Washi Tape: Part 2

As I promised yesterday, you can make a dude card with washi tape. Check out the birthday card I made for George for next year. I was so very happy with it!

Note that when you create a full border of washi, there's no need to worry about raggedy edges. I tear off a piece of washi slightly larger than I need, put it down, and then trim the edges with scissors. Very clean and tidy.

Have a great weekend!

Supplies
stamps: Hero Arts
ink: Memento Luxe
paper: Papertrey aqua and white
accessories: washi tape, dimensionals

Washi Tape: Part 1

Forgive me, readers, for I have sinned.

I have given in to greed and purchased an obscene number of rolls of washi tape. The colors! The patterns! The different widths! And have you noticed that washi is everywhere...Target, Office Depot, Office Max, Michael's, Hobby Lobby, the grocery store. My determination to limit my stash could not withstand the onslaught of both opportunity and affordability.

I hang my head in shame. Seriously, I haven't fallen this far off the wagon since I went a little crazy buying brads back in 2003. Or maybe since the ribbon binge of 2006. Or the Smooch craze of 2012. Or the...oh, never mind.

My big bowl of washi tape needed to be used, so I'll show you my favorite layouts for using washi tape over the next few days.

And remember! If you don't like washi or don't want to add yet another thing to your hoard, you may substitute strips of designer paper, fabric, stamped paper, or even ribbon for washi in all these designs!

So you can't accuse me of leading you to sin. (And if you want to see my earlier series on washi tape, search "What to Do with Washi" in the side bar search box.)

Today's layout was inspired by a card somewhere in a magazine (Take Ten, perhaps), or maybe it was Pinterest. I don't remember. But it wasn't my original idea. It's super cool, though!

Note the feminine touches on the pink card...the curly font of the sentiment, the bling. Note how the blue card would be more appropriate for a not-girly girl. I think the polka dots and purple might turn most guys off. We'll make a guy card with washi, so don't worry.

I really do prefer my washi ends neat rather than torn, though, and for that reason vastly prefer the pink card to the blue one. Other stampers might have perfected the tear, but when I do it, the results just look raggedy to me. I can't decide if it's just my OCD acting up or if torn really is raggedy.

Feel free to weigh in. I'm deeply conflicted.

Supplies
stamps: Papertrey Birthday Basics
ink: Memento
paper: Papertrey white
accessories: washi tape, rhinestones

One-Layer Simplicity Challenge #6: I've Been Framed

Finally getting my OLS#6 card posted...sorry it took so long! What a fun challenge...to use a frame stamp or make a frame somehow on a one-layer card.

I've only got one frame stamp, and I struggled to make something I liked with it. Then, I received an order of Clearly Besotted stamps and had a brainstorm with the Holiday Sentiments set. The stylized pine bough was PERFECT for a frame!

At first, I used one of the three-berry stamps in the center of each side, but the card still needed a little something, so I covered those stamps with red rhinestones, which was just what the doctor ordered.

I adore this card and will make more of them! And I never would have made it if not for this challenge, so thanks, Karen!

Come join us at One-Layer Simplicity!

Supplies
stamps: Clearly Besotted
ink: Memento cottage green, SU real red
paper: Papertrey white
accessories: red rhinestones

UYS: Memory Box Penguins

As I worked through my box of wood-mounted fauna stamps, I found my rarely-used Memory Box penguins. They're so darn cute, but I didn't buy the sentiment that went with them and they just seem a bit hard to use as a result.

My favorite is "my" stamp...the one I recommended they make...the Aviator Penguin. You can find the story on this old post from June 2010.

So here is a series of (mostly) black-and-white penguin cards. They are very basic, very simple, and inspired by several different projects from 1000 Greetings.

You might notice that I created a "ground" for the last two with a pen-drawn line. I'm not sure it's necessary (although I imagine Her Royal Rubberness Julie Ebersole would say it is!). You may feel inspired to give the pen-and-ruler grounding technique a try. It is pretty easy and extremely cool. 

Supplies
stamps: Memory Box, Papertrey (sentiments from Sign Language and another set whose name I can't remember)
ink: Memento black
paper: Papertrey white
accessories: Memento markers, Micron black pen, ruler

Using Up Scraps and the Use-Your-Stamps Challenge

I had amassed quite the collection of white card stock scraps, so you know what that means...a lot of white-on-white layered cards.

AND I was working my way through my collection of wood-mounted leaf stamps for the Use-Your-Stamps Challenge. How did I collect so many leaf stamps?

AND I was playing with my Kaleidacolor ink pads, many of which came to live with me courtesy of my stamping friend Leslie. Thanks, Leslie!

So I made these.

The first two have bling, and the second one has no bling...because its colors carried the card so very well.

These stamps are old and discontinued Hero Arts wood-mounted stamps. The set is called Woodland Leaves and Grasses, and it was made from impressions of actual leaves and grasses. The stamps have a sort of "pounded vegetation" softness that is quite appealing to me and contrasts nicely with all the crisp white on the cards.

The sentiments come from a Hero Arts clear set that also contains leaves.

How is your Use-Your-Stamps challenge going?


Supplies
stamps: Hero Arts Woodland Leaves and Grasses, clear set of leaves
ink: Kaleidacolor
paper: Papertrey White
accessories: dimensionals

A Happy Day to Use a Scrap

I'm so excited that 187 of you have liked Simplicity by LateBlossom on Facebook! I truly hope this helps those of you who aren't receiving posts by email because of the Feedburner bug.

Also, some of you who don't visit a lot of blogs might find it easier to favorite a list of links to my blogs and to the One-Layer Simplicity Challenge team members' blogs. You'll find that list here: Work-Around List

And now to today's card.

I found a largish scrap of white card stock on my desk and thought, "Can I use this as it is, without trimming it?"

I was rather pleased with the result:

The design is somewhat unconventional. It uses halves instead of thirds for the basic design, which is always tricky to pull off. It works (at least, in my opinion) in this case because the stamped panel does use thirds: the top two thirds are branches pointing down to the sentiment in the bottom third. There's a sense of movement as the eye falls down the branches, and the empty half forces your eye up on the stamped panel.

The branch stamp is from a very old set from StampinUp called Artfully Asian. It's really quite pretty and easy to color as well. The sentiment is from a discontinued Hero Arts set. Note how easy it would be to CASE this with pretty much any branch stamp and centered sentiment. I have at least four other branch stamps in my hoard collection that would work equally well for this.

I added hot-pink bling over the berries on the branch stamp rather than coloring them, which adds a touch of additional dimension and shine.

Bling always makes me happy!

What always makes you happy?

Supplies
stamps: StampinUp Artfully Asian, Hero Arts sentiment
ink: Memento
paper: Papertrey Ink white
accessories: dimensionals, rhinestones, Memento Markers

Cards Kind People Sent to Me

Here are some cards I've received recently from some very nice people.

A store-bought card from my sons and husband for Mother's Day
that made my heart melt.



A colorful card from a tropical island...literally. I want to visit Janet. See her
blog post here: Swanlady Impressions



A fabby collection of die cuts from Toni, with a cute lime birdie card...
or dare I say, "pear tart"?
Will be playing with these die cuts soon!

Peg sent this LOL card that totally made me smile,
 along with a very thoughtful gift
for Jonah of flower seeds.
 

From Bev W., who is a very talented color-er and a sweet
person, too!

Many thanks to all of you for brightening my days with wonderful happy mail!