I love making custom cards, and I had a very special order a couple of weeks ago. I took my inspiration from the graphic design in a proposal to create these thank you cards for the team that put the proposal together:

• Stamps: Love What You Do, Artisan Textures, Handcarved (retired)
• Color Palette: Whisper White, Gorgeous Grape, Lemon Lime Twist, Tempting Turquoise (retired)
• Accessories: Big Shot, Subtle Dynamic TIEF (swoon), Watercolor Paper, Ink Refills, Brush, Stampin’ Dimensionals

First things first. When I first saw the Subtle Dynamic TIEF in the catalog, I thought it was just a titch TOOO subtle – I couldn’t see anything. But it really sounded like the sort of thing I would love, if it were what it seemed to be – get my drift?

Oh Em Gee.  It is gorgeous. I highly recommend giving your cardstock a very light spritz before running it through the embossing folder. I use rubbing alcohol because it dries very quickly, but you could use water. The results are stunning.

I was looking for some DSP to put into that angled section between the two Tempting Turquoise panels, and I started to play with water and ink and the light went on. I used an ordinary paintbrush with ink refills to draw lines across some Watercolor Paper, and I was thrilled with the results. Cutting it into sections really made it pop.

I can’t show you the source of my inspiration, but the graphics and colors are similar. (I hope you’ll forgive me for using Tempting Turquoise, but that was the best match and I still had some in my craft room.) There was a LOT of measure twice, cut once-ing and I still had a few things that went wonky on me, but this was a really fun project. You can find inspiration in the most unexpected places…

…but if you want to shop for supplies, it’s easy. Shop HERE.