I’m Here for You

When I embarked on my quest to create today’s card for The Pals Paper Arts, I was certain my adventure would end with bright red, cheerful poppies on the front of a joyful card.  Somewhere along the way, though, my Odyssey changed course – those bright tones became warm, rich tones, and the celebratory poppies I had envisioned transformed into a comforting bouquet of golden flowers.  Here’s my card:

Pleasant Poppies, Petite Pairs, Stampin' Up!, Brian King, PPA197And here’s Nicole Watt’s sketch that inspired my card:Tips, Tricks and Reminders

  • Yellow Poppies.  Did you know that poppies come in all sorts of colors?  I didn’t.  If you did a Google search for “poppies,” you will surely find images of red and orange flowers in a field.  Bright, colorful poppies.  That’s the vision I have always had of poppies.  For giggles, I did a quick search for “yellow poppies” just to see if poppies exist in other colors – and the images that popped up blew my mind.  Bright, golden, yellow.  I couldn’t help but mimic these colors in my poppies.  Crushed curry and Daffodil Delight.
  • A Thick Border.  The central panel of this card is highlighted by the thick border of Crushed Curry on the base of the card.  I like to play around with layers, making some thick and some thin.  It adds interest.  In this case, the Crushed Curry border seems to lift the central panel off the card (well, with the help of Stampin’ Dimensionals…).  The border also helps to highlight the poppies.
  • A Thick Waist.  Nicole’s sketch includes a band around the base of the card.  Once I added two layers of card stock and a band of Chevron Ribbon, the waist of this card was really thick (both the width of the ribbon and the thickness it created when wrapped around the card).  Once the ribbon was glued down, I couldn’t start all over, so the thickness was there to stay.  To take away, though, from the visual impact of the width of the ribbon, I added a thin layer of baker’s twine.  I wasn’t sure that would do the trick, but it really helped.  Why did that work?  I dunno.

Stamp sets:  Pleasant Poppies, Petite Pairs  Papers:  Early Espresso, Sahara Sand, Whisper White, Crushed Curry, Daffodil Delight, Neutrals Designer Series Paper Stack  Inks:  Jet Black StazOn, Early Espresso  Accessories:  3/16″ Corner punch, 3/4″ Chevron Ribbon (Crushed Curry), White Baker’s Twine, Stampin’ Dimensionals

Please head over to the Pals Paper Arts to check out the designs by the other design team members.

Thanks for stopping by my blog today.

Brian

30 Comments

  1. So much to love about today’s card. It is beautiful. Off to google yellow poppies 🙂

  2. You’ve done such a lovely job with the yellow (Crushed Curry and Daffodil Delight poppies, Brian! I “think” the reason the baker’s twine works to draw the eye away from the “thick waist” is like when you put a shirt on, but don’t tuck it in as opposed to tucking it in and putting a belt on … that makes you appear thinner! (That’s my theory, anyway!

  3. You know if the person receiving your card actually knew how much you put into making it …you wouldn`t even need the sentiment ! The creative energy and care would explode in their hand the minute they touched it ….Sigh…… love all of your details and now I like Crushed Curry and Daffy Delight together ! Great card !!

  4. Beautiful card. Love the color combo and everything about it. You have such a wonderful talent.

  5. Well, I didn’t know either that poppies came in other colors, I always assumed they were only red. So thank you for doing the research for us Brian, and thank you for this gorgeous card too. You always put so much incredible effort and love in all of your creations and you always enlighten us with the how and the why you arrived at the final result.

  6. Yellow poppies, who knew? Love the card.

  7. Brian your card is stunning! Love the layout!

  8. Beautiful warm colors with sweet poppies! Great design and love how you placed the sentiment! Have a great weekend!:-)

  9. Echoing other comments, I didn’t know that poppies came in other colors. This makes me think I need to reevaluate my other flower stamps and be open to explore other colors, especially if I’ve only stuck with one color before.

    Your card is gorgeous! Bright and cheery, makes me smile just looking at it. The person who gets it will be smiling knowing you made it for them as well as the care you took to do so 🙂

  10. Oh WOW….this is a GORGEOUS card! I really LOVE it!

    Yellow is such a bright and cheery color….how could this card not make you feel happy to be alive!

    Love the way the sentiment seems to be “peeking out” Great job!

  11. Like everyone else Brian I love the card. What caught my eye though, and what I thought was most intriguing about the card was the way the words “I’m Here For You” seem to be peeking out from behind the flower panel. When I looked at the card that is what drew in my eyes. The colors are soft and warm, the arrangement is fabulous but the sentiment among it all is worth more than money can buy.

  12. I did NOT know that poppies came in all those colors. Thanks for sharing, Brian. I like that sentiment–it can work for so many situations in life.

  13. So pretty and soothing. : )

  14. Yep! California Poppies are my favorites, coming in all shades of pink, too! The Baker’s Twine is the finishing touch … your layers kind of peak there, and a knot is better than a bow, too. GREAT card!!!

  15. Lovely card. But (isn’t there always one!) It doesn’t really matter that
    poppies come in different colors. As an artist your creative expression can make
    them any color you want. Yes we are artists!

  16. Beverly Parkison aka Lateblooming Designs

    Poppies!!! This was the first stamp I was really drawn to, but something else always got ordered first. Need to put it back on top of wish list. Thanks.

  17. Absolutely GORGEOUS!! I absolutely LOVE EVERYTHING about your card! The layout, the colors, the textures just mesh so well! I think the Baker’s Twine with just a simple knot was the perfect finishing touch to today’s masterpiece. LOVE, LOVE the sentiment peeking out from the side of your lovely yellow and golden yellow poppies. It’s definitely a WOW!! card!

  18. Beautiful card Brian! So warm and comforting. The colors are perfect!

  19. Brian, I love this card and the colors are gorgeous together. I have a friend that’s going thru a tough time and this will surely brighten her day!! Have a great day!

  20. This card blew me away. What a great use of color. I absolutely love it!

  21. Brian,
    It’s gorgeous… simply gorgeous!

  22. Love this card, all the layers, ribbon and the beautiful sentiment…it’s perfect.
    It’s a WOW card, Brian, and thank you for your poppy color research as well….I always envision the reds for poppies, but this is striking, just love it! I think the yellow Chevron ribbon looks fantastic with the design of your card!

  23. A truly warm beautiful card. Awesome job Brian

  24. This card warms my heart. Simply lovely. I pulled out my Pleasant Poppies to play with but it has been sitting on my table and hasn’t moved. This is a good motivator. Plus I have used Crushed Curry on a few quick cards I made. It isn’t a go to color but lately it has drawn me in. Todays card proves how beautiful it can be.

  25. Love this card Brian! It’s so clean yet meets all the requirements of the sketch. And it’s beautiful to boot.

  26. Hi Brian, Please include me in the Spring Swap, can’t wait.

  27. Great job Brian. Your golden flowers pop right off the page.

  28. It’s beautiful Brian. Love the colors and love your poppies. Thank you for sharing.

  29. Love the card! How do you get your baker’s twine to stay where you put it??????????????????????????????

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