I have a serious crush on my Pursuit of Happiness stamp set. There, I said it. While some of these sentiments are from years gone by, they all have a beautiful message that’s important to hear today. I’ve wanted to use the Desmond Tutu quote for quite some time: “Do your little bit of good where you are. It’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” OK, so the words are easy to jumble up if you try to read it out loud at a normal pace. Just read it slowly to yourself over and over until you are comfortable enough to read it to someone else, but definitely share this one. Please report back to me to let me know who was lucky enough to hear you recite these words (pets count if no one else is around).
Here’s my 5″x5″ card that showcases this sentiment:
Tips, Tricks and Reminders:
- “Borrow” your color combinations. Blue and red make a great combination, but Island Indigo and Riding Hood Red are simply divine. I’ve been using Island Indigo a lot lately, and it pairs beautifully with this shade of red. Where did I get the idea? It’s one of the colors showcased in Twitterpated DSP. Even though the piece of DSP I used only contains Riding Hood Red, I chose to select from the DSP colors rather than my Color Coach this round. Lots of great combinations available inside the catalog.
- Reduce, reuse. I knew I wanted to pair the card stocks on the base of this card, and I knew I wanted to crop the large flower shape from my framelits. Rather than waste an entire sheet of 4-3/4″x4-3/4″ Island Indigo card stock (one for the background and one for the framelit), I let one piece do the work of two. Once the DSP is carefully glued on top of the cropped leftovers, no one will be the wiser:
- Maintain your focus. The focus of this card is the sentiment. While the DSP I chose has a lot of detail, there are only two colors featured. As a result, the eye is drawn right to the sentiment. I tried this card with the tiny floral print from the same pack of DSP (the beatuful one with the red, pink and blue flowers). Didn’t work. My eye was too busy processing the colors to get right to the sentiment. Think about it. OK, stop thinking about it, and just scroll back up to see the finished product again.
Stamp set: Pursuit of Happiness Papers: Island Indigo, Riding Hood Red, Whisper White, Twitterpated Designer Series Paper Inks: Island Indigo Accessories: Floral Frames Framelits, 2-1/2″ Circle punch
Thanks for stopping by my blog today!
TGIF! I love a square card this 5×5 is fantastic with it’s large flower and to see you use a piece of DSP today makes me sing! Well no you won’t ever hear me sing but my heart is happy to see this card today! I love a small calico print and this Framelit Flower combination reminds me of a sunflower…so now you have me thinking! (ditch Brian’s red & blue theme & go for rust , yellow & brown) Now aren’t you clever! You can’t hear me sing but I bet you can hear me think! π
lovely. like the idea of saving paper.
I really like this! The quote is great and this card lets the quote be the star π I do that with my paper too and glad to hear I’m not alone! I’ve always wondered if anyone would ever figure it out, but they all know how much I love my paper, haha π Have a great day!
Love, LoVe, LOVE this card, Brian! Ok, so you can tell I love it…. I have also practiced the fine art of using the same piece of paper. Just seemed such a “waste” when you did not. I even save my negatives after being ever so careful to try to line up punches, framelits, etc. so that one day it too can be used in a card. BTW, too bad there are not like buttons on your visitor’s comments! Have a great day… I hope to actually play with lots of paper today! My consolation for not being on an airplane… π
Three years as a demonstrator and I am smacking myself side the head! Whenever I cut out a top note or other things with the big shot I toss the frames out! To think I’m educated!! Oh what would I do without my friend Brian???? Once again … thanks for bringing it!
Perfect card with this perfect sentiment, and perfect tip!
Great sentiment as is your card…as for saving paper, you are so smart!
great use of the framelits. love the simplicity and focus on the sentiment.
hugs, m
Brilliant idea about not wasting the island indigo card stock!! I sure do love your blog!! Quick question, which in colour is your favourite? Do you have any recommendations on which colour is a must have in terms of the ribbon promo this month?
Thanks
Melissa, I’ll send you a personal email, but…
It’s a tricky question – especially because I don’t know your style preferences. I’d say the Midnight Muse and Gumball Green are the most versatile, while Summer Starfruit and Primrose Petals are the most striking and beautiful. You can use MM and GG on almost any type of card at any time of year. I can see those on birthday, Christmas, thank you and congratulations cards. The others are more limited. My opinion. Personally, I think you should get them all, though! π
Love your color choice ,I didn`t really get into those two colors until a couple of my pen pals sent me cards using each of those colors …so pretty . There are a lot of good inspirational sentiments in the catty…one of my faves was just retired with the Just Believe set ..I am so glad I got it last year. And Melissa… Brian is so right ..It is a totally personal use choice. I was fortunate enough to get a sample bundle when the Holiday catalog came out and they are all just beautiful . Brian you left out that really pretty Raspberry Ripple. Oh and I really like your card !!
Using color combnations from DSP’s – you can’t go wrong!! The “thinking” is already done for you – great idea! Love this sentiment – I may just use it on my inspirational “quote” board at work.
I am one of those people who rarely throw away any ‘scraps’….no matter the size! I love this color combo and not sure I would have thought of it…thank you for sharing this beautiful card and always sooooo appreciate your tips! TGIF and enjoy your weekend!!!
Great tips, Brian. I can’t believe I used to throw out those scraps and use another piece of CS for the layer. Thank you so much for this tip! Now I will be saving CS by doing this. What a great idea. Your explanation of the color choices and how to use them is also a great tip. Thanks so much for sharing your wonderful insight!!!