Simply Stamped Verve

Here are my cards for the last two October Viva la Verve challenges. Both cards are clean and simple designs with minimal stamping and no coloring at all. It seems like most of my cards involve some coloring, so this was a nice change of pace.

This one is based on Jackie’s birthday card as seen here. I made a birthday card, too, using the same basic layout and some of the same design elements, too. I replaced the flower image with a balloon from Verve’s Birthday Bash set. I stamped the image on the panel so it extended over the top. The balloon is cut out from a scrap of red paper and attached to the panel with a little foam tape. The sentiment’s stamped in matching red ink.

The rest of the card is very simple. I embossed a kraft panel with a dotted pattern and created my own dotted patterned paper using the dot strip from the Bountiful Backgrounds set stamped in white ink on a red strip. Both dotted panels are layered on white mats to set them off. A matching red ribbon around the red dotted panel adds a festive accent to the design.

Materials Used:
Birthday Bash and Bountiful Background stamp sets (Verve Stamps); Real Red Classic ink, Real Red, Crumb Cake, and Whisper White cardstock (Stampin’ Up!); Fresh Snow ink (Papertrey Ink); oval die (Spellbinders); Polka Dots embossing folder (QuicKutz); red grosgrain ribbon (Michaels); foam tape

The card for the last challenge took me a while to figure out, even though it ended up being a very simple card. I was inspired by the fall colors I’ve been seeing as I walk Chloe the cutie puppy. Acorns are a big thing, too—Chloe chases them down and chews on them while we walk around the neighborhood. It's her first experience with fall and she's so excited about everything that's around her. I incorporated those elements in my design.

I rotated the sketch, then flipped it back, and tried a bunch of different paper and color combinations before settling on this. I used the sentiment from Tall Oaks for the focal image and added a layered embellishment as an accent—this acorn from a K & Company package of fall embellishments was a perfect match for the sentiment. I used a patterned paper with oak leaves and acorns along the bottom of the card and picked coordinating solids for the panels and mats. A pretty rust ribbon was the only other embellishment I used to keep the attention on the sentiment panel.

Materials Used:
Tall Oaks stamp set (Verve Stamps); Rich Cocoa ink (Memento); Terracotta Tile cardstock, Autumn Abundance patterned paper, Terracotta Tile satin ribbon (Papertrey Ink); Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip, and Very Vanilla cardstock (Stampin’ Up!); Autumn Days layered embellishment (K & Company)