Wednesday, July 4, 2012

Two-Tone Flourishes

I'm really loving the Flowering Flourishes stamp set. It's so versatile and is great as both a background stamp *and* a stamp for the focal point on a card. The stamp set has three flourishes, a large one, a medium-sized one as well as a small one. I used the medium one on my card.

I used two challenges for my inspiration today. The first was the Dynamic Duos Color Challenge. This week's colors were Crumb Cake and 'Our Choice'. Usually I'd turn to Marina Mist or Rich Razzleberry. But I decided to shake things up this week and use my new fave color, Raspberry Ripple. It's not quite pink, it's not quite red, it's raspberry. It's a very rich color and I love it!

The second challenge I used was the Freshly Made Sketches Challenge. We had a nice, simple, clean sketch to work with this week. And guess what? I pretty much followed it to a tee! I even kept the orientation in the sketch! How often does that happen with me? ;)

Tips & Tricks:

*I just LOVE how rich, solid and bright my images come out when I use the new Firm Foam Ink Pads. No patchiness.
*The sketch I was using for inspiration had a thick band across the width of the card. We don't have the 1-1/4" ribbon anymore and I really wanted to use ribbon ;) So I created my own. I layered two strips of Crumb Cake Seam Binding Ribbon and then ran the Stitched Satin Raspberry Ripple Ribbon across the middle.
*I think the Fancy Fan Embossing Folder is my new favorite. Horizontal, vertical, it looks good in either orientation!
*I know the sketch didn't have the button (or any other element) on it on the ribbon. But I liked the way it looked with it. It was the only thing I changed about the sketch ;)
*Something was missing. I finished the card and I just didn't the way it looked. So I added a few Basic Pearls to the flourishes. Voila - card finished!

This is a great simple, blank note. Perfect for birthday, thank you or 'just because'. Hope you enjoyed my tips today. 'Til next time, keep letting stamps bring out your creativity!



16 comments:

Sabrina said...

Absolutely beautiful! Love everything about this card. Kraft & red go so well together, don't they. :)

Bronwyn Eastley said...

Raspberry Ripple is a stunning colour and it looks great teamed with Crumb Cake. Love all the elements on your card from the embossed background to the beautiful flourish. Thanks for playing along at Dynamic Duos.

Gabby said...

Saw you in the US sketch gallery. I like your card! Craft and red and one of my fav combos. Nicely done. :)

Gabby said...

Ooops! I meant I saw you in the FMS gallery! Sorry I got the sketch challenge mixed up. :(

Jen Timko said...

This color combo is fantastic! Love that new stamp too and it is great for this sketch. The button is a perfect touch. Glad you joined us this week at Freshly Made Sketches!

Melissa said...

So pretty!!! LOVE that embossed BG! Looks like I need to go play with the Raspberry Ripple...thanks for the inspiration! :) Thanks for joining us at Dynamic Duos again this week!

LeAnne said...

Very pretty---that flourish is beautiful!

Jen Brum said...

What a beautiful card Monica! I love Raspberry Ripple! So happy that my fancy fan EF arrived just before lunch!!! Thanks for joining us this week at Freshly Made Sketches!

Jen Brum said...

What a beautiful card Monica! I love the raspberry ripple and that embossed background! Thanks for joining us this week at Freshly Made Sketches!

Allisa said...

Love your layered ribbon and embossed background! Thanks for playing with us at Freshly Made Sketches!

Kim S said...

The flourish is lovely on that panel...and perfectly highlighted by the embossing folder! So glad to see you at Dynamic Duos!

Susan Joyce said...

Such lovely design elements, gorgeous colours, beautiful card. Thanks for joining us at Dynamic Duos.

Anne Marie Hile said...

Such a pretty color combo! I really like the texture and all of the fun details you added. Thanks so much for joining us this week at Dynamic Duos! :)

Linda Suarez said...

I love everything about this card Monica. Great color combo and I love how you created your own wide ribbon. Lovely! Thanks for playing with us at Freshly Made Sketches!

Tui Nathan said...

Absolutely gorgeous .... love everything about this card!
Thanks for joining us at Freshly Made Sketches!!!

Teresa Zuehls said...

Beautiful card and take on the sketch! Thanks for the idea on how to make a wider ribbon. Great job and TFS