Saturday, February 6, 2016

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Ray of Sunshine

Hey everyone! Hope you're having a good weekend. I had a great day having lunch with a friend who just became a mom a few months ago. I'm super lucky to have fantastic friends who are also amazing moms. I've learned from them that it's so important to keep making time for friendship, even with the busyness of children. And, I'm more than happy to be that friend to whisk them away for a little while for lunch, cards, shopping, chatting, and laughter. :)

I made a card earlier in the week that I wanted to share with you this weekend! This is for the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Ray of Sunshine. I have to be honest - the Monday challenges are tough for me. The distress look highlighted in these cards are not my style or my forte. But I saw a new technique online that used some mini distress inks, and I also have a friend who is recovering from surgery. So I thought would be a good opportunity to try something that's a little out of my comfort zone and send a card to a friend recovering at home.

As I mentioned, the challenge this week was "Ray of Sunshine." I didn't take this literally, but I hope this happy mail will be a bright spot in a friend's recovery:





So, I will be the first to admit that is is far from a strong distressed look - let's just say I'm taking baby steps! But I did use a new technique with distress inks to stamp the mini ink pads right on the paper for those green and blue blocks. Those tiny blocks are just perfect for making squares on a card, and I found that small envelope stamp to fit juuuuuust right inside!



A sentiment along the bottom, a little circle in the top left, and a couple of gold accents finished off the card.

Any tips for trying out another distress card? The clean look of the SSS Wednesday Challenges come a lot easier to me, but I think this was a good first attempt at distressed style!


Enjoy the rest of your weekend - hope you have fun Super Bowl plans!

Materials


Paper - White card and envelope (Hobby Lobby), light blue card stock and white card stock (Simon Says Stamp)

Stamps - Happy Mail (Right at Home Stamps)

Inks - Tim Holtz Distress Ink Pads (crushed olive and tumbled glass), Ranger Dye Ink (black tie)

Other - Gold dots sprinkles (Doodlebug Design Inc,), gold gel pen (Hobby Lobby)

4 comments:

  1. Gee that friend sounds great!!! Love the card, too. Not super distressed but I like the layout a lot!

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    1. I think you get the award for quickest comment ever :) She is pretty awesome!!

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  2. I had to smile when I read your post about how the Monday challenges are difficult for you because this project is AMAZING! It is sheer genius, so just know that you are nailing whatever it is you think you aren't nailing. :) I love the way you gave it just a hint of Distress Ink edginess, yet it's such a happy card, too. In my eyes, you hit the perfect balance between being whimsical and being grounded and it looks fabulous. This card alone, I'm sure, would be a great help to anyone recovering! It was a joy to see and I'm so glad you gave it a try because all I see here is success! Well done and thank you so much for sharing your talents and vision with us for this week's Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge!

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    1. Awwwww, thanks so much, Andrea! It is so nice and reassuring to hear kind words about a project that's soooooo out of your comfort zone. Maybe I'll keep with it and try a few more of the Monday challenges. :) Have a great day!!

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