Can't get much simpler

I have had no time to stamp this week. There were a few days I had planned to fit it in, but it just never seemed to work out. So I was really looking forward to some dedicated card-making time this morning. Until I sat down at my craft table and had no idea what I should make or where I should start. How frustrating. I decided that to get the juices flowing maybe I needed to create a few very simple cards using some pre-made accessories and a few Big Shot dies and embossing folders. Except for the inside of one of the cards, I didn't do any stamping at all! Here are the end products of my crafting session:

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!^® unless otherwise noted):
Card stock: Whisper White, Basic Black
Accessories: Tulipe die, rhinestones (Me & My Big Ideas), Tombow multipurpose adhesive

I bought the Tulipe die a few months ago from the Stampin' Up! clearance rack and decided to try it out for the first time today. (The white piece of card stock here is actually the negative image; the black card stock is visible through the "holes" that were cut out.) To me it looked perfect for a wedding card, but the design is too large to fit on a standard A2-sized card. I found some 5" square envelopes and worked backward from there. The card base is 4-3/4" square when folded, and the white layer is 4-1/2" square (just barely large enough to fit the image; it actually cut through the bottom edge of the white card stock). I used liquid adhesive to mount the die-cut piece onto the card base to make sure all the little nooks and crannies were secure.

I wanted to add just a touch of color, so I placed a rhinestone in each corner. My first instinct was to go with red since that seems to be classic for weddings, but I decided to go a different direction and used turquoise instead. I also intended to add some embellishment in the center of the card, but nothing I tried seemed quite right. I left it a very clean and simple wedding card for now, but I may go back and tweak it later.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Card stock: Blushing Bride
Accessories: Blossom Builders kit, Chit Chat rub-ons, Delicate Designs embossing folder, Dimensionals

Blushing Bride and Baja Breeze aren't two colors I would usually put together (at least not by themselves), but they were the colors on these flowers, so I went with it. It's always good to stretch your creativity a little, right? I layered together multiple flower and circle shapes from the Blossom Builders die-cut kit and added the included pink rhinestones in the centers. To give the flowers some dimension I either gently pulled the petals up or creased the middle of each petal with my bone folder. I embossed the lace design on a separate piece of card stock, adhered it to the bottom of the card then added the banner (also part of the Blossom Builders kit) with a rub-on greeting and the flowers.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Card stock: Baja Breeze, Lucky Limeade
Accessories: Blossom Builders kit, Finishing Touches Edgelits dies, Lucky Limeade ruffled ribbon, In Color glimmer brads, Chit Chat rub-ons, Dimensionals

These flowers are also from the Blossom Builders kit, but this time I used glimmer brads for the centers instead of rhinestones and added strips of ribbon for the flower stems. To create the grass along the bottom of the card I die cut a strip of Lucky Limeade card stock and then added a rub-on greeting. I love these fun, bright colors (the yellow is Daffodil Delight, and the red is Poppy Parade).

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Card stock: Whisper White, Not Quite Navy
Accessories: Roof Garden Accents & Elements, linen thread, Designer Naturals buttons

After making a couple of girly, flowery cards, I wanted to try making something more masculine. I don't know if this quite fits that bill, but I like it anyway. The two blue botanical shapes as well as the patterned border are card stock stickers from the Roof Garden Accents & Elements kit. They are very easy to use - just peel and stick! I added linen thread around the bottom of the card and a natural button in the upper right corner to bring in a little texture.

Well, these cards got my stamping mojo working a little bit, so I hope tomorrow will be a little more productive. Thanks for stopping by!