Cawffee Tallk

 Somehow, I'm picturing this with a East Coast accent, thus the "cawffee tallk" vibe here.  I actually JUST got off the phone with a customer with this accent, so, it's kind of in my brain.  Well...here you go...a blog post about my thought process with this card.  First of all, I REALLY love doing simple.  

If you have known my style over the course of almost 30 years for card making, you will know that I am not really a CLEAN AND SIMPLE card maker...I've gone from "everything but the kitchen sink" style to "many many many dimensions" style to ink blending (trying on that) to flat cards for mailing purposes, and dabbled so very slightly in SIMPLE!  I have to admit, I have no clear favorite, I truly let my instincts lead me.

So...I'll start out with the parameters for Craft Roulette this week...it is kind of what lead me to my very simple card.....

I decided to work with the wedding colors first.  When it comes to the color parameter...I truly do take it literally.  All too often, a color parameter will pop up that really can be EVERY COLOR (justified) under the sun.  That's not as challenging for me, it makes me have to think too, so if I were to recreate this card with a different color pallet...I'd probably add more soft pink/blush and maybe a vintage sage green or light blue?  I see this card so very different, now that it's finished...but, I first, didn't have very much time this week, and I am trying to NOT OVERTHINK anymore.  I'm having way more fun not agonizing over creative decisions.  So...back to color:

This weekend, I was lucky enough to spend time with my grown up daughter and a couple of her volleyball college teammates at their yearly alumni match.  We all became practically family those 4 years of her time at EOU, it was through the Covid days, the bonding is like nothing I can describe.  I am glad to still be in touch, and happy that my daughter is too, as these young women have all started navigating their lives beyond college... (Plus a big bonus to watch them play together again).  One of her teammates, shared her plans of her upcoming wedding this fall...and fully knowing that wedding colors was the color parameter...I started quizzing!  I decided whatever her colors were...was what my card would be.  :)  I LOVE her pallet... Neutrals:

My choice of stamp set...  My selection process starts out by choosing 2-4 options...  I was looking for chocolate molds/patterned paper, cakes/cupcakes/sugary foods?  Nothing was screaming my name to coordinate with my neutral colors.  Nothing.  Then I ran across a blast from the past.  We are talking back in the early 2000s.  I absolutely FELL.IN.LOVE with a retired company called "Crafty Secrets".  My only regret, is that I didn't load up with MORE of their sets before they officially stopped making their fun vintage style sets.  I know I can find them on Etsy, but, way too much out there in craft land, for me to go that direction...I'm good with my supply.  That being said, I am smitten by their line...and IF they were still releasing new stamp sets, it's possible my craft style and vendor list, may be very different today, because this company was probably my favorite at time and maybe of all time.  Anyhow, once I saw the word "Sweetie"...I knew this was the set for me.

Now to address parameters 1 & 4 ...  I never knew or even heard of a 4 Bar Card.  I was originally thinking of not going this route, but making a card with 4 actual bars on it.  I have a set with a pub, I have a slot machine, I think, bar bells, etc.  Once I learned that a 4 Bar card is an actual card size...I didn't think twice about making this cute fun size:  3-1/2" x 4-7/8", also known as an A1.  I adored making this size...  It looks like it is the smallest size accepted by USPS, with standard mail rates, I learned something new...I sure enjoy making these unique sized cards...  Thanks Craft Roulette!  :)

Last parameter:  A Touch of Gray.   It's more "charcoal gray", but...if you look close,  the watch face is gray, the starbursts are stenciled gray, and the "houndstooth" pattern includes amongst the neutrals, a charcoal dark gray...  (so much more evident in real life....)

So there you have it.  This is a super simple card...but, any time I tried to bling bling it up, as in coloring up my character on the front...I just wasn't feeling it.  I could have picked other wedding colors, but, after my "research" and start of this card...I wasn't about to change.  I got a late start with the card as it was, and it was either not participate this week at all...or move along with what I had started.  That being said... IF I were to redo...I do see maybe a splash of blush (similar to the soft blush I did put on her cheek)...and possibly a soft sage / turquoise type green.  I didn't want to lose the vintage vibe...  I am satisfied, and I guess that's the most important thing!  It's so fun to use some sets from the past, and it doesn't surprise me one bit...that I have the perfect patterned paper easily available in my insanely large stash of supplies!  So, on to next week CR.

I will be posting next week too, the latest, Kindred Stamps May Release.  I'll have a little announcement with it as well, so stay tuned early next week for all of that!  :)

Bye for now!

Trudi