Asian Thank You Cards

I made two cards in answer to sketch challenge SC586 on Splitcoaststampers, and here's what that sketch looks like:

I was a bit intimidated by all the boxes when I first saw the sketch, but I reminded myself of how when I first started cardmaking everything I did was in a framed box, and it took me a long time to get out of that pattern - so while I am out of practice, I do have it in me. I also told myself that I didn't *have* to use boxes - instead, I could replace them with other shapes or design elements. After pondering for a few days I ended up sticking pretty closely to the sketch, as you can see below:

I went with an asian theme after randomly grabbing The Oriental Collection stamp set which I received from Cardmaking & Papercrafts magazine awhile back. I've always been fond of cherry blossoms, so I decided to start with that and find a background paper that has that feel. I looked just a little further than the tip of my nose to find a lovely floral print in Stampin' Up!'s Birthday Bouquet designer series paper which was sitting at my feet waiting to be put away. I decided to layer this print onto a blue background, but I wanted something not quite solid in color - and out jumped the free Sale-a-bration DSP called Perfectly Artistic. I couldn't decide between the Soft Sky watercolor print or the marbelized Blushing Bride, so I decided to make two cards.

I used blender pens with Stampin' Up dye inks (Mossy Meadow, Soft Sky, and Blushing Bride) to add color to the images stamped in Mossy Meadow or Archival Basic Gray onto Whisper White. I cut the Whisper White  panel into sections and attached them to the card base with 1/8" foam squares. I added some Wink of Stella sparkle to the flower centers on both the free falling flowers as well as the flowers in the fans. 

Other than background color, the primary difference between the two cards is the number of floating flowers. I'm still not sure whether I prefer 3 or 5, but I am leaning towards the 3. I'd love to hear your preference in the comments section below.  :)

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I find myself now at a glorious crossroads where I'm not scrambling for the next deadline and can choose whatever I'd like to work on next. Product contenders are Prima opal magic acrylic paints (which turn a different color depending on what color background you put them), gold foiling using a large Nuvo glue pen, and a wide variety of coloring media. Or I can work ahead on some birthday cards I've been commissioned to do. Or I could take on some Challenges over at StampNation. Or work on some Christmas cards. Or I could start swatching out my inkpads so I have a better idea my color choices and can use more than just SU inks. Or... I could take a break altogether and color in some untouched adult coloring books I have! Decisions, decisions. I hope you'll drop by again to see my next project.

Make it a great day!

Spring-y Smiles,
Joyce Spear a.k.a. StamperJoyce