Sometimes Simple is the Most Elegant

I remember going to an art museum at Yale University when I was a little girl.  Although the exhibits were beautiful, what I could not forget were the cards that were available for sale in the gallery gift shop.  I remember that they were small notecards that were matted in white with beautiful abstract painting on them.

I doubt that my teachers would have considered that a “win” – but it was for me as I am always recreating the look of those note cards throughout my life.  They were hard to find in stores.  But now I can make my own – and the beautiful abstract designs on the Fancy Flora Designer Series Paper makes that possible.

Susan Campfield made quite a few of these cards on a recent post – and I decided to CAS them.  They are elegant – but quick and simple to make.  In fact, I have made dozens of them.  Some will be for gift sets and others will be for birthday cards and other greetings as I need them.  It is always great to have a stash of note cards that can be customized as needed.

Here are the card cuts:

Yup.  That’s it.

1. Assemble the art panel by placing the 4 strips on the Basic White 3-1/4” x 4-5/8” panel.  Start with one end piece, flip the card over and place the second end piece, making sure that the margins are as close to equal as possible.  (“Dry fit” them first so that you can see about what the margins should look like.)
2. Adhere the middle two strips to complete the art panel.
3. Using Stampin’ Dimensionals, adhere the art panel to the Basic White Thick Card Stock card base.
4. Stamp the inside sentiment directly on the inside of the card base.  This sentiment came from Hydrangea Haven stamps and used Memento Tuxedo Black ink.  (You may want to leave them blank if you plan to use these as notes rather than greeting cards.)
5. Stamp a scrap of Basic White card stock with another of the sentiments from Hydrangea Haven.  Punch with the oval shape on the Double Oval Punch Set and punch the scalloped shape from the scrap of Pool Party card stock.
6. I glued the sentiment oval to the Pool Party cardstock oval after I embossed it with the Timeworn Type Embossing Folder.  (Actually, I think that the Pool Party scrap had already been embossed and was in my scrap drawer.  But I really like that little added detail!)
7. Adhere the completed sentiment on to the card face using Stampin’ Dimensionals.
8. Add some bling with Iridescent Rhinestone Basic Jewels.  I really love how these reflect all of the colors on the DSP so that they are not “in your face” – but create a beautiful sparkle when you move the card around in the light!

And that’s it here too.

Simple.  Elegant.  Classy.

Think about getting a really, really early start on Christmas or other holiday gifts – Teacher Appreciation, Staff Appreciation, and other gifts that mean a lot to the people who receive them.

Thanks so much for stopping in to see this card…and explore the possibilities of the design!

The supply list is short too – but here it is to help you along!