I love to spend my crafting time creating new and fun cards – I don’t love to sit and make lots and lots of the same card. When I do, though, I love to share those cards with you. I’ve been away at Stampin’ Up!’s Founders Circle – a retreat for Stampin’ Up!’s Top 100 U.S. Demonstrators – this past week. What a treat! I’ll share more about the retreat early this week.
Part of the Founders Circle experience is a card swap with 100+ other demonstrators, so I showed up in St. George, Utah with 110 swaps. What started out as a super-simple concept for my swap became more and more time consuming as the card progressed. I stuck with it and am really happy with the finished product. Here’s my card:
Tips, Tricks and Reminders
- A Gorgeous, Textured Background. I was playing around with some rarely-used stamps in the Fungeon (that’s the affectionate name I’ve given my craft space) when I decided to use this watercolor wash from the Perpetual Birthday Calendar stamp set. It wasn’t working for me on Whisper White because the intentional graininess of the image looked unintentional. Nothing worse! When I stamped the image on Watercolor Paper, though, the intentional texture was magical to me. I love the look of this stamp in the background. Flipped upside down alternately, you’d never know this was the same image stamped four times.
- Grateful for Time. I love this word “grateful” from the Seasonal Frame Thinlits Dies. Some papers are grainier than others – look at Crumb Cake, and you’ll see that there’s a lot of flecks in the paper. Those papers are more difficult to crop with Thinlits – you can achieve a clean look by carefully picking away at all the “fuzzies” that are left on the edges. My “test run” for this card was Early Espresso, which cut out cleanly and perfectly. Yippee! I switched over to Chocolate Chip for the final design – and things changed. Apparently Chocolate Chip is a grainier paper that Early Espresso because those cuts were not as clean. I kept moving, though. I am glad that I started working on my swap so far ahead of schedule because I had LOTS of time to pick through them all to clean them up. 🙂
- Color Combination. I think it’s the combination of colors in the background that make this simple card so special. I used Crushed Curry, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip and Pumpkin pie to represent the colors of Fall – they are just lovely together! If you, too, feel inspired by this combination of colors, feel free to save this:
Stamp Sets: Perpetual Birthday Calendar Papers: Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Watercolor Paper Inks: Crushed Curry, Old Olive, Chocolate Chip, Pumpkin Pie Accessories: Seasonal Frame Thinlits Die, Stampin’ Dimensionals
And what fun would it be if I didn’t share the “infinity shot” with these swap cards?
More about my Founders Circle Experience. I always enjoy sharing my experiences at Stampin’ Up! events with you. I’ll be sharing pictures later in the week – please come back. 🙂
Thanks for stopping by today!
Brian
Beautiful! I certainly will be casing this idea!
Very “artsy” card, love it!
Great card, love the color combo.
Love it’s elegant simplicity.
Love this card and the infinity shot!
Anyone would be “grateful” to receive this beautiful card!
Another beautiful card simply made. Because of Your designs, I have had many friends join in stamping with me. We have the best of times. Thank you for the inspirations!! (I dropped into one of your sales at your home and it is your warm quirky personality that keeps me watching your post ?)
Great cards, Brian! Gotta LOVE that infinity shot, every time!!!
Okay…I like the card a lot and like the comment on the watercolor look not coming out right on smooth paper ,but the paper grains really grabbed my attention . Discovered just recently that when folding card bases you put mountain inside on neutrals and outside on colored card stock ! Love love your swap card and the colors !! Saw your cute face on another blog yesterday on Founder`s pictures ….looking forward to your pictures !
Very interesting card, Brian. After looking at your card and then seeing the inspiration strip, I was surprised that the color on the far right was Pumpkin Pie. It looks more pink in the pictures, which didn’t scream “fall” to me, but it looks great. The tip on the grain of the CS is very interesting. I had noticed it on my cards, but I didn’t know how to avoid it. Thanks for these tips. Can’t wait to see your pics.
Sonny, thanks for the tip about folding CS. I’ve made a note, so I can refer to it when I need. We can all learn from each other.
Sonny, I have not heard of this before. Why is this? I’ve noticed lately that although I am sure I am scoring exactly where I should be, sometimes the edges do not align correctly and one side is just a smidge shorter. Is that because of mountain folds on specific card stock? Interesting…
Oh my goodness Brian, you were busy, busy making all of this beautiful cards. How many did you make?? looks like you made an infinite amount!!!
Lovely color choices as a back drop for your beautifully cut sentiment, so elegant.
Thank you for sharing.
Your card is fabulous. I’m sure everyone was excited to receive it (and your in a tough audience there!) The color combination is luciously autumnal. I use the wash from the Perpetual Birthday Calendar all the time – love it!
Truly a work of art from your heart!
Oh Brian – you actually made 110 of the same card? Did you wear out your paper cutter? It is indeed a beautiful card and a true masterpiece. Anytime you can take something a bit complicated and make it look like it was simple is a testament to your artistic abilities. I love it!
Love this card and feel fortunate to have had a sneak peek ahead of time. The washes of color are perfect with the die cut sentiment and could be changed to so many color palettes!
Love this card Brian! I always learn something from you – I thought those fuzzies when cutting was my cutting skills (or lack of). This is good to know
Wonderful card! Oh, how I wished you had made 111 cards and sent me one – I would cherish it forever! You have made a ton of cards I love but something about this one just makes me pick it as the best one ever! Congratulations on making the Founder’s Circle thingy! Love the “infinity” shot of the cards. Thanks for the tips of the trade!
They turned out great! You’re dedication shows!
Love the swoosh design/colors! The Thinlits expression works well with this card design; love it!
Love the card, simple and beautiful. See lots of pics of you at Founder’s Circle events. You’re going to be named the Poster Guy of Stampin’ Up demonstrators! lol
What a simple and beautiful card! Flipping the stamp or the card upside down alternately really worked, didn’t it? You’re so creative, Brian!
it’s gorgeous, Brian! I love it!
Wow, what a great card and simple to make as well. I know making 110 can get monotonous but what a great result. I love the colour combination, one you can use all year round for any occasion. And the infinity shot is just magic. Thanks Brian and Sonny for the helpfull tips.
Brian, your swap card is fantastic! Love how you flipped the image upside down on every other press of color. Totally looks like 2 different images. Love the color combo too. Always look forward to your infinity shots too! 🙂
Infinity shot…Great! They all look the same! : ) Grateful for all your work and all you share. Gorgeous card, Brian!
Beautiful card Brian, elegant simplicity. Awesome job
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