Diva Day, are you going to play??

 Good morning my loyal readers, how are you today?  I'm tickled to be stamping and that it's no longer 90 degrees here in my stampin' studio!  Ooh, speaking of Stampin' Studio (which you might know is really just one long wall in our master bedroom)- I might have a studio of my own in the next year or so!  Woohoo, I'll post details some other time.  You'll be so excited for me I'm sure!

Anyway, today is a Diva Wednesday and we've got a wonderful sketch for you which I've paired with a color combo challenge from Splitcoast that was much tougher for me than I expected.  I am late posting this today because it was one of those cards that just wouldn't come together- I tried and tried, cut and recut, scrapped idea after idea.  Well actually that's not true, I stuck with my original idea and just kept trying until it worked (which wasn't until this morning at 11am!)  Maybe I should've scrapped my idea last night and I would have come up with something much sooner.  Ah well, hindsight is always 20/20!

So it turned out fairly clean & simple considering how long it took me.  The tree was inked with markers, black and Wild Wasabi which takes a bit of time but I was anticipating a really neat look, especially since I've not used black for the tree before.  It was my layer colors that gave me fits but once I textured the Cajun Craze I liked it much better.  Somehow that texture helps it blend into the background which is what I wanted. 

Do you remember these felt flowers?  Well, it is one of those products that I love but completely forgot about until the box (with two full sets of flowers) fell off my shelf last night (while struggling with this card) and dumped everywhere!  Voila- using them!  I added a corduroy button in Baja Breeze to one and a black brad to the other. 

TIP:  Wondering how I made the layered sentiment?  Don't forget about the Big Shot die Movers & Shapers.  The Punch Windows set (page 209) comes with dies that layer perfectly with the punches: Scallop Oval, Modern Label (that I used here), large heart and the large star.  The idea behind this die is to be able to punch those shapes anywhere on your card, even where a standard punch wouldn't reach... but you can also use it like this and just cut out a layer for behind your punch.  Works like a charm!  I just lay a scrap of paper over the die and run it through the Big Shot. 

Anyway, I did up the inside a bit too so I'll leave you with that.  It looks a little plain to me, but keep in mind that the black striped ribbon actually ties in a bow on the inside of the card so that adds a little something too. 

Thanks for stopping by today!  I love having you visit!  Please go check out the other Divas and play along with the Diva challenge!
~Kristin

SUO Supplies

Stamps: Thoughts & Prayers, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Colors: Baja Breeze, Cajun Craze, Wild Wasabi, Basic Black, Very Vanilla

Accessories: Big Shot, Square Lattice Textured Impressions Embossing folder, Felt Flowers, Corduory button, Movers & Shapers die, Modern Label punch, black brad, Black striped ribbon (phew!)