DSP-Free Fix-Its

Hello everyone,

Well, if you caught yesterday's post you'll have read that I had a few troubles getting the Sweet Sunday Sketch to work to my satisfaction. I managed to get a lovely card in the end, but had a bunch of flubs and bits that never made it onto the final product. I wasn't about to through them away, so I took a page from Susan Raihala's Simplicity blog and turned them into really wonderful cards. The two cards below use these pieces from my earlier efforts. As I originally intended, they also work for Sunday's 2 Red Bananas "Behind the Scenes" challenge, which was to stamp a background instead of using designer paper.

This card base is Stampin' Up Whisper White. The background was created with Verve Filigree Fantasy in Stampin' Up Soft Suede. The card was overlayed with vellum. The red paper is part of an unknown stash but possibly Recollections, from Michaels. It is textured with Sizzix Small Dots. The sentiment is Verve Wishing You. This focal element was cut with Spellbinders Nestabilities Label Twelve die. The ribbons are Stampin' Up Soft Suede Polka Dot grosgrain and Dollarama Crafts.

I found the card base was much too busy once I had it stamped so I put it aside. I eventually decided that covering most of it with vellum would soften the overall effect. It did and frankly, I find it quite appealing. I glued only the left side of the card and as I've no vellum-specific adhesive, it shows through. I solved this issue by covering the adhesive with ribbon. I used the reverse side of the polka dot grosgrain because I found the dots added more 'busy-ness' that I didn't need or want. Without texture though, I found the red element was just too plain. I used small dots to texture because I felt it related very well to the filigree.

I find this card positively striking. It is not at all what I intended when I first put stamp to paper but it turned out so much better than I imagined. I'm really glad I didn't just throw the card base in the garbage.

This card base is Stampin' Up Confetti White. The red paper (same sheet as the card above) is textured with Cuttlebug's Floral Fantasy dry embossing folder. The vertical element is Stampin' Up kraft paper. The images are Stampin' Up Circle Circus. The sentiment is Verve Uplifting Phrases. The ribbon is Celebrate It Sheer Creations from Michaels.

I've been meaning to play with my kraft paper for some time. I generally don't find it particularly appealing on it's own but I always seem to like the final results. Anyway, I once saw it (no idea where) used with white ink, I found the combination absolutely striking, so I wanted to replicate a similar look. Unfortunately, once I had this piece stamped, I couldn't work it into the sketch in a way that looked right to me. This particular application does however, work quite well. The ribbon element is also one that I've seen before (but can't remember where) and I found it so beautiful, I just had to case it.

I really love this card. This red (more burgundy really) works beautifully with the kraft paper. I also have to say that the kraft paper and white ink together - it isn't disappointing.

Please enjoy these cards and come back to SPI again soon.

Gisèle