Simon Says: Something New #ssswchallenge

Hi everyone! I'm playing along again today with the weekly Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge. This week's theme is "Something New" to go along with the New Year. I received some new craft goodies over the holiday season, but I decided to take a different spin on things and use a new sentiment...

I am LOVING the Hero Arts Acts of Kindness stamp set. So many card markers were using this set during the fall, thanks in part to Jennifer McGuire's "Share Handmade Kindness" campaign. I bought the set, and it's quickly become one of my favorites. So many uplifting, positive sentiments are included in this set, and I just think it's a great go-to set for one of those "just because" notes. Here's a picture of the set so you can see the different sentiments included:

Over the holidays, I made some card sets as gifts using this set, but I hadn't yet used that "a bit of kindness to brighten your day" statement. So, it was new to me! The design of that sentiment is so great to fit in so many different spots on a card, and I love that script font - it's my favorite among all the text styles in the set. This card was pretty simple to make...

First, I used a green card base with a small white rectangle cut out of card stock. I started out by pulling out the very ornate star stamp and stamping it different colors along the left side. No rhyme or reason here; I just randomly stamped along the edge. To finish the stamping, I placed the kindness sentiment in the lower right-hand corner.

Now comes the fun part - embellishments. :) I actually went back to the stamp set one last time to use the hearts. I used a larger and smaller heart to highlight around the sentiment. One of the best ways to enforce the kindness theme was with the hearts, so they were a perfect choice. I also pulled out some light pink sequins. I really love the preppy pink/green color combination, so I thought adding a bit more pink here would be a complement to the green card base. Lastly, I added some more pink with the baker's twine along the side of the card. One of the first basic design tips I learned about card design was to repeat a color combination three times, so this twine also made a third time that pink was used on the card.

To finish things off, I adhered the white base to the card. I left the inside blank for someone to use the card as they need it. I've also included a green envelope with the card (not shown in photo). I think one of my signature styles is going to be colored envelopes. They just catch your eye when you get the mail and have a way of standing out! :)

This is one of my new personal favorite cards, and I think I'll be mass-producing it for some future notes! 

Materials 

Stamps: Ornate star on wood stamp (Hobby Lobby), Hero Arts Acts of Kindness stamp set
Clear blocks (Michael's craft stores)
Paper: green cards and envelopes, white card stock (Hobby Lobby)
Baker's twine (Michael's craft stores)
Pink sequins (Studio Calico monthly card subscription - no longer offered)
Ink: Ranger Die Inks (blue tie, lemon twist, blue ribbon, caribbean coast, grape soda, lily pad, pink gumball, wild orchid)