Wednesday, January 2, 2013

Ready for Spring


For such a simple card, this was really hard to make.  I am making New Year's cards since I didn't get my Christmas cards out.  This image from Heartfelt Creations was on the top of my pre-stamped images pile and I thought it was perfect for the sentiment from Mark's Finest Papers.  Plus I liked the nod to winter with the cardinals and the splash of spring.  Dogwoods tend to blossom very early here and I am desperately waiting.

I made the mistake of colouring the image first and then trying to find paper to match.  I spent forever going through ALL of my DP.  Then I tried to go completely CAS (clean and simple) with a simple white background but it just looked too stark.  I hate Blush Blossom, the pink in the background so even though it matched the flowers, it just didn't work.  I tried various oval mats but since the image isn't symmetrical, I went back to a rectangle.  I then played with background stamps because the uninterrupted blocks of colour were still overwhelming.  I must say, I am loving the crackle background, it's so versatile.

Finally onto embellishments.  I tried every combination of flower I could think of.  I even coloured my Prismas to look like the dogwoods in the image.  I tried punches of butterflies and dragonflies but they just didn't go.  Finally I found this ribbon.  Normally I would never combine red with pink but I was trying everything.  In the end I'm quite happy with the card.  Next time I use satin ribbon though, I would put it on a cardstock backing first so you don't see the paper levels quite so clearly.  Oh well, live and learn.

Challenges this Card Meets:
Friends of Speedy TV - New Year's Card
Crafty Creations - Anything Goes
Cute Card Thursday - Anything Goes
Tuesday Throwdown - Bright and Happy New Year

2 comments:

  1. If you just looked at the end product you would have no idea of your struggles because it is lovely. Thanks for sharing though it makes me feel better about the times I cannot get things to work on route!

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  2. I think your card is unique - but I understand where you are coming from regarding the ribbon - the birds are lovely - come back again next week and enter another challenge - I wish you the best on winning - Gail DT

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