Thanks for the Challenge!

Aloha, all!

     Yesterday was the first day of the 2012 Stampin' Up! Convention for United States and Canada demonstrators.  So much goes on at convention – new products, new ideas, product training, swaps, meeting other demonstrators!  Unfortunately, there are quite a few of us who choose not to go to convention every year for a variety of reasons.  Mine is that I'm a really long distance from Salt Lake City, and traveling to the U. S. mainland takes a lot out of me.  So I'm taking this year off.

     BUT – my online Demonstrator group, SUDSOL, is one of the groups that is taking care of those of us who are back home and not in Salt Lake City.  The leaders have chosen to give us a challenge every day that begins with a letter of the word STAMP.  Yesterday – the first day of convention – the letter was S.  As I needed some stamping time, I chose to use a stamp set whose name begins with the letter "S" – Sassy Salutations. 

     It's not often that we think of taking a set that is just sentiments and making that the focal point of a greeting card.  But that's what I did with this card, repeating the "Thank You" sentiment three times in a nice neat row (made possible by the use of my Stamp-a-ma-jig stamp aligning tool!). 

     My favorite part of this card is how nice the Designer Paper from the Comfort Cafe paper set looks in that border.  The paper's color is Midnight Muse, and another color in that paper set is Cajun Craze.  My thinking was that, if the designers at Stampin' Up! think those colors go well together, then who am I to try to go find another combination!  So I cut pieces of the Cajun Craze Card Stock that are just a smidge larger than the layer on top of it to give the Designer Series Paper just a bit of an accent.  Nice!

     And you know that, when I can, I tie my cards up with a piece of ribbon.  This one was a no-brainer – to use the Midnight Muse Stitched Satin Ribbon.  I just love using that ribbon – it's so smooth and so easy to work with!

     It's been awhile since I've shared a sketch with you – though I've been doing a lot of sketching for my Christmas Card Countdown Newsletter (click here if you'd like to get that free e-mail every week from now until Christmas!).  But this card has such a nice feel to it that I thought I'd get out my sketch software and do one up for this card.  I hope you have fun with it!