Here’s to a new week…Are you like me and walk around for the 1^st several days looking at the clock and say “It’s 7 o’clock but it is really 6 o’clock”?!?! It amazes me that this changes our body clocks so much!

Well yesterday I shared with you that I had a FABULOUS time at the Stampin’ Up! gathering of demonstrators in the Washington DC area…it was truly a “re-charger” for me to be around such inspiring and wonderful stampers! So….This card is for the gals that put this event together!

I had so many great comments about MJ’s Birthday card the other day…I just adore white, basic gray and pink pirouette together  – there is something about it that is so comforting and classic – so I thought…let’s do it again in a different way!

As the saying goes…”killing 2 birds with one stone” (I really do not like that being the animal lover I am) but you get the drift – today’s post is a thank you card for my new friends plus this is the 1^st time I submitted to the Freshly Made Sketches Challenge! (You’ve gotta start somewhere)

Here is the sketch for the challenge! I hope that you like my interpretation of it and make sure that you go to the Freshly Made Website to see all of the incredible cards that people designed for this challenge!

Let’s go to the ins and outs for this super cute card!

• The base is an A-2 card scored at 5 ½” to make it a vertical card! (I think the sketch lends itself to a vertical card)

• The Pink Pirouette is just ¼” smaller than the base = 5 ¼” X 4”. The Whisper White card stock is 5 ¼” X 4”. The Basic Gray and the Pink Pirouette Designer Series Paper are both 5’ X 3 ¾”.

TIP ALERT #1: I know that I just threw at you a bunch of measurements of paper and yes, this card does use a bunch of paper but please remember to use the “insides” of the areas that are going to be covered up! WOWZERS – you can get a bunch of punches out of the centers…

When I made this card, I made 10 of the so I first cut all of my paper and then it made it easy-peasy to put together! Remember – you can substitute sooooo many different Designer Series Papers if you do not have enough of this… for example. Basic Gray is a neutral color that goes with soooo many colors!

Have FUN playing around with color! Remember there are no rules other than to have fun!

• Mat the Gray paper and then I just used my Craft Scissors to Trim off the excess and then I did the same thing with the designer Series Paper! I adhered this piece to the Pink one!

• Now to the fun…cut a strip of vellum at ¾” wide and long enough for you to wrap it around….say 5”. Using the super cute “dots” from the Happy Watercolor Stamp Set…just stamp away using the White Staz On Ink…so cute…right!?!? I then matted this on a strip of Basic Gray that was 1” wide!

TIP ALERT #2 – the trick with working it vellum is to be tricky and learn to “conceal” where you used the adhesive…as most of the time your adhesive will “peek” through!!! I used a Glue Dot behind the “circle area” and then I used glue dots on the back after wrapping it around!!!

• Pulling out the Vellum again – simply stamp “thanks”  from the Another Thank You Stamp Set with the White Staz On and then POP it out with the  1 ¾” Circle Punch and then place that on top of the 2 3/8” Scalloped Circle Punch! Again…think about concealing your adhesive – I place 3 glue dots behind the adorable flowers! These punch set has been getting a lot of use lately from me, it is the Itty Bitty Punch Pack and it is PERFECT for “fillers” – just like this!

• I first used the flower with the 8 petals and then the one with 4…if you gently punch down with a stylus…it gives you that fabulous depth and dimension. A little pearl in the center is all that was needed to complete the card!!!

• Last but not least – a simply lining of the back of the envelope is all that was needed!

I am happy that I am trying to “go out of the box” and see a sketch and try to make “sense” of it….in my style! I think that this card reflects who I am and true – there is lots of paper, but the lines are clean and simple….just like I like it!

On Saturday I learned so many tricks…this card is a great example! Jennifer Timko who is on the current Stampin’ Up! Artisan Design Team was a speaker and she was just fabulous! She talked about tips on concealing vellum and then she shared a super fun technique with vellum that I will do in a future post…I already know what it is going to be!!!

I hope you enjoyed this post and I thank you for sharing your cup of coffee with me! Please continue to tell your family and friends about my blog. Remember, you can subscribe right under the catalog… I have enjoyed meeting so many incredible people from all over!

Tomorrow is a super fun day…it is the monthly PALS Blog Hop and the theme is SPRING HAS SPRUNG!!! There are 31 “hoppers” so be prepared to be inspired TO THE MAX…soooo much talent out there and it is wonderful to be a part of Mary Fish’s team – the Pals have fun…the pals are talented…and the pals have a fabulous passion!

Have a great day and until tomorrow!!!!