*Embossed Circles*

I was going to start my post with some chit chat about my shock that it's already the middle of June... but honestly, I'm shocked at how fast every week/month/year seems to fly by as I get older.  And I'm sure I've started 100 blog posts that way! LOL

So... here we are in the middle of June... the weather here in Calgary has been up and down, sunny and wet, rainy and snowy.... but hopefully we have lots of sunny warm days ahead of us.

I am on the Scrap'n Stamp blog today with another Clean and Simple card.  I sometimes wonder if perhaps my cards aren't quite "enough" for a design team since they are often so simple.  So this time I challenged myself to do a technique but still keep the card clean and simple, which is my style.

It's tough to incorporate techniques in to a clean and simple card as many techniques add too much to the card to still be considered clean and simple...  but I think this one worked well.

I started with a white panel.  I used my MFT stitched circles dies in different configurations, taped together with a large strip of Post-It Tape.  I placed them on the card panel and put them through my Big Shot with the rubber embossing mat so that the circles wouldn't cut but would just be embossed on the paper.  I moved the circles around, used different sizes and created this background.

I then stamped the word "birthday" (from Lawn Fawn) in Lime Rickey Catherine Pooler ink and put the layer on a mid blue coloured cardstock and used my Perfect Layers Tool to create my favourite 1/16" border.  I used Orange Twist, Tiki Torch and Samba Catherine Pooler inks with my Picket Fence Studio Life Changing Blending Brushes on a scrap of white cardstock and then cut it out with the Lawn Fawn Happy.  I added some black "stitch" lines to the cut out word to add a little detail and dimension before gluing it on to the front of the card.  All of this was added to the front of a white side folding card.

I'm thinking this card would have also stayed clean and simple had I used the same dies for the background but cut them out and used them as inlays in the holes I created instead of using them as an added layer to the card.  It would be a little more tricky to pull off but I think it could be really cool looking.

Thanks for popping by to visit again today.... I love reading your comments!