Morning!!!   🙂 …I think I should say, Good Afternoon!

Yep, it is Tuesday and yesterday did not happen but I know the delay will surely make you smile and also show you that minimal products can make a HUGE IMPACT.…as this IS my kinda card that I adore to create!

I actually created this card to be one of the offering of my monthly card kits but unfortunately with the “life” happenings…I need to hit the “pause button” on my kits ……so this is a great taste of the offerings that I do!

In November when I was at Salt Lake City for the On Stage Stampin’ Up! event…..I saw a card on display and I knew that I needed to snap a picture of it and CASE it. How stinkin’ cute and clean is this beauty? I invite you to think about this….it is all about the basics! (trimmer, big shot, nesting dies, white paper….punches)

For my Monthly Kits….I was going to offer ideas showcasing the Fruit Basket Bundle. Yep…it’s a keeper as it is a Photopolymer Stamp Set….plus the “bundled portion” is 4 punches and we know what that means….easy peasy as using a punch is super easy 🙂 …

One of the things that I adore about this card is the amount of “white space” that it has…as my Mom always said….you just can’t go wrong with white….always clean and classic …..and ALWAYS in style!

I made the squares with the Layering Squares Collection of Framelits….(a must have basic) for your stash. True….it is tricky with lining up the squares but that is what a handy ruler is for plus your own eyes! Having basic shapes like this make perfect layering a cinch….I adore the white on white effect of the squares….but you could also easily do a color for one of the squares!

A card design like this is always on trend and one that you can use OVER and OVER again…(a formula)! The best way to master this is to get the center row where you want it….and then you can eye-ball the rest! Just look at the simplicity of this – a blue ribbon winner…

The punches with this bundle make this a fast one to whip together and then the stamping is also a breeze as you can see through the stamps because of it being a Photopolymer Stamp. The beauty of this particular stamp/punch set it that it is very forgiving…..WHAT??????

Seriously, after you stamp the image the punch is smaller than the stamped image so it is a breeze to line up and punch – no worrying about getting is “just right” –  it is just wonderful when things like this happen!

For me, this would be a card that you could make up in the masses (again, I was going to use this design for a kit) as I know….I know – there is a bunch of cutting of the squares….but think of it this way – it is a GREAT WAY to use up scraps and it is also something that you could work on to cut a bunch of….put them in baggies …..and then pull them out as needed!

I always have a “key” to work from…after you figure out the spacing….make sure you write it down (the measurements) or better yet, make a template and BAM – you are good to go!

I also encourage you to use a Stamp Postioner. I used the Stamparatus and it is a dream tool. I know that if you were not the smart/lucky stamper to have preordered it…you will have to wait until the new catalog comes out in June. (I’m sorry…as I warned you…..) It is SOOOOOOO worth the wait and we know…..June will be here before we know it!

It is a wonderful tool and one that Stampin’ Up! should be super proud of. As I have blogged many times before, I have many other stamp positioners but this one….BLUE RIBBON  – why? …I adore the (2) plate system. I could go ahead and have it all ready to stamp the sentiment on the front….and have the other plate ready to rumble to stamp an inside sentiment! (Actually with the (2) plate system, you could line up up to (4) different stamps as you can easily remove a plate and flip it around)

How about the POP of color with the envelope? It is from the Tutti-Fruiti DSP 6 X 6 pack and I am sure many of you are thinking…..why didn’t you use the strawberry print paper?

Here me out….(I do have an answer for you)…

• I think with the classic feel of this card, that the strawberry print was a bit whimsical for the POP. I adore the boldness of the paper that I chose….does this make sense? I would love to get feedback – please feel free to leave a comment!
• The other reason was….I adore the flip side of the strawberry paper…the classic Night of Navy polka dots is in my alley of a fun, clean & simple print!

This is a sweet paper pack and I know when  you see all of the bright colors and different shapes….it looks super busy but when you see them in person and allow yourself to think of how you could best use it for your style…you will see it is a great addition to our paper collection.

In closing, you can easily see that a fun and classic card CAN be created with a minimal amount of product. I invite you to cut up your scraps and get them organized on baggies so you are more likely to use shapes …

I also bet that many of you have punches in shapes in a variety of sizes…..see what you have and how you can use them. You just simply cannot go wrong with nesting collections of basic shapes (circles, squares, hearts etc….) They WILL BE a go-to for years and years!

There you go….a clean and simple card that is SUPER duplicatable so I say….go to it! This stamp set will be one that you will use over and over as it is a basic…and the sentiments…. – super fun and the font is a keeper as well. Remember, these are key questions that I ask myself when I decide if I am going to invest in a stamp and the other thing….I only pick stamps/bundles for my kits that I believe in…..

Now to my weekend….do you remember I talked about the WIND on the East Coast? Well…..let me tell you – we were smart ladies and did not leave home until 11 a.m. as the wind did get better. We did what we should have done….checked the advisories…..checked the main highways for accidents etc…..plus we had 8 husbands looking after us to make sure that it was safe to leave…..

We left at 11 – made a stop for a fun lunch and guess what…..we were about 1hr. 15 minutes from the Philadelphia area and BAM…..we hit SNOW…yep…SNOW that came from no where and the PA Turnpike was one hot mess….we used out navigation systems for different routes….only to have roads with fallen trees on them….closed roads because of accidents….just one thing after another.

We ended up getting to the hotel at 7:30 Friday night…..missed our Museum ticket/tour….but all thankful to be safe! We stayed in the hotel and talked into the wee hours of Saturday morning like we were on a slumber party….all 8 of us! The next day…..POOF  – still windy but the temperatures rose and everything melted!

We went to the Garden Show on Saturday night and it was FABULOUS – it was the opening night and the theme was the 70’s – music was GREAT and the Village People preformed (yep…now that is dating ourselves) and there were (2) of the originals from 4 decades! They were a hoot and the last song…..yep, YMCA – I wish that you would have seen all of the amazing costumes!

For my Dad….we went to the Doctors yesterday and on Thursday they will be doing a procedure to get him ready for hopefully the bigger surgery. I hope to see you back here tomorrow…..if not – it will be Thursday as I will be sitting waiting for many hours!

I hope that this post inspired you and I do love this bundle…so fresh and fun…..have a GREAT DAY and many thanks for popping into my little blog of “me”! Below the paw print, you will see the supplies I used!