Getting all sentimental...

Hello!! :)

Well, I’d been planning to get my Mother’s Day card posted before it was time for my LIM entry but my energy levels have dictated otherwise this week so here I am with a One Layer Card with the Sentiment as the focal point... well, two cards actually, though I’m not sure my favourite of the two will be eligible for the challenge as I realised- after sitting back feeling very pleased with myself that the idea in my head had come out even better on paper- that it may be lacking in the ‘white space’ department? ...ooops :( But though t I’d share it anyway, along with one I know will fit the challenge, as I really am pleased with it and think, aside from the white space issue it’s still pretty CAS in style and substance... Anyway, hope you’ll like them!! :)

Apologies for the awful pic- can never get a good shot of top-fold cards, especially when they have so little weight to keep them rigid!! :S As you can probably tell, I decided this week was the week to finally bite the bullet and try printing on to my base card... me and my printer are not the best of friends so I’ve been putting this off, but the two-fold problems of a lack of energy to get up and sit at my desk and a lack of any interesting sentiment stamp even close to big enough to be a focal point left me little option but to brave it!!lol

I made a page sized to the card blank I wanted to use in my graphics program to start with, then this design was really very simple to create with a couple of the many fonts I have collected since discovering free font sites and a quick shape for the oval- the flower is from a dingbat font, too :) I can’t remember the names of the fonts and am too tired to go looking atm but if anyone really wants to know then just ask and I’ll have a look when I’m feeling better :) That was where the simple part ended though as, when I came to print it out (having first tested it on a piece of appropriately sized copier paper, which worked perfectly!) it came out with the bottom of the oval missing!! :/ So I fiddled a bit in the settings and tried again... with the same result :{ Which is when my Mum said that, if you didn’t know it wasn’t meant to be that way, you’d never guess- she’s used to me tearing my hair out when I have these tussles with technology!!lol So, I now have two of them to go in my stock box, ‘cos she really is probably right and nobody but me would notice!! ;S

I popped a pale purple pearl in the centre and drew a few little lines of Copic Spica pen in each section just to lift it a little :) Don’t really know what made me start designing a sympathy card- maybe just that the simplicity of an OLC suits that type of card...

This is the second and my favourite-which can ofc be discounted, Chrissie and Mandi, if it doesn’t meet the criteria!!lol I’m kind of glad that the lack of white space didn’t occur to me in time to stop me making it though, as I think this is one of those ideas that, if I had even thought of it pre-LIM, would have rattled around in my head for a bit inspiring excitement, before being pushed aside and forgotten about in favour of my latest stamp or paper pack!! ;) I printed the sentiment- again a couple of alpha fonts along with a dingbat font for the smiling sunshines- successfully, this time I’m glad to say, having arranged it all in my graphics program by using quick shapes to represent the circle and border square on my workspace :) Then I embossed the circle with a Nestie- aligning it with the sentiment on the back of the card by holding the card and die up to my light so I could see the sentiment through it- and made the rest of the lines with my Hougie board... tiring to do so many but I love the effect :) Then I used shimmer chalks to add some colour :)

I think I was inspired by the fact that I managed to make it out in the sun not once but twice at the weekend- if we could have that weather all summer I’d be so happy!! :)- though that may be a contributing factor in my low energy levels this week but I just couldn’t resist the lure of the warmth!! :)The chalks really do look blended in the circle in real life, btw, I promise!! :S I think making my own sentiment freed my imagination for this one to come up with a different kind of card :)

As well as entering these at Less Is More – One Layer Card- Sentiment Focus, I’d like to enter my Sunshine card in the following challenges: The Stampman – Embossing :) ; Paper Sundaes – Childhood Memories (the sunshine makes me think of beach holidays when I was a child :) ) :) ; OSCC – Monochromatic :) ; CES – Monochromatic :)

Well, that’s it from me- sorry I've waffled again 'cos I can't marshall my thoughts throught the fog today!! :S- hope to be back again before too long if energy levels allow!! :) Hope you all enjoyed the sun this weekend and have had a good week since!! And thank you so much for all the comments on my cards last week!! :)

 

hugs,