*click on the pics for an enlarged view*
This card design seemed apropos for today! I'm so jazzed to be here and part of Ellen's Education & Inspiration Team. 
I'm not sure 'bout you, but I never seem to get enough of flower stamps--love LOVE 'em, and in all types of art styles. This MONDO one by Hero Arts is one of my many favorites--such a great contemporary look, and it looks great simply stamped or colored in. Makes for a fantastic focal image by nature of its size.
In this instance, I decided to white emboss it, and simply trace around it with a subtle touch of blue Copic that matched the hues of the patterned paper I wanted to use. It's a great way to accentuate an image like this, without having to color it all in (it is kinda big, but in an awesome kinda way. *grin*)
I love that so many manufacturers are now producing smaller, 6x6" versions of their gorgeous patterned papers because the scale/size is so perfect for card making! The Marjolaine collection has some super-cute florals, as well as great masculine patterns in hues of dusky blues, chartreuse, and charcoal. And, they look wonderful with kraft card stock!
Sometimes you can stamp right over the top of patterned paper, and sometimes the pattern and colors are too strong for a sentiment to really show up well. To make sure this greeting didn't get "lost" within the pattern of the paper I chose, I white embossed it onto a strip of vellum card stock about 1/4" narrower than the patterned paper first and then adhered with some Xyron adhesive (the little "X" shaped one). Be Creative sheet adhesive also works extremely well, in lieu of Xyron, for a completely "invisible" vellum adhesive. The vellum diffused the pattern beneath it just enough to allow the sentiment to remain easily legible.
It hit me how fun it would be to layer a clear button over one of the designs from the patterned papers for an accent, so I glued it down with some Glossy Accents, and after it was dry, I trimmed it out, and pierced through the button holes so I could add some twine (I can rarely, if ever, leave m' buttons nekked, I'm afraid) and slap it down with a Glue Dot.
To finish it off, I rounded the upper right corner and decided to add white gel pen borders. You could easily duplicate this design in 10 minutes, and if you prepped enough supplies for mass production, you'd probably be able to create quite a few in just an hour's time! Gotta love that! 
Thank you for stopping by the CLASSroom today!
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Hero Arts Cling Large Flower,
Hero Arts ClearDesign Just Saying Hi
Versamark Inkpad
Hero Arts Card Buttons Clear
Judikins Embossing Powder Opaque White
Basic Grey 6x6" Marjolaine Paper Pad
Memory Box Co. H Cardstock Kraft
Copic Sketch Marker B21 Baby Blue
Crop-a-Dile Corner Chomper Tool
Uniball Impact Gel Pen White
Ranger Glossy Accents
Other: Card Stock Vellum (source unknown), Xyron Adhesive, Ivory Twine (by May Arts)
