Try Something New Tuesday

Do you know something that I've never tried before? I've never tried decorating the INSIDE of my cards! I think that, by the time I'm done finishing the OUTSIDE of the card, I'm pooped and creatively spent!

But after seeing some of Julee's (Poetic Artistry) cards that she had decorated the inside of, I knew I had to give it a try. I would just have to "suck it up" and "keep going", when what I wanted to do was stop and be done instead! Seriously, this is not a hard thing to do, and it really gives your card that "special touch"!

Like always, let's start with the front of the card though. I tapped into my stash of Basic Grey (Scarlett's Letter) 6x6 paper for this one! I must be on a black, white and red kick this week, because so far, this is my second card this week using these colors. In fact, I'm on such a kick, I bet I could show you a black, white and red card for the next three days in a row!!! Mmmm....I have TWO more for sure I could share. It was just what color combination of choice this weekend for some reason:)!

Since this paper is so edgy, I wanted the layout to be a bit edgy as well. To do that, I cut a piece of coordinating Scarlett's Letter paper, rounded the corners of one end, and laid it horizontally near the bottom third of the card. Right underneath that, I laid another strip (with end rounded) right below it, only narrower. I sewed a simple straight stitch around each strip. The main image was created using my Fancy Pants (Pollen Dust) swirl stamps. I stamped it twice, once in black ink (warning, enabler alert! I followed the advice of many blogs recently and purchased some Versafine Black Onyx ink this past weekend! It IS fabulous. Crisp, clean, dries so quick!!! This ink is here to stay in my stamp room!) The sentiment is from my PTI Paper Tray stamp collection. I added a little bit of bling by tracing over a few of the swirls with my Sakura Stardust pen. I felt at this point the card needed a little something else, so I used my Martha cornflower punch to add a flower to the main image. It's punched out of the coordinating Scarlett's Letter paper. The red center is Real Red cardstock.

Ok.....instead of putting this new card in the "finished pile", I trudged on and started working on the INSIDE of the card!!! Instead of just stamping inside on the main cardstock, I added another piece of paper in a coordinating color to the inside (in this case, I added Read Red). I cut it about a 1/4 inch smaller than the actual card. First I folded the Real Red in half. Then I started decorating it. I had a few pieces of scrap paper left over from the front of the card, so I added a strip on both sides of the half. I used the same swirl stamp (Fancy Pants Pollen Dust) on the inside as I used on the outside. A few hand doodled white dots and the inside was complete.

Well, that wasn't so bad, was it?! I love that the look on the front carries into the look on the inside! I can see myself doing this for those special people in my life, but probably won't do it for the cards I sell in my general "for sale" stash! Too much work, too much product, IMHO. You know I like to be honest with you guys. I think this idea would be a great touch for a wedding card! Or, a Mother's Day Card (probably not a Father's Day card, cuz guy's don't typically appreciate the FRONT of the card very much, let alone appreciate that we decorated the INSIDE of the card for them too!), or, of course, for a beautiful BRAK you want to send to someone special! I am so glad I gave it a try, though. Thanks for the inspiration Julee!

The mailman brought me another special package yesterday that I'll share with you later today. Let's just say I'm spoiled by my blogger friends! I have plans today to have lunch with a friend from my bible study. Then it's off to get my hair cut. Then it's off to a baseball game tonight! Whew. Since we're leaving on Saturday morning for camp, I've been packing since this past weekend so I'm not doing it at the last minute. There's so much to bring to camp being since basically we'll live in a rustic cabin for a week. Have to bring a reading light, a rug for the front door, a cooler for pop, chairs for the deck, winter clothes/summer clothes (you never know what the temperature will be since the camp is located about 3 miles from the grand shores of Lake Superior), regular shoes, work shoes, work clothes/regular clothes, etc! It's exhausting getting ready!

Here's a few more pictures for you of our wonderful COP! I'm so pumped to go!!!! The first pic is of the cabins. There are two cabins to a "building". All the cabins were rebuilt a few years ago, so although rustic, they are so nice! The second pic is the inside of the cabins! Yes, there are bunks. The boys each sleep on a bunk with an air mattress on top, we take 4 mattresses down, stack them up on each other, put an air mattress on top and then cover with sleeping bags! Yes, a slight luxury for mom and dad, but our bodies need it at this age!!! The last picture is of the Main Lodge. This is where we eat our meals and play games at night. It is brand new as well and is GORGEOUS! There is a huge stone fireplace inside! My youngest can hardly stand the wait. He's more excited about going to camp than he is about Thursday being the last day of school!

Have a great day!