes from StampinUp is a keeper, although I did pull off the index stickers so they would stick better to the block.

A common complaint about unmounted, cling-style rubber stamps is that the vinyl index stickers don't actually cling to acrylic blocks. The foam on StampinUp clear-mount stamps clings okay, but the vinyl doesn't. In fact, the first card I made with this set last week was ruined when the inked stamp fell off the block entirely and onto the card. Oh, bother.

Fortunately, the vinyl peels off easily and cleanly, so the set was saved. It really has some wonderful images!

Today's card is intended for a friend who has experienced a major upheaval in her life, very stressful and difficult. She needs a little encouragement, and as a woman of faith, she'll appreciate the Bible verse.

While I don't have a door stamp to go with this verse, I thought the random-looking placement of the leaves and scattered flowers might reflect the chaos my friend feels in life right now, and the straight lines of text reflect the hope she has in God to make the crooked ways straight.

Of course, there is nothing random about the placement of the leaves or flowers. It took a while to place everything to my satisfaction, and a couple of pieces of card stock got recycled in the process.

I loved this color combination so much, I made a coordinating bookmark for her. I opted for the larger flower because the tiny one didn't have enough visual weight to balance the tassel.

The colors are VersaColor lime, tea green, and scarlet. The scarlet has just a hint of orange to it, and it's such a brilliant, happy color!

And no, I've not forgotten about the unhappiness series finale or trapped-white-space tutorial. I've just been feeling under the weather (and what weird weather it has been!). When I have my brain back, I'll get those posts written.

Today's card hints to a new activity I'm embarking on which might interest some of you. My pastor has asked me to write daily devotionals for our congregation during Lent. All our readings for Lent will come from Exodus. If all goes well, I might continue these throughout the year. I'll post the project on my Transforming Common Days blog starting February 18.

Supplies
stamps: SU Summer Silhouettes, Papertrey All Booked Up (bookmark stamp), Stampabilities (verse)
ink: VersaColor tea green, lime, scarlet
paper: Papertrey white
accessories: craft floss, half pearls, small circle punch, scallop scissors (for rounding the corners on the bookmark)