ABC Challenge

I am so excited that I was able to get some cards done tonight. I have been wanting to participate at ABC Challenge (All About Cards) and this week is the first time I've been able to do so. This week the theme is Bring on the Flowers. I am a complete pushover for flower stamps. And flower themed patterned paper, apparently (I spent some time today sorting/organizing/tidying my far-too-abundant paper stash, and even I was surprised by how much of it has a flower motif). So this challenge was pretty easy for me, other than narrowing down my choices.

Because my stamps are still in various stages of being unmounted (I swear, I'm only a few more days away from being done with the job), I realized I'd have to go to my stash of kits and pre-stamped images. There I found two cards I want to share tonight. The pieces for these cards came from the same event where I made my card purses, posted here. I made one of each card and took one kit home to do later, so I could add my own sentiments. 

The first card uses one of my favourite flower sets - Mixed Bunch. I love that it comes with the matching punch, and that some of the flowers have really great designs that emboss well, as is the case with this card. I love the white embossing. And I love the pleated ribbon. I'm disappointed I haven't been able to get more people interested in doing a ribbon share. The design for this card is, as you can see, pretty simple. What I like about it is the  soft colours and patterns. 

The second card uses the Bright Blossoms set. It is one I don't own. When I see it in the catalogue, it does nothing for me; for some reason, with this set I am really put off by the fact that the flowers have patterns on them. Tulips do not have dots on them in real life. :) Yet when we use the set in our group, or I see posts online of work others have down with the stamp, I can't deny that it's a cute set. I just have too many other sets that are more my style that I still want to get. Like the first card, I loved the colour combo here. This one is Midnight Muse, Old Olive and Pool Party.I am definitely stocking up on Pool Party before it retires. I love that colour. And I am already falling in love with Midnight Muse. The card my demo designed was a similar layout; she used a different sentiment and it was on the bottom panel. I think she got her ribbon higher, too. I wanted to use the larger sentiment, so it seemed best in the top corner. Before I send this card out I will have to fix the punched border, and I'll likely move the bow over to the left, so as to try to have more of a visual triangle.

Card Details - All Products Stampin' Up

Best Friends Card

Cardstock: Lucky Limeade, Pretty In Pink

Patterned Paper: Twitterpated

Stamps: Mixed Bunch (flower); Garden Whimsy (sentiment)

Other: ribbon, embossing powder

Wish Big Card

Cardstock: Whisper White, Midnight Muse

Stamps: Bright Blossoms, Bring On The Cake

Other: Ribbon, border punch, embossing powder.