A spring garden and a new challenge

A few days ago I happened to come across a new challenge blog called Stamp, Ink, Paper. This week is the very first challenge, so I decided to play along. The theme for the challenge is "Getting to know you" (now I'm humming that song from The King and I), and the only requirement is to make a card using your favorite stamps, ink colors, and paper. Here is what I created:

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Stamps: Spring Garden
Paper: Regular and thick Whisper White card stock
Ink: Certainly Celery, Old Olive, Mossy Meadow, Daffodil Delight, Real Red, Lovely Lilac, Baja Breeze, Soft Suede
Accessories: Brick Wall embossing folder, linen thread, Brights Sequin Assortment, Wink of Stella clear glitter brush pen (ZIG), corner rounder, Glue Dots, Dimensionals

I don't know if I could choose one favorite stamp set, but Spring Garden would definitely make my top ten. First of all, it's flowers. 'Nuff said. And second, I don't think I've ever made a card I didn't like using this stamp set. (Though I do remember making a card that was upside down. It had some of the yellow flowers on it, and when I finished the card front, I realized the opening was at the top. Oops.)

Here are some other things this card reveals about me:

Colors
I don't necessarily have favorite ink colors -- what I like depends on my mood, what I'm creating, and heck, maybe even the weather -- but I do so love Baja Breeze. I admit that I was a little sad when Stampin' Up! retired that color. So I had to use that color for the butterflies on my card. And the flower colors (Real Red, Daffodil Delight, and Lovely Lilac) are definitely my go-to colors for this stamp set.

Clean and simple
Most of the cards I make are clean, simple, and generally unfussy; they might be just a stamped card base or have one layer of card stock with the focal image (like this one), and they don't usually have a ton of embellishments. I don't dislike those "fancier" cards (I do make those cards, too), but it's not my natural card-making style. While this card has a lot of color in the focal image, the rest of the card is basic white with a little texture in the background and a simple linen thread bow.

Sparkle
I like to add a little sparkle on my cards, and I'll confess that when I make a masculine birthday card, for example, it's hard not to add a few rhinestones. Lately I'm obsessed with sequins, and I love the Wink of Stella clear glitter brush pen. So on this card I added three green sequins, and I brushed glitter on the butterflies' wings. Unfortunately, you can't see the sparkle on the butterflies because it's a rainy, dreary day here, and I was having a heck of a time taking a decent picture (this was my third different set-up). You'll have to imagine it.

'Fussy cutting'
I actually like cutting out stamped images; for some reason I find it relaxing. Or maybe meditative is a better word. Even when I have Framelits or other dies that will cut out a stamped image, I often prefer to just grab my paper snips and trim it by hand. So after stamping my three butterflies, I cut them out and used little pieces of Dimensionals adhesive to stick them on the focal layer.

Well, that's a little about my card-making style and a few of my favorite things (okay, now I'm singing that song from The Sound of Music). I had a lot of fun with this challenge and thanks for stopping by!