A Reason to Smile- SSC-266 / My Challenge #32

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Hey y'all. Happy Monday! I hope you had a fabulous weekend. Are you watching the Olympics? I'm loving them. Of course I want Team USA to win everything, but my grandparents on one side are from Canada and England so I want them to do good too. Oh, who am I kidding....I want everyone to do their best and be happy with how they performed, but I really do want us to win, but if not us then England and Canada can come in next and then the rest of the competitors. :) Oh yeah, I also really want World Peace. Why yes, I was channeling my inner Sandra Bullock on that one.

Well, I have another card featuring an all-new stamp set for you today. It's a sweet, fun little set and it's only available until midnight tomorrow. Don't wait too much longer or it will be gone. I used it yesterday for the first time while I was watching the Olympics, washing clothes and getting my week-o-stamping done. It made me smile and I hope it makes you smile too! Here's today's card-

Thank-You Card featuring
A Reason to Smile, Petite Pairs and Patio Party DSP

What do you think? I don't often get this type of stamp-set, two-step sets, because it pretty much puts my OCD into overdrive. :(  Even though I know the stamps aren't supposed to line up perfectly, I still have a hard time using them. I only had to stamp this one twice to get an image I was happy with. It's funny, sad actually, but funny too- I love the look of this type of set on other people's cards. *SMH* Just not my own. Are you laughing at me yet? If not, please feel free to start. Trust me, I do it all the time. Sprinkled with a liberal amount of head-shaking. I used the solid image stamp for the bottom, solid portion of the central flower and the center of it as well. The background is all stamped with one the smaller line images stamps and the bottom white square is stamped with the line image that's in the center. Both are stamped in Summer Starfruit. Not sure why I thought it was going to show up more. It actually does show up a little more in person. I used a base of Summer Starfruit and squares of Basic Black and Whisper White. The Polka Dot layer is from the Patio Patio DSP collection. I am determined to enjoy this Summer Starfruit color. Not sure I'm all the way there yet, but I'm getting close.

Here's the sketch I used for today's card-

It's another great sketch from those Fabulous ladies over at Stamping 411. They're off until September, so no Operator's Picks or other types of challenges, but they are posting a new sketch challenge each week for us to play with. And for those of my friends out there that are hopeless with measurements like I am they always give suggested measurements. I'll give them to you to here as well-
Base Layer: 8 1/2" x 4 1/4", scored and folded in half at 4 1/4"
Layer 2 and 3: 2  3/4" squares.  (the first one gets applied on the diamond, and the second is a square)
Layer 4: 2 1/2" square (attached on the diamond)

I swear I l.o.v.e. those ladies! What a great layout that you can keep clean and simple or fancy it up real easy. I used their measurements and just went 1/8" smaller on the squares to make my inner layers. Sooper-Dooper Easy.

Here's a close-up of the center layer-

I can't believe there's not glimmer or shine on the front. What was I thinking!?! Lol. The little blossoms on the base layer were actually added after the fact. I felt like it needed just a little something extra. I think it made the front. Love when that happens. It sure would have stunk to have had to start over because I messed up the base layer!!! *WHEW!*

Here's the inside (I couldn't let it go plain too)-

The sentiment is from Petite Pairs stamped in Basic Black. The flower on the bottom is just the line image stamped in S.S. I then took my Blender Pen and watercolored it in. A little bit of restraint from the Glitter Fairy aka Tink and this card was finished.

Here's a closer look-

I have to say I really like S.S. when it's stamped and colored. I think it's just such a strong color on it's own with the c/s. Oh well, I have two years to get there right?

Well, that's all I have for you today. I've got some pretty things for you this week including a "Masculine" card. Never enough of those in my ready to go box. So, I hope to see you back here real soon. I hope you liked today's card and I hope it inspires you to try something new today, whether it's a challenge or a new/rarely used stamp set or a color that just isn't your favorite. I'd love to hear what you thought of today's card. If you have a second to drop me a line, it would absolutely make my day.  I read all of my comments, so your thoughts or questions are always welcomed. If you liked today's card and would like to +1 or Pin it , I've put the buttons on my blog for your convenience. Friends and Followers are always welcome too! :)

Thanks so much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by my little corner of the world. You are very appreciated!

Till next time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. It's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Be Safe,

Shan

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