*CAS#381*

It's a New Year and time for the CASology Design Team to get back to work with our bi-weekly clean and simple challenges!  

Being a new year, and a time for reflection, our cue word for the next two weeks is Memories.  My favourite part of these challenges is that the words are open for interpretation however you see fit.. here's my story.

I honestly didn't know what to do with this prompt.  I don't have anything vintage, I don't scrapbook, I couldn't think of anything.... but one idea kept popping in to my head.  My Mom.  My Mom is the reason I make cards.  It's a long story that I've shared before that I'll summarize here... My Mom did almost every craft known to man over the years.  The only one I was interested in for a long time was cross stitch.  I went to visit in November of 1996 and she got me hooked on stamping ("here, try heat embossing!").  We would spend our time together (we lived about a 7 hour drive away from each other) making cards, sharing ideas and techniques.  She was diagnosed with cancer in February 2010 and given a short timeline so I had her teach me how to crochet (which I still enjoy).

My Mom was the Queen of Details... she LOVED any craft that was "finickey".... any one that took time.  While she started card making with stamping, she moved on to other ways to create cards.  One of those was stitching on cards.  She had books and books of patterns, patterns downloaded from the internet.  I did it for a while too (it's a lot like cross stitch), but I went a different direction (clean and simple) and left the card stitching behind.

But could I create a clean and simple card with stitching?

So I did a google search and found a pattern on CraftWithSarah.com and decided to give it a try...

I love that the first card I completed in 2021 has a piece of my Mom in it....

Items Used:
*Cardstock:  Neenah Classic Crest Cover Solar White 110lb; Stampin' Up! Gumball Green

*Images:  Taylored Expressions Simple Strips

*Ink:  Versafine Clair Nocturne

*Dies:  Taylored Expressions Simple Strips, Simple Strips Backer

*tools:  pattern printed on copy paper; paper piercing tool (I use one for Pergamano); purple tape; Big Shot; needle

*etc:  DNC embroidery floss

Be sure to link up your creation using this prompt for your chance to be a guest designer in an upcoming challenge!  Just head on over to the blog to see what the rest of the design team has come up with and to share your creation with us!