Asymmetry Is Fun!

I made today's card back in April, just when the OLW challenge was getting started. At the time, I thought, "Oh, wouldn't this be a great card for a one-layer challenge?"

Then I forgot about it. When I found it a few days ago, I realized that if I saved every one-layer card I make for an OLW challenge, I'd have a huge backlog of some of my favorite cards languishing unposted in the electrons of my Pictures file.

That thought made me sad. So here, fabulous Love card, be free! Go out into the World Wide Web and shine!


Design Thoughts: This clear alphabet set is HUGE! I bought it for boy scrapbook pages (its distressed look seemed appropriate for dirt-loving boys), but when I stumbled across it while making a card for the OLW challenge to use punctuation, I felt it could stand on its own on a one-layer card. The word love popped into my mind, and I ran with it. After fretting for a while over what colors to choose (all red? multicolored? red and black? which letters should be which color?), I decided to make the o red and the rest black. The asymmetry adds interest to the super simplicity of the card.

This is true for lots of designs: center everything and it looks sorta blah, but if you do something unexpected to throw off the symmetry, it can be fun and energize a blah design.

How-To Tips: The alphabet's letters differ in size (see how much bigger the e is than the v), and if I stamped each individually, it would have been really hard to get everything spaced properly on the card. So I put all four letters on my big gridded acrylic block, stamped the whole thing on scrap paper until all the letters were as lined up as they could get. Then, I removed the o, inked the l ve in black, and stamped it onto the card. Then, I stamped the o in red. Easy as can be!

I hope you all have a glorious weekend. The vicious heat we've had this week won't be so bad this weekend. Whew. Maybe we can go to the pool, though I imagine it'll feel like bath water.

Supplies
stamps: Art Warehouse Mini Monogram set
ink: Palette noir, SU real red
paper: PTI white
accessories: gridded acrylic block

I'm in Trouble AGAIN

OMGOSH! Have you seen THIS?

If you read my other blog, you know about my relationship with books. You can see pictures and read about my obsession here.

Let's just say I'm a happy, happy bibliophile stamper.

Glitter Paper...Makes Me Haaaappyyyyyyy

Just like sunshine on my shoulders, this glitter paper I picked up at Hobby Lobby makes me happy. Last year, I made Christmas ornaments with it, and now a card, the layout of which is taken from Tiffany Johnson's card in Papercrafts Go-To Sketches, page 51.


I did have to move the sentiment. (Tiffany put her sentiment on the circle, but her circle doesn't have a huge snowflake punched out of it....)

Hey, I bet y'all thought I'd forgotten about my resolution to use as many of the Go-To Sketches as possible on my Christmas cards this year. More upcoming, but I'm finding some of the sketches require massive overhaul to be made clean and simple. That's okay, though. It's a challenge.

I love a good challenge. And it just might help me stop seeing the dog who isn't here.

But I doubt that.

Thanks to all of you who gave me input on how to make the blog a place you really enjoy visiting. You've given me some good things to think about and ideas for future posts.

For those who haven't put their own 2 cents in, please feel free to share your answers to these questions: What can I do to make Simplicity more inspiring to you? What would you like to see more or less of here?

Supplies
stamps: PTI Perfect Poinsettia
ink: Palette Noir
paper: glittery paper from Hobby Lobby, PTI white
accessories: Martha Stewart snowflake and border punches, Marvy circle punches, ribbon, half-pearl, dimensionals

One-Layer Wednesday 11: Be Funny!

Given the very sad weekend I had, this challenge is perfectly timed. I prophetically scheduled it early last week when I made this card and giggled.

I want you to make the recipient of your card laugh! Let your humor loose and have fun!


My card uses an upcoming set from Mark's Finest Papers called Background Fun. I love the tumbling squares of crackle background (stamped using a mask made with a square punch and large post-it). The happy colors and looseness of the design create such fun contrast with the traditional way of looking at a crackle background as vintage or distressed.

Rules for OLW11

1. A one-layer card is defined as a single piece of cardstock folded in half.

2. Use humor to communicate your message, either by using funny images, funny words, or both. Make sure the colors reinforce the fun! Embellishments must be kept to a minimum.

3. Remember to share your creations by posting your card online and then using the InLinkz button in the sidebar of Simplicity to link to it.

4. Most important of all...HAVE FUN!

And now I'm off to comment on the rest of last week's OLW10 cards...what fun!

Supplies
stamps: Mark's Finest Papers
ink: Memento
paper: Mark's Finest Papers
accessories: post-it, square punch

More Christmas in July

I'm on a Christmas roll, folks. Might have something to do with avoidance, or just the fact that I suddenly realized I'm hopelessly behind on my Christmas cards. Two hundred: THAT is how many I make every year. Right now, I have about 20. It's way more fun to panic about not having enough Christmas cards than to think about the dog that's not lying by my chair.

Thank you again for your support and encouragement and prayers.

Today's card uses Papertrey's Silent Night flourish and a sentiment from Signature Christmas, also by Papertrey. I wanted to make an ornament with the flourish, and spent a long time staring at it before deciding to use a hand-drawn box to frame the ornament and sentiment. The little bit of blue cardstock is punched from a small square.


It seriously bothers me that there is a tiny little bit of silver ink sticking up at the top of the "string"...I need to just let it go because I like everything else about this card.

The new One-Layer Wednesday will go up tomorrow. Y'all did a great job on the last one, and the next one should be lots of fun, too!

Supplies
stamps: Papertrey
ink: Brilliance sky blue
paper: PTI
accessories: silver metallic pen, circle and square punches, template for drawing box, dimensionals

Thank You

Thank you all for your kind words and prayers. I really appreciate them. There will be a second post later today with a card. Hugs to you all.

Wrong Holiday, Cool Card

It's the Fourth of July here in the United States, so of course I'm posting a Christmas card.

I'm whimsical that way.


This stamp is old, old, old and huge, huge, huge. The card is oversized, roughly 5" x 7". The sentiment is from PTI, as are the button and twine and paper.

Happy Fourth of July!

Supplies
stamps: unknown, PTI sentiment
ink: SU white craft ink, close to cocoa classic ink
paper: PTI
accessories: white embossing powder, button, twine, dimensionals