CAS Leaves Cards

Last night I made a couple of "Clean and Simple" (CAS) cards for a Splitcoast Stampers challenge.  I find CAS cards difficult because the goal is lots of open space and few embellishments or layers, but I always think of one more thing I should add!  I am learning to reign in that desire and to see the beauty in the simplicity of the CAS style.  One benefit of less layers and embellishments is ease in mailing.  Sometimes "bulky" cards can be difficult (and more expensive) to mail, so CAS cards are terrific for mailing.

For this challenge, we were to use a picture of leaves (from Pinterest) as our inspiration.  Here's the first card I made:

  

I used a rectangle stamp from Stampin' Up! (SU) inked with Ancient Page dye ink in Saffron to make the background for the image on Ultrasmooth Vanilla cardstock (SU).  I inked one of the leaf stamps from the Fantastic Foliage set (SU) in Herb Garden dye ink (Big & Juicy Rainbow Pad by Ranger).  I love using rainbow/spectrum pads because they blend several shades into one pad, and if you move your stamp to a different place each time you ink it, you'll get a slightly different shade, which adds beautiful depth to the image.  I stamped the sentiment (Penny Black) in Memento Espresso Truffle dye ink.  I adhered this panel to a brown cardstock card base.  That's it!  Easy peasy.

 

I had so much fun making this card (and it took so little time) that I decided to make it again using different cardstock colors.  Here's my second card: 

 

  

 

I used the same ink and stamps as the first card, but used beige and kraft cardstock this time.  I also used the lighter hues on the stamp pad to get a softer effect for this card.  Notice I added an additional layer by placing a kraft later between the beige papers.  Otherwise this card is almost an exact replica of the first.  Once I get a design I like, I often make several variations of it.  It is always nice to have a few extra cards on hand (or in a box to donate to Operation Write Home, which I will talk about more in an upcoming post). 

 

That's all for today.  Thanks for visiting!