Aloha, all!
Today I am officially a new member of the Diva Coffee Break Design Team! I have been playing with their designs off and on for awhile, and was thrilled to be accepted as a new member of the official team! Of course, this now means that you'll be seeing at least one design from each week's challenge here – and I hope that you'll go visit their website to see how all of the other Design Team Members worked the challenge.
Why is this good for you? Because you'll be reminded about how different we all are in the way that we approach the same project. Once you see all the different tastes and techniques on display on a site such as Diva Coffee Break, you might just have that "ah ha!" moment where you realize that you, too, have a unique idea on how to create using the sketch or color combo on display.
OK – what do you do then? Well, you go create your own take on the challenge AND you pop your card up on the Internet somewhere and post a link to it using the link system at the end of each week's challenge post. Don't have a public place to "park" your creation? Oh, yes, you do! It's on Split Coast Stampers! Call me (808.854.6145) or e-mail me if you need help with this. I'd LOVE to see YOUR creations posted on the Diva Coffee Break website!
OK – now onto my very first official card for the group!
Yes, this paper and this stamp set are still available to Stampin' Up! customers, because they're in the 2010 Summer Mini Catalog, and it's still Summer 2010! If you love all things Hawaiian (as I definitely do), then you won't want to miss out on the opportunity to order this before the catalog expires at the end of August.
But enough of the commercial. Let's get down to the design. Here's the sketch provided to the design team members, so you can see that I pretty much followed it to the letter (well, that's what newbies in any venture are supposed to do, isn't it?)
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Oooh, that color combo (not the challenge, believe me!) made me wince. So I had to squint a bit and try to see what in my stash of current Stampin' Up! stuff would work. The first thing that I thought was that the small rectangle at the top should have the sentiment or greeting. Easy that one because the Level 3 Hostess Set, Occasional Quotes, has several that would work. That left all that other space for images of one kind or another. Maybe some Designer Series Paper with a large print – ooooh, Island Oasis (now who would have thought that someone from Hawaii would have that pop into her head?) Now we're getting somewhere! There is that "party" quote in Occasional Quotes and there is a stamp set that coordinates with the paper that's called Tropical Party. How coincidental is that? And that diagonal? Screams for ribbon – and I just happen to have a large stash of Pumpkin Pie 5/8" Satin Ribbon that would fit the bill perfectly. And the design was done.
Actually, the design was NOT done. This is the FIRST card that I decided on. .jpg)
Do you see my "problem"? There was this very uninteresting spot towards the lower left corner of the quote element that just looked too, well, too much like a corner out in the middle of nowhere. Yes, I had the picture all ready to post, and I just couldn't do it. So back to the craft table (much more interesting than a drawing board) for the little flower that I popped onto that corner. And, just for good measure, another flower in the lower right corner of the card. Now THAT made a difference.
Lessons from today: Use a challenge to get your creative juices going. And if you don't quite like the end result, well then it isn't the end result! Spiff it up a bit!
Challenge for today: Make a card and link it to the Diva Coffee Break Design Team web page! Don't forget to call/e-mail me if you need help with the technical stuff.
Oh, and here are the exact measurements for the various layers on my card. Have fun with it!!
