You're So Lovely alternate cards

I love card-making kits for those times when I want to make cards but I don't have the creative mojo (or the time) to design my own layouts. But for awhile now I've been thinking about the idea of getting a card kit, throwing out the instructions, and making whatever I want with the components. The You're So Lovely project kit was perfect for this little experiment because although I liked the components of the kit, and it was a good deal on the Clearance Rack, I didn't really care for the card designs.

As it turns out, actually throwing out the instructions was hard; I'm a direction follower, and I like to know how something is supposed to look. So I did look at the kit instructions, but I didn't use any of the pre-designed layouts. Instead I created two four-card sets and four individual cards.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Sunshine Sayings
Paper: Blushing Bride, Daffodil Delight, Pool Party, Old Olive card stock; gold foil sheets
Ink: Blushing Bride, Daffodil Delight, Pool Party, Old Olive
Accessories: You're So Lovely Project Kit, Sunshine Wishes Thinlits dies, Simply Scored Tool, Dimensionals, Mono Multi liquid glue

For this card set I die cut the words from the Sunshine Wishes Thinlits die set out of gold foil sheets and paired each word with one of the die-cut shapes from the You're So Lovely kit. I chose one color to use as an accent on each card, sponged the shapes with those inks and cut a 1" strip of card stock in each color. To add a little texture, I scored a line about 1/8" away from the top and bottom of each strip before adhering them to the card bases.

I used liquid glue to adhere the die-cut shapes to the card bases and then added the words with Dimensionals cut into tiny pieces. I stamped the words for the sentiments, cut them out in rectangles and also adhered them with Dimensionals. To finish the cards I added either a few gold stars or circles from the kit.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Stamps: Butterfly Basics, Bring on the Cake
Ink: Watermelon Wonder, Blushing Bride, Bermuda Bay, Pumpkin Pie, Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: You're So Lovely Project Kit; Watermelon Wonder, Blushing Bride, Bermuda Bay, Pumpkin Pie sequin trim; Glue Dots; Dimensionals; foam adhesive strips

For the next card set, I used the same layout for each card and just changed the accent color. I chose the accent colors because I had coordinating sequin trim in each color (a couple of the sequin colors were leftovers from other card kit; I love having leftover embellishments). I used the sponge brayer included in the kit to apply ink to each butterfly, and then I added twine bow to each one. With foam strips I attached each butterfly to a tag; the strips are just the right width to fit behind the butterflies' bodies. I used Dimensionals to attach the tags to the card bases and then added three sequins to each card. For a little extra coordination I stamped a small butterfly in the coordinating color inside each card and on the envelope.

I wanted to find a way to package this set of cards using the contents of the You're So Lovely kit. Unfortunately, the set of cards with envelopes was too thick to fit in one of the enclosed glassine bags. Instead I cut the top and bottom off of one of the bags so I was left with a "loop" of glassine about 2" tall. I was able to carefully slide the glassine around the cards and envelopes to make a belly band.

The belly band needed a tag, so I stamped a sentiment on a round tag from the kit and added a gold circle and two Watermelon Wonder sequins. I tied a twine bow around a gold clip and used the clip to attach the tag to the belly band.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):
Diamond card:
Stamps: Strictly Sentiments (WPlus9 Design Studio)
Paper: Thick Whisper White card stock
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: You're So Lovely Project Kit, Baler's Twine Trio Pack, turquoise sequins (Craft Medley), gold Deco Foil (therm-o-web), Big Shot Multipurpose Adhesive Sheets, Dimensionals, Glue Dots, Mono Multi liquid glue
Happy card:
Stamps: Many Manly Occasions
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Accessories: You're So Lovely Project Kit, leftover elements from other kits, Glue Dots, foam adhesive strips

The diamond was the hardest die-cut for me to figure out how to use, but the "shine bright" sentiment from a WPlus9 Design Studio stamp set was perfect. To make my diamond shine, I applied gold Deco Foil to the die-cut using the Big Shot Multipurpose Adhesive Sheets. (I had tried a couple of other options first, so my end result doesn't look as "clean" as I would like, but next time I'll know where to start.) I finished the card with a couple of shiny embellishments: turquoise sequins and a gold baker's twine bow. Inside the card I stamped a large "happy birthday" sentiment and embossed it with gold embossing powder.

When I complete a card kit I almost always have leftover pieces: die-cut shapes, embellishments, or even scraps of specialty paper (metallic foil, glimmer paper, etc.) that are big enough to punch out small shapes. I keep those elements in baggies in the drawer in my craft table, and sometimes they are the perfect accents for a card. That was the case with the "happy" card, which includes several leftover elements from other kits: the "happy" card stock sticker, the white banner that I used for the "birthday" stamp, and the small gold banners. The small striped banner is a scrap from one of the card fronts from the You're So Lovely kit, which I cut down for one of the next cards.

Supplies (all Stampin' Up!):
Star card:
Paper: Night of Navy card stock
Ink: Night of Navy
Accessories: You're So Lovely Project Kit, white/gold baker's twine, sponge dauber, Mono Multi liquid glue
Heart card:
Accessories: You're So Lovely Project Kit, gold heart from other kit leftovers, Softly Falling embossing folder, Mono Multi liquid glue, Dimensionals

Most of the cards I created with the You're So Lovely Project Kit have a decidedly feminine feel. I wanted to make one card that was a little more masculine, so I pulled out a dark color, Night of Navy, to use as an accent with the gold and white. I inked the star die cut with Night of Navy using the sponge brayer from the kit, but I couldn't get the color dark enough, so I went over the star with a sponge dauber, which allowed me to apply more pressure and get a darker, more saturated color. To create the mat for the star, I used a piece of gold-striped card stock that was left after I cut one of the card bases from the kit down to a 3" x 3" card. I added a piece of Night of Navy card stock between the gold and white layers and embellished the card with a gold and white twine bow and three gold stars.

The 3" x 3" card was the simplest one in the batch. I glued one of the die-cut swirls on the card base, embossed a gold foil heart (another leftover from a previous kit) to add texture and attached the heart to the card with Dimensionals. A simple gold circle embellishment finishes the card, which would be a cute Valentine's Day card or gift enclosure card for a shower, wedding or anniversary gift. One quick note: When I cut down this card base, I also used the plain white card stock from the back of the card to stamp the words from the first card set above. Since different types of white card stock have different finishes and levels of brightness, using pieces from another card base ensured that the sentiment pieces matched the rest of the card bases.

There you have it! I still have plenty of leftovers from this kit -- die-cuts, tags, twine, gold embellishments, and eleven glassine bags -- and I know they'll be put to good use as well. I hope you find some inspiration from my alternate card ideas. Thanks for stopping by!