i {heart} papers DT Challenge #1

Today is the very first i {heart} papers design team challenge. The challenge theme is giving thanks. Since everyone’s time is at a premium during this busy time of year, I thought that I’d share an idea for an easy to reproduce thank you card. It’s great to have some stand-by layouts or designs to turn to when you need some cards in a hurry!

I made a simple card featuring a thank you image from the Just Rite Designer Centers & Borders set. These interchangeable borders and sentiments are perfect for creating quick and easy cards that look great, too. I did find that I needed to condition the stamp a bit to get a crisp, even impression. The image is stamped in Dark Chocolate ink on cream cardstock. I used a 1 ¾” circle punch to punch out the image, then layered it on a Chocolate Chip circle and a River Rock scallop edged circle.

For the cardfront, I used more of my favorite Sassafras Lass Pinstripe paper. This time I used the striped pattern instead of the starburst one. I found that the blue stripe in the paper is a great match for SU!'s retired Cool Caribbean cardstock, so I used that as my card base. I used the Nestabilities Labels 1 dies to cut out a pair of panels, one in Chocolate Chip as a mat and the other in kraft cardstock. I embossed the kraft panel with my Swiss Dot embossing folder, then rubbed a little shimmery white ink over the dots to highlight them. I attached the stamped piece to the bottom right of this panel with dimensionals. I added some of the pretty reversible champagne/moss satin ribbon to the cardfront as an accent.

Be sure to stop by and visit the other design team members for some other fabulous ideas for this theme using products from IHP. Links to their blogs are in the sidebar to the left. It will be worth your while to visit since three of the DT members are offering up blog candy giveaways this week. Also, don't miss Kate's blog--she's got a discount code for 10% off of your order at IHP. And, feel free to stop by and introduce yourself at the IHP group over at Paper Craft Planet. There’s always a lot going on over there, too.

Materials Used:
From i {heart} papers: Just Rite Designer Centers & Borders set, Nestabilities Labels 1, Circle, and Scalloped Circle dies, 5/8”champagne/moss reversible satin ribbon
Other: Cool Caribbean, River Rock, Chocolate Chip, and Very Vanilla cardstock, 1 ¾” circle punch, dimensionals (Stampin’ Up!); Palette Dark Chocolate ink (Papertrey Ink); Moonlight White ink (Brilliance)