I’ve been working really hard on my convention swaps and display board for Convention.  Not to reveal anything about my swaps or board, but I’ve been working with lot of browns and blues and Autumn colors. Somewhere in the back of my head, I’ve been planning a bright and summery card to maintain balance in my always-designing mind.
This just might be the brightest and sunshiniest card I’ve ever made:Â 
Tips, Tricks and Reminders:
- Color Choices. If you want a bright and sunny card, you can’t lose with pink, yellow and green. Melon Mambo, Daffodil Delight and Gumball Green provide the perfect landscape for an over-the-top happy card.  The pink gingham design from Gingham Garden Designer Series Paper works perfectly here, with just enough white to balance out the other colors. I also added a panel of white at the top to help reduce the shock from all the bright colors.
- Adding dimension to the Flower Shop flowers. This design of this flower from Flower Shop resembles one of the flowers from Secret Garden. I spent a bit of time trimming annd stacking and rearranging these shapes to make a cool design. That didn’t work. I also tried to shade in some of the lines on the flower with Basic Black. No. THEN – it hit me! Why not shade these same parts with a marker from the same color family as the paper. I highlighted some of the lines in the Daffodil Delight flower with a Daffodil Delight Stampin’ Write Marker and highlighted some of the lines in the Melon Mambo flower with a Melon Mambo Stampin’ Write Marker. Look at what a great impact this has – without taking away any of the color:
- Breaking layers. As I invisioned this card, it would have a big strip of Gingham Garden washi tape across the center. Then, I moved to a ribbon or a strip of paper. While I was pondering the options, I decided to let the flowers do the work for me. I positioned the flowers and leaves along the border to make sure they fully cover the line between the DSP and the Whisper White paper.
Stamp Sets: Flower Shop, Yippee-Skippee Inks: Melon Mambo, Jet Black StazOn, Stampin’ Write Markers (Daffodil Delight, Melon Mambo) Papers: Gumball Green, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, Melon Mambo  Accessories: Pansy Punch, Bird Builder punch, Pearl Basic Jewels, Stampin’ Dimensionals
Tomorrow is my first day as a Resident Designer at Pals Paper Arts. I’m excited to create with such a wonderful group of designers and can’t wait to share these challenges with you. As such, my posts on the second and third Thursdays of each month will go live at 5:30, rather than 5:00. I just don’t want you to be alarmed when you don’t see my post at 5:12 tomorrow morning. 🙂
Thanks for stopping by my blog today!
Brian
I LOVE this card Brian!! The colors, the layout, the flowers with your awesome marker shading technique, the gingham, the balance… true perfection!! And you picked the most appropriate sentiment too! I don’t know anyone that could look at this card and not be insta-super-happy!!! Thank you for sharing & putting a big ol’ smile on my face!!! 🙂
Whoop Whoop! Love this card! Pinning right away! Love the tall layer of Gingham and these sweet flowers! Your Marker touch was brilliant! A very Summery card for a not so Summer-like Summer! (for me anyway)
The card SCREAMS Happy and of course beautiful!
A truly beautiful card! Love it!
Ohhhhh!! Brian, this is really gorgeous, indeed it’s the happiest card you’ve ever made. It instantly brings a smile to your face, truly lovely. You said it right, you have an ever designing mind, you have a thought and the capacity to transfer it to paper and color, thank you for sharing your beautiful mind with us every day. Good luck at the Convention my dear, take lots of pictures so we can see you having lots of fun.
Love Gingham ! Love pink ! Love happy ! Love your card ! This card displays my mood this morning because my Magnetic Platform came yesterday . Love my Magnetic Platform . Now I want to order every Framelet set in the world . I hope there is or are some new ones in the new Holiday catty . These are exciting times in “The Kingdom” for one and all . !!!
Love how you colored the flowers! And the whole card is gorgeous and perky…love it!
Love this!: Love the colours, the balance of the design, the cheeriness of it. Just fab!
This is so charming, Brian! I am MAD for gingham, and the flowers are perfect!
The colours are absolutely Fabulous!!! Such a bright and cheery card!
That card is happy, happy, happy!
Truly, truly a very happy card! This screams “country” to me. Why you ask? I live in the country. Gingham prints hanging on clothes lines merrily blowing in the summer breeze. Plus lots of happy flower pots sitting around a crisp white country home. Just the right amount of coloring and color combo. Brilliant!
This. Is. Gorgeous!
Another home run! Love this card, Brian!
what a happy smiley card! Love it 🙂
Beautiful card! Love the color combo! So cheerful:-)
You’re right can NEVA have too much happy!!
LOVE this!
Thanks Brian. It’s been an emotionally turbulent few days around here and that bright, happy, wonderful card gave me cause to smile. Smiling is the best way in the world to start a day. Strange how a bright, happy card can turn things around.
Brian, I absolutely love this card. I love the colors, the format and everything else. I can’t wait to make this card for a dear friend who’s birthday is next week. Love it, love it! Thanks for sharing?
Brian, this card just made me smile….it is so bright and cheery….thanks so much for the inspiration.
What a great match up with the gingham DSP and the Flower shop flowers! Love it.
Happy and pretty and whimsical and wonderful! I just love everything about this card, Brian.
A card of perfection! I absolutely love this card!!!
brilliant…the first question I asked was what color did he use to stamp the flowers…wasnt’ the same color, is it brown or black but how did he get the same color on the petals??? thankful for the explanation…..brilliant HE USED SHADING WITH MARKER after he had stamped…the impact is definitely eye catching blessings patti moffett
LOVE this card Brian!! LOVE the colors!! LOVE the layout!! So cheery!!
How wonderful to see such a beautiful and HAPPY card! So perfect!! I agree with Cindy. I immediately thought of using it for a birthday card, but of course it’s ideal for any other “happy” occasion. Pretend that we all sent a similar card to you because you make us happy every morning when we read your blog and see your beautiful creations!
Perfect card for a perfect day!
Wishing you the happiest and sun shiniest day! Thank you for sharing how you make your cards,most people just put down the supplies. WOW! these are the first of this set that actually look like pansies!
Gorgeous!
Oh my word! This is totally my most favorite color combo! I’d like to think that you were totally “inspired” by the cards that I sent in for the swap! 🙂 giggles!
This is a gorgeous card Brian! Seriously, I LOVE it!
Valerie
Brian, you are soooooooo inspiring!!! Love this card! It brings back memories of childhood – playing in my grandparents sunny back yard out in the country, orange and grapefruit trees, clothes on the line blowing in the breeze, grandpa chugging along on the tractor. . . . . . I could go on. . . . . . Your beautiful card has convinced me to get Flower Shop & Gingham Garden DSP.
What a bright, fun, happy card! Love it!!
You made my day!! Love the colors, and the sentiment. How perfect. I know just the person who could use this card to HAPPY up her day. She just lost her mom about a week ago and is having a hard time. Thanks for sharing.
Fabulous card….love the white space at the top and soooo agree that the flowers are a wonderful break between the WW and the fabulous Gingham pattern. Love these colors together….you really rocked this one! Can’t wait to see your display and watch you work at Convention and hopefully swap with you!
I LOVE IT!!!!! 🙂
Pretty, pretty cool! Well done!
Gorgeous!!!
Brian….YOU MAKE ME SMILE!!!! Love it!