Thursday, January 7, 2010

Simply Sunshine

So I made a final decision about the blog name! I went through several different incarnations trying to decide which one fits best. (You may have even seen one of the other versions when you glanced here last.) After much deliberation and overthinking, I decided upon Simply Sunshine. That seems to best describe the place I live and also my style and attitude towards crafting. I like my cards to be simple and a little bit happy and sunny too! What do you think? :)

So here is the first card I have for you today.


I used PTI’s Garden of Life stamp set for this card (my favorite PTI flower set). If you look closely, there are green gems in the center of the flowers. I just love the card and it took me all of 5 minutes.

I’ve been reading tons of blogs lately and noticed there’s this trend going around where everyone picks one word for the year and that word provides focus for the year’s goals. It is an awesome idea, and of course I couldn’t just pick one. I picked two: Begin and Fast. This card really exemplifies my focus on that goal. Beginning is hard for me but getting it done quickly is even harder!

The sentiment is wonderful too—Friends are the flowers in the garden of life. Too true!

My next card uses PTI’s Heart Prints and Sweet Love. I think hearts leaning towards each other is one of the sweetest images ever. The position reminds me of a couple cuddling together. I want to explore that idea more.


Is that bow a little bit silly? I had a heck of a time with it. Did I mention one of my New Year’s resolutions is to tie a better bow? Seriously. I am really trying though!

How about this?


Is this better? Hmmm...Isn't it interesting how a bow can make the card look completely different?

That is all the cards for today! I am working on some challenges (including Ted's Valentine's Day challenge and Dawn McVey's color challenge) and I will post those within a couple of days. I am also starting a card project which I will tell you about soon.

Just a couple more things.

Someone asked about the kissing technique I used in my previous love cards. I'll post a quick tutorial at the end of the post. Sorry, no tutorial pics though. I’m not quite that sophisticated yet, lol. :)

Also, thanks to Ted for being my first blog follower! I welcome you to click the button to the right and become a follower too. It would make my day!

And thanks for all of the sweet comments you left. I really appreciate it! It is wonderful to hear from all of you. :)

I encourage those who haven’t started a blog yet to try it out! It’s really a lot of fun. A little tip: if you want to jazz up your blog and are just starting out (like me) a couple of great websites to try are www.shabbyblogs.com and www.thecoolestblogontheblock.com. They both have a whole bunch of free banners and backgrounds you can add to your site with simple directions on how to add it.

And now I will leave you with the Kissing Technique Tutorial (which sounds much more sexy than it really is, lol.)

Here is the Kissing Technique Tutorial:
1. Ink up the stamp you want to reverse.
2. Impress it onto any blank solid stamp (in this case I used a blank solid heart from Heart Prints, but you can use any stamp that has a solid surface like that).
3. Stamp the solid stamp on the paper. It works best if you lift it up slowly. The image might be slightly lighter than its regularly stamped counterpart, but it’s usually not too noticeable.

Have some fun with it! :) I really enjoyed that technique and plan to use it a lot more. Also, it didn’t occur to me until after I posted that card that I used the kissing technique to make the fish kiss. In retrospect, I thought that was kind of ironic and sweet. ;)

Thanks for stopping by! Wishing you a sunshine-filled day! :)


17 comments:

Unknown said...

clean and fresh card...love it!!

Taheerah said...

I love these cards, the flowers one in particular! I know it's warm and sunny where you are but not everyone is so lucky so this card brings a bit of sunshine to everyone!!

Kerry said...

I am now following you! I added you to my Google Reader. I will warn you, I am terrible at leaving comments. But I will be happily watching all your wonderful crafting posts. Thank you for sharing!

Rhonda said...

Hi Monica, I like the blog name. That seems to be one of the hardest thing to decide on. Love the cards.

Susan Raihala said...

You're off to a great start, Monica! Love these cards...especially the first!

Diane Jaquay said...

These are darling Monica! I love the simplicity of both of them!

Kim said...

Great cards! I love your words for the year. Those are two that I should think of more often myself!

Nadine said...

What a great post Monica! Love the blog name and the reason behind it, also love the cards - clean and simple! I keep seeing everyone starting a blog but Im still on the fence about having one of my own. Mainly because I'd think it'd be months between posts...!! LOL

Karin said...

Perfect CAS cards and I love the name of you blog!

Aimes said...

Welcome to Blogland! What a fabulous lil' Blog you've got yourself! I love your Blog name and your template is adorable!
Thanks for a fab tutorial! I often forget all about this technique!
I'll be back soon ;D
x

Cammie said...

Your blog name and design are great! Your cards are wonderful; I especially like the first one.

Deb C said...

Wow, I really like your style. So clean and elegant, but still whimsical and fun. Nicely done!

Can't wait to see more of what you do this year.

Terri said...

Congrats on starting a blog. Looks like you are off to a great start! Nice job on both the cards too!

Kristen said...

WOOHOO, Monica! Congratulations on taking the plunge. Your blog looks great and your cards are adorable!

Sharon D (Sharon on PTI forum) said...

Hi Monica, Love your flower card! I'm a CAS fan too!

Cathy Weber said...

Your bow looks great. Do you have a bow easy? It helped me to tie bows that turn out closer to what I want them to. They are only about $5. Google bow easy if you want one. You seem to like clean and uncluttered cards like I do. I am going to be one of your "followers".

Heidi said...

Great cards Monica! Congratulations on joining us in blogland! Yay!!! I'm so happy for you. It's so much fun!

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