Back in December, I challenged myself to make more simple cards in the coming new year.  I have to admit that it’s been hard for me to feel that simple cards are good enough, so I haven’t attempted to make simple cards in awhile.  Then I also got distracted with the (really cool!) Cards in a Box which are decidedly Not Simple.

But this past week, I needed six birthday cards for family and friends, and I had limited time.  So again I challenged myself to make simple cards.  It was difficult to make the cards work to my satisfaction, but in the end, I was very happy with the overall results!  It also made me very happy that I made more than four of the cards in just over two hours, where as it normally takes me two hours to make just one non-simple card!

What I have learned so far about simple cards:

• paper with a texture or fibers embedded (such as the confetti card stock) adds a lot of interest to a simple card.
• A great image can stand on it’s on with just a touch of color if it’s an outline stamp.
• Humor can add an extra element to a simple card, such as a funny image, or text (see the Boynton cow below where I wrote inside “Have an udderly fabulous birthday!”)

Boynton Birthday Cat Card

Boynton Birthday Cow Card (I wrote inside, “Have an Udderly Fabulous Birthday!”)

Silhouette Flower Cards

Sailboat Masculine Card

Pink and White Cake Card (Thanks to Iris for the layout idea!)

Supplies:

Boynton Birthday Cat Card
RS – Kidstamps Boynton birthday cat
SU Teeny Tiny Wishes set Just For You
Card Stock – White confetti cardstock
Ink – Stampin’ Up! Cool Carribean
Accessories – aqua grosgrain ribbon,
Sanford Prismacolor Pencils

Boynton Birthday Cow Card
RS – Kidstamps Boynton birthday cow
SU Teeny Tiny Wishes set happy birthday
Card Stock – White confetti cardstock
Ink – Stampin’ Up! Taken With Teal
Accessories – Wildberry ribbon (Michael’s),
Sanford Prismacolor Pencils

Silhouette Flower Cards
RS – Just For Fun silhouette wild flowers with Queen Anne’s Lace and A Muse Queen Anne’s Lace,
Seaside Stampin’ Ink Happy B-day Calligraphy
Card Stock – Stampin’ Up! Daffodil Delight, Bashful Blue
Ink – Stampin’ Up! Taken With Teal
Accessories – Black satin ribbon

Sailboat Masculine Card
RS – Stampin’ Up! Simply Summer sailboat,
Stampin’ Up! Small Script set Wish
Card Stock – Stampin’ Up! Cool Carribean
Ink – Stampin’ Up! Bermuda Bay
Accessories – Teal ribbon tied with square knot

Pink and White Cake Card
RS – Paper Salon cake, Hero Arts Happy Birthday
Card Stock – white
Ink – Stampin’ Up! Melon Mambo
Accessories – Bright pink ribbon,
Stampin’ Up! Sizzix Designer Frames Oval embossing folder

My family just celebrated Father’s Day with my parents yesterday. Since I had made a card in a box for my “special mom” it only seemed reasonable to make a card in a box for my “special dad” as well. 🙂 Once I make a card in a box for each of my three kids’ birthdays (already past!! But better late than never.) I can take a break to make some simpler cards.

A box with an arrangement of seashells seemed like a better choice for a dad than flowers and is also apropos since we visit the beach with my parents each summer. This card is a fun start to summer!

Second Generation Stamping
The gray ink is noted below as “2nd gen.”  This means that after I inked the stamp, I stamped lightly on scrap paper then stamped on the card stock. This makes the ink lighter so that it’s a softer gray.

Supplies:
Card Stock – Stampin’ Up! Bashful blue, blush blossom, sage shadow
Ink – Stampin’ Up! Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Going Gray (2nd gen), Brocade Blue
Leaves- Sizzix little leaves, bird punch branch
SU Modern Label punch
RS – PSX wentletrap shell (on blush blossom) F-1448,
PSX olive shell E-1450,
Inkadinkado seahorse,
Inkadinkado sand dollar,
Seaside Stampin’ Ink Soaring Gull Left D-234,
SU Teeny Tiny Wishes set Happy Father’s Day

Mother’s Day for two extra special mothers calls for extra special cards.  When a friend showed me the Card in a Box I knew I’d found just the thing.

These amazing cards are a three dimensional box full of flowers (or other items) which fold flat for mailing.

The Serene Stamper has a good sample card and instructions linked on Pinterest that I used, including a helpful video tutorial.

Purple Card Supplies:
Rubber Stamps – Stampin’ Up! Delight in Life (large flowers, small purple flowers and leaves from flower petals), SU Punch Potpourri triple flower (small flowers); All Night Media greetings set Happy Mother’s Day;
Cardstock – Stampin’ Up! Lovely Lilac, Certainly Celery, Barely Banana, Almost Amethyst;
Inks – Stampin’ Up! Lovely Lilac, Lavender Lace, So Saffron, Certainly Celery;
Accessories – Spellbinders Nestabilities Scalloped Oval (stamped with Happy Mother’s Day), Stampin’ Up! Bird Punch (leaf branch), Stampin’ Up! Three flower punch (small flowers on flaps), Martha Stewart large Monarch butterfly punch

Red Card Supplies:
Rubber Stamps – Stampin’ Up! Delight in Life (large flowers and leaves from flower petals), SU Punch Potpourri triple flower; All Night Media greetings set Happy Mother’s Day;
Cardstock – Stampin’ Up! Pretty in Pink, Mellow Moss, Primrose Petals;
Inks – Stampin’ Up! Raspberry Ripple, So Saffron, Pretty in Pink, Mellow Moss;
Accessories – Spellbinders Nestabilities Scalloped Oval (stamped with Happy Mother’s Day), Stampin’ Up! Bird Punch (leaf branch), Stampin’ Up! three flower punch (small flowers on flaps), Martha Stewart large Monarch butterfly punch