Lines and Curves Inspired by Rosemary Dennis

There's an old saying in design that goes something like "lines love curves," or maybe "curves love lines." Either way, it means that the contrast of straight lines and curves can be appealing to the eye.

That was the first thing I thought when I saw this card by Rosemary Dennis in the fall issue of Take Ten.

Note how the lines and angles of the chevron lines point toward a circle, which contains straight lines arranged in, you guessed it, a circle! How totally fun this design is...and also that the arrow-shaped paper clip attached to the circle completes it perfectly.

Rosemary's card is already clean and simple...not much to strip away to fit my style, is there? So I made a fairly literal version of it using Candy Cane Christmas from Papertrey.

You wouldn't believe the inner debate that happened regarding the direction of the stamped border here. Keep them going the same? Set them in opposite angles? Then I realized I'd need an entirely different stamp--a mirror image of the one that comes with the set--to make the lines line up.  Rosemary didn't have to worry about that with her chevrons. She just needed them pointing at her focal point. My tilted lines wouldn't obligingly point at my circle, but the strong color and curves of the peppermint circle draw the eye enough, I think, to compensate.

I also ran my borders off the top and right edges of the card on purpose. This gives the impression that the card only shows part of the picture, that there's something more. The effect is actually quite different from Rosemary's card, which leaves an edge and gives you the feel of a complete design. Straight, slanted lines lack the bold authority of Rosemary's chevrons, and if I'd stopped my lines to leave a white border, it would, I think, have looked odd.

I hope that makes sense.

My sentiment had to be on a separate strip of card stock since the peppermint swirl doesn't provide space, so I rounded the ends of the strip in the same circle punch used to punch out the candy circle. A little red bling, and Merry Christmas it is!

I'm hoping I get into my craft room tomorrow. It's been a long time, with all our house guests coming back to back over the past month. We've so appreciated every guest and love to spend time with our family and friends, but it does get in the way of crafting. Priorities are priorities, though, as I'm sure you understand. Thursday, we're welcoming my in-laws for a visit, so I'll try to make tomorrow productive!

Blessings to you all, and especially to Rosemary Dennis, without whose fabulous card I couldn't have made mine!

Supplies
stamps: Papertrey
ink: Real Red (SU), Tuxedo Black (Memento)
paper: Papertrey
accessories: circle punch, rhinestones, dimensionals