Aloha to a Good Friend!

Aloha, all – and especially to my friend, Asifa, who will be joining a Peace Corps group before too very long.

     I couldn't possibly let a good friend go away for well over two years without a special card. 

     The last time I posted, I referred to a Valentine Card I'd made as "elegant."  I think that this card fits that description also – at least I hope it does, as I wanted Asifa to have an elegant card.  Only appropriate for a very elegant lady.

     This card is really very simple to make once you have the design laid out (see the sketch below for specific measurements) and your colors chosen.  I chose Elegant (well, if that's not appropriate!) Eggplant and Garden Green as the basic colors for the card, and Very Vanilla as the paper for the top layer.  The stamp set is one that's been around for a little while and is called, Vintage Vogue (ooh, "vogue" sounds elegant, too!).  I first stamped the vanilla card stock with the F for Friends stamp and adhered the two squares that make up that layer together before embossing it with the Sizzix Finial Press Embossing Folder (a Stampin' Up! exclusive design).  I then added some of the leaves to that layer so that they would peek out from under the flower.

     The flower is made up of three layers – two of the larger flower in the stamp set and one of the smaller.  I stamped one of the large flowers in Elegant Eggplant with the stamp fully inked, and the other with the stamp inked, stamped off once on a piece of scrap paper, then stamped onto the Very Vanilla.  It made a lighter layer to put between the smaller flower (also stamped with the stamp fully inked) and the fully-inked larger flower.  The final touch for the flower was a Flower Brad in Garden Green.

     To "tie" everything together, I wrapped some Very Vanilla 1/8" taffeta ribbon around the central motif once horizontally and once vertically, and then adhered two strips to form the tails of the ribbon "ties."  I adhered the flower to the card using two Stampin' Dimensionals to make it stand up from the card a bit. 

     This card is 5-1/4" square, and fits very nicely into a Stampin' Up! Medium Square envelope, which is 5-1/2" square.  (Remember if you're going to mail a square envelope in the U. S., extra postage (currently 20 cents) is required.)

     Here is the sketch for this card.  It's only January, and I'm already getting a good start on my 2011 Greeting Card Layouts.  If you'd like to have a copy of all my 2010 Greeting Card layouts – along with lots of extra tips and tutorials to help you make great greeting cards – you're welcome to purchase a copy of my 2010 Greeting Card Layout eBook.  Just click on the picture at the top of the column on the right for more information.  I've had rave reviews about this eBook, and I know you'll enjoy it and use it a lot!

     I hope you have fun trying this sketch out!