Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Simply Forever

Hello everyone,

Clean and Simple does not mean quick and easy! Today's card took four attempts before it actually worked. I wanted to use both the One-Layer Wednesday challenge (repetition) from Simplicity and today's CAS-tastic Challenge (sentiment focussed) for this card. It wasn't an issue of combining the two challenges, they worked wonderfully together, more it was getting everything straight and even, without any additional smudge marks.


The card base is from Recollections. The sentiment is Stampin' Up Wonderful Words II. The image is Waltzingmouse Say It With Style. The ink is Stampin' Up Bermuda Bay. The embellishments are Crafts Gem Chic from the dollar store.

This is, to me, the epitome of a clean and simple card. I just love it! I could probably repeat it in a dozen different colours and be just as pleased with each card. It was not an easy card though. You cannot eye-ball this layout. It really does require the patience of something like a Stamp-a-ma-jig. I can't describe this card without mentioning the pearls. Until I thought to add them, this card was really very ho-hum but the pearls turned this card into something I can wow about. Though I made this card with a wedding in mind, imagine it as a set of thank you cards. It would be awesome!

I would be remiss if I didn't mention today's photo. I've always had major problems photographing clean and simple cards. My camera just doesn't like white space. As I was surfing, I came across a blog (sorry I don't remember which one) in which the card maker photographed against a coloured background as per Susan Raihala's Simplicity blog. I decided to give that a try tonight and it worked perfectly. It is a great tip that I will endeavor to share with every clean and simple card I post.

I hope you enjoy this card and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle

12 comments:

  1. I wouldn't have thought to duplicate the leaf...how cool!! Love the pearls...really add a touch of elegance!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Oooh....SO pretty! I love the colors you used to stamp, and those pearls are gorgeous!

    ReplyDelete
  3. So glad to hear that, my version of the challenge was hard and I'm still not happy with it!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Oh I used a WMS for my card but I like yours more!!! This is such a great CAS card ...... why do I have such trouble with them lol!

    ReplyDelete
  5. What a lovely card! I like the way the sentiment echoes the stems of the leaves.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Gorgeous!

    Thanks for joining us in this week's CAS-tastic Wednesday "Focus on Sentiments" clean and simple card challenge!

    ReplyDelete
  7. You're right....SIMPLE it isn't! I blew my morning and lots of good cardstock doing "Simple", and actually succeeded in conjuring up swear words I've never before had in my vocabulary. Where the heck do all those ink smudges come from? Maybe tomorrow I'll try again. Your entry is just gorgeous, and I'm sooo grateful for the photography tip. I badly needed that!

    Thanks !

    ReplyDelete
  8. Oh how wonderful!!!! The pearls are a lovely touch. And you're absolutely right about CAS requiring patience.

    ReplyDelete
  9. I think the pearls are a lovely touch and agree that it looks easier than it is to stamp. But this design would be lovely packaged up as a gift.
    Thanks for joining us at CAS-Tastic!

    ReplyDelete
  10. those pearls are gorgeous...love your card!

    ReplyDelete
  11. A very elegant card, the pearls are really the finishing touch.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Simply Elegant!! LOVE it! Thanks for playing along at CAS-tastic Wednesday!!

    ReplyDelete