This card is for the challenge over at ABC Challenges. The theme is Flowers and I love the many flower stamps that I own. I didn't start out making a card for this challenge but when my little scrap papers came together, I knew a flower had to be the focal point.
Flower Silhouette: This card is A2 sized and it's background is all from my "scraps" pile. I did some Tarot sized cards on a background of alcohol ink and I just couldn't throw away my leftover pieces.(The color ink I used was a combination of Stream and Bottle both Adirondack Alcohol Ink by Ranger.) Once attached, they resembled marbled tiles and I loved that look. So I just framed out the card with black thin line Dazzles (Hot off the Press) and added my focal element.
The patterned papers are also scraps from my pile and the stamped image is from the Wildflowers stamp set also by Hot off the Press (paperwishes.com). I wanted the flower to be very simple and I'm highly attracted to silhouettes of flowers.
Since I've been doing so many cards that have involved my "scraps" pile, I'll fill you in on how I start and finish a card. So if you'd like to keep reading...please do...otherwise have a great week!
My scraps:
As I work on cards, paper projects, gifts, or altered things, I inevitably end up with scraps of paper that I just can't throw away.At the time, they are organized by size. Scraps larger than an A2 card will go into my file folder. Smaller scraps go into the "scrap pile" in case I can use it up in my next projects. I always seem to keep little squares and rectangles that would make good mats for stamped images or can be arranged easily together. I also keep long strips for no better reason than I like lines. This scrap pile sits on the side of my table until it reaches the point where it is in my way. That's when I use it. That's when I organize it.
I sort the scrap pile by color. For patterned papers with many colors, I see if it matches any colors I've already sorted and it goes in with that pile. For example, on this card, the patterned paper was double-sided with pink roses on the other side...since this side matched my teals so well, I put it in this stack rather than with the pinks. (I just decided that I liked this side better and I had other colors to match it.) Once sorted, I pick out a pile and spread it out to see what I've got and how it can be arranged into a background. If I have any bits that might make up a small collage, I pull them out to see how they'd fit on the front of a card. Mostly, I try to use up the scraps as a patchwork background, then collage elements or lines, then I incorporate my stamps or other focal elements to make a completed card. If I have lots of little bits but nothing that would fill the background of a card, thats when I pull out my file folder and find larger pieces to match the color scheme I have.
I find it very relaxing. If I screw something up, it's no big deal because they were just scraps to begin with. And it's kind of like trying to put a puzzle together by figuring out just where the most little pieces will fit. My cards done this way tend to be monochromatic unless I have a patterned paper that ties several of my color piles together. Once I get down to just a few bits of each color, though, I start mixing them up. I don't usually end up with too many of those.
When does a bit of paper hit the recycling bin? When I'm tired of looking at it and it's just too small to go into the file folder.
So this card is basically the entirety of my Teal scraps. I just added in the black to make it pop and to accent the silhouette I knew I was going to use.
I've got lots of challenges this week that I hope to complete so many more posts to come!
Thanks for reading!
--Wy
"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm."
--Winston Churchill
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