Yellow

Doesn't Mother Nature do yellow right? If you live in the northern hemisphere, perhaps you've noticed the bright yellow chrysanthemums and leaves brightening up some gray days lately. I have a huge yellow mum between my two garage doors so I see it every time I pull in or out of the garage, and the view outside windows on the front and back of the house displays stands of trees that positively glow yellow in the evening sun.

I don't use enough yellow in my stamping. Let's fix that today.

This card shows the design principle of visual triangles. The circles, leaves, and bling are arranged in clear triangles. The variation in size of the leaves, circles, and bling adds to the interest of the card, and the asymmetry adds energy at the same time, hinting at the dancing leaves falling from the trees.

By the way, my golden retriever, Daisy, thinks God gives her falling leaves as a treat. It's nearly impossible to walk her on a leash this time of year as she tries to chase the leaves around. And eat them. She's not bright, but she makes us laugh.

Although fall yellows are lovely, my favorite fall color is the intense, flaming scarlet that graces lots of bushes around here. If I were horticulturally inclined, I'd know what the bushes are called, but alas, I must merely enjoy them, nameless.

What's your favorite fall color?

supplies
stamps: Papertrey Autumn Acorns
ink: Memento
paper: Papertrey
accessories: circles punches, dimensionals, rhinestones

Thankful for You with Ribbon

I rarely use ribbon these days. Too often, when I go to my stash, nothing works for my need. So my glass jars of ribbon sit on the shelf, looking pretty and being fairly useless. It's a bit frustrating, but there you have it.

When I stamped this card, though, I knew it needed ribbon, and this orange sheer-and-satin number worked perfectly. (The photo-editing made the ribbon look darker than it is, but the colors are nicely balanced in real life.)

Ordinarily, I keep bows pretty small, but in this case, I wanted the tails of ribbon to extend to just beyond the edges of the card. Everything in the stamped image is curvy except the straight lines of the sentiment, and the bow's horizontal emphasis subtly draws attention to the sentiment.

Or maybe that's just the medicine talking.

Not having the right ribbon isn't nearly as frustrating as whatever sinus thing has been tormenting me for seven--SEVEN--weeks. At least now it's confined to my head and not sucking all energy from every cell in my body.

Was that too dramatic? Sorry. But that's what if felt like, and I imagine you all can relate. I have another doctor's appointment this week about the sinus headaches, but I suspect there's nothing more they can do. Some things just have to be grunted through, and chronic sinusitis is one of them.

Thank you for listening to me whine. I'm happy to return the favor anytime you need to vent. Seriously.

Supplies
stamps: Papertrey Round and Round, Autumn Acorns, Fall Elegance
ink: Memento
paper: white (PTI)
accessories: ribbon

Autumn Blessings

I've still got a few Gratitude Campaign cards to share, but I'm basically finished making them and have to move on to Christmas cards. I sent most of my Christmas stash to Operation Write Home last week, and realized that I have only about twenty cards for us. We send at least 120.

At moments like this I remember the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy's very good advice: DON'T PANIC.

Oh, but I'm panicking. Yes, panicking. I'm Arthur Dent, not Ford Prefect.

But I've got my towel, so it'll turn out okay.

Anyway, this card is so un-panicky. Soothing, pretty, and full of white space. It gives me hope. It's still autumn, and I have time.

On other business...reader Diana asked how I decide what stamps to sell. Well, most of them are simply stamps I've used enough. After a while, I feel like I've exhausted all possibilities I care to exhaust with a particular stamp or set. Some of the stamps I sell are too much like other stamps I have. Some are classics that I've held onto because "they will be useful one day." Some of SU's large background stamps are a good example here. I hardly ever use large background stamps anymore (though I used to use them a lot). Also, a few sets (particularly the PTI ones I'm selling) are adorable but not for me. Everyday Button Bits, for instance, is a great set...but not for me.

Too much stuff in a craft space can stifle creativity. I have many hundreds of individual wood-mounted stamps and close to 150 stamp sets. How many stamps does one person need? Well, that's a very individual question, but for me, I've reached a point where I really enjoy getting new stamps and no longer need to hoard what I have. It's easy for me to let go of very good stamps now because there will always be very good new stamps to buy. I need to make room.

These decisions to get rid of stuff in general arise from very deep and personal questions about, well, stuff. If you read my other blog or Joan B's blog Creating White Spaces, you'll already be familiar with the long thought process I and so many others have engaged in regarding stuff. Too much to say here, but definitely a subject for more posts in the future.

Thanks to all who have ordered boxes and helped me make space for new stamps! The stamp-heavy boxes are sold, only one of the stamp-and-scrap boxes is still available.

Supplies
stamps: Papertrey Autumn Acorns, Round and Round
ink: VersaColor
paper: PTI white
accessories: dimensionals, rhinestone

Four Points of Business

1. This week's OLW challenge is on Cheryl's Blog. It's to make a Halloween card! Dash on over and play along!

2. A reader named Barbara has asked that I do an ink review. It'll go up sometime in the next few days on my tab for Favorite Products. I will link to it when it's up.

3. I've got SIX grab boxes full of stamps to sell, each priced at $50, shipping included. Check my For Sale tab for details. Shipping only within the United States. First come, first served!

4. Today's cards.

Yesterday, I used this same basic layout and sentiment to make a girly card that hinted at better things to come out of current troubles. Today's cards are much more explicitly sympathy cards, sent to people several months after the recipients' losses.

No pumpkin flowers or pearls on these cards, and the colors are lighter in real life...photo editing seems to have intensified them.  Both are the lightest shades of Memento blue and green, and thus very subtle. I used black for the sentiment over the blue, and dark brown over the green.

By the way, I love the triple layer of white card stock. Just sayin'.

Supplies
stamps: SU Summer Silhouettes, PTI Everyday Blessings (or Beautiful Blessings, not sure)
ink: Memento
paper: PTI white
accessories: none

Pink and Orange

Let's talk color today.

Have I ever told you about the sympathy card I received that had a far-too-perky color combination? It struck me as deeply weird to receive such a happy card on the outside that said "With Sympathy" on the inside.

That card violated unity of good design, which says that all the pieces parts (or, in design-speak, elements) of a design must reinforce each other and make sense together. The element of color can dictate the mood of a card far more effectively than almost any other design element, and when you choose an overly cheerful color combo for a somber card, the clash will definitely be noticed.

The great thing about color, though, is how many shades of each there are, which means color can be an incredibly flexible design element. Ordinarily, pink and orange make a spunky, high-energy pairing, but today, I used soft shades of rosy pink and a darker, pumpkin shade of orange for a more subtle card that just barely borders on cheery without being in-your-face perky. 

Which is perfect because the sentiment, while acknowledging the recipient's trouble, points toward the positive of God's support. The hints of happy orange indicate the temporary nature of trouble, while the pinks are soft and soothing and girly. A little sponging around the edges adds to the soft effect and emphasizes the sentiment.

This card has already been sent to a woman in our church who's going through a rough time. She's girly and Southern (with a capital S) and generally quite cheerful, and I made the card especially for her.

Tomorrow, we'll look at another approach to color using this sentiment for a slightly different purpose.

Supplies
stamps: Papertrey Everyday Blessings (I think), SU Summer Silhouettes
ink: can't remember, but I think it's VersaMagic, or maybe VersaColor
paper: PTI white
accessories: sponge, half-pearls, dimensionals

Getting Dimensional

Every now and then, I like to break out of flat-card mode in a big way. Usually, these are cards I intend to hand-deliver or send with a gift package in the mail because they are usually a bit, um, fragile.

Who else hears "fra-JEE-lay" every time they see the word fragile? Yep, I want a leg lamp stamp.

It's a MAJOR award!*

Okay, back to dimensional cards that might be a bit fragile. I saw a gorgeous couple of cards by Mary Walden published in Take Ten Autumn 2012. Mary put twigs, die cuts, pieces of dried grass, bits of text-printed and handmade paper, and other ephemera into open envelopes attached to the front of her cards. The envelopes and background were stamped with a natural texture stamp, and the little envelopes were wrapped in white twine and embellished with beads.

They are cool cards. Go buy a copy of Take Ten and see for yourself. They are on page 108.

So I borrowed the idea and made it over into my rather graphic, stylized, clean-and-simple style.

First off, I made the envelope using an old SU envelope template and cut off the flap. Instead of using actual grasses and twigs, I stamped the Hero Arts branch stamp twice behind the envelope. (Actually had to do that step twice as the first time I messed up and had the bottom branch too far right.) The punched flowers are distressed (run the paper through a crimper several times, rotating the paper 90 degrees each pass, then crumple heartlessly, then punch). The two pieces of stamped paper tucked into the envelope are glued into position.

I decided this was still a bit cluttered for me (although I like it enough to send it to my mom for the Gratitude Campaign), so I tried again, stripping the card down to its barest essentials.

Yep. This one looks like I made it.

And I never would have thought to do it without the inspiration provided by Mary Walden.

Thanks, Mary!


*If you're wondering what in the heck I'm blathering about, please check out the movie The Christmas Story.

Supplies for First Card
stamps: Hero Arts (branch), SU (Define Your Life), Papertrey (Text Style, First Fruits)
ink: spectrum ink pad (not sure who makes it...maybe Adirondack)
paper: PTI white
accessories: SU envelope template, twine, flower punch, half beads, scallop scissors

Supplies for Second Card
stamps: Hero Arts (branch), Papertrey (Fall Elegance)
ink: same as above
paper: PTI white
accessories: twine, leaf punch, dimensionals, scallop scissors to round corners on raised panel

Contrast in Formula

For our final look at the color formula 2 Neutrals + 1 Color, we're going to see part of what makes the difference between a peaceful card and a more dramatic one. It mainly has to do with color proportions and the heaviness/lightness of the images themselves.

First, the peaceful card. Like yesterday's cards, this card uses the single color very sparingly. The neutrals dominate. The only color is in the red berries, which were created with a red (obviously) Sakura Stardust pen. And the stamps are light, mainly lines of of lightish brown. 

By the way, I really like the movement in the above card. The stylized branches, two rounded corners, and curvy cursive of two words of the sentiment make this a visually interesting card while it still feels peaceful...and in harmony with the meaning of the sentiment.


Second, we see how much more drama comes when there's more color and the images are large, solid blocks. Even the sentiment is heavy and in scale with the images.

The olive green and tan keep this card from being, shall we say, perky. It's natural, with a subdued hint of tropical paradise. But that big, green butterfly with the big, green bling dominates the card in a very pleasing way.

If I had the inclination, I'd make this over in gray, white, and hot pink. THAT would really make it perky.

Supplies for Peace Card
stamps: Papertrey Signature Christmas, Memory Box bird in tree
ink: Brilliance
paper: PTI white
accessories: corner rounder, red Sakura Stardust pen

Supplies for Butterfly Card
stamps: A Muse (butterfly, leaves), Clear and Simple Stamps (sentiment, limited edition set)
ink: VersaColor
paper: PTI white
accessories: Corner rounder, dimensionals, rhinestones