Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Challenge #3 - Use Monochromatic Pink

Meet Our Guest Designer for February 2014!


Hey everyone, Tracey here. Being a CAS designer I am always drawn to designs that have lots of white space, clean lines and boast simplicity. Clean and Simple cards are not easy to create. They take a strong design sense to make a bold statement without clutter and bulk. Today I am so excited to introduce our February CAS Guest Designer who has that strong design sense that makes her cards so captivating. Please welcome Laurie Willison as our CAS Guest Designer for February!


Laurie Willison

Hello!  My name is Laurie Willison and I am a mom of 2 from Kansas.  I am an party time RN and part time SAHM and a full time crafter!  :)  I have started scrapbooking back in 1998 and then was introduced to stamping in 2007....and I have been hooked every since.  My style is pretty much CAS.  I love white space and find myself using white card bases a lot, with a pop of color here and there.  You can find me over on my blog, Soapbox Creations.  A big thank you to Tracey for the invitation to spend the month of February with this amazingly talented group of ladies!  

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This week we have some colours for you to try! You must use the colours and create your card in one of the styles of the designers. 

The styles are explained HERE.



Clean & Simple

Tracey McNeely 



I used the soft pinks and white sequins as a background so the solid heart could take centre stage.



By keeping my balloons to one side this kept my card CAS.

Laurie Willison (Guest Designer)


I focused on all the shades of pink in the photo.  I love the flowers and how they range in all shades of pink.


Clean & Graphic

I focused on one item (the ribbon) and repeated it to keep this graphic card clean.



My card was inspired by the gorgeous flowers in the vase and how beautifully the petals 'nested' together.
Clean & Layering

I was inspired by the beautiful vase of pink flowers. If you're going monochromatic, it should be pink right ? ;)

I was inspired to use the floral DSP by the pretty pink flowers in the vase of the inspiration photo.


Shabby Chic

Narelle Farrugia 



The inspiration for my card from the vase of pink roses in the inspiration picture as well as a smidge of green from the background.

 I {heart} PINK!  I was inspired by the lovely flowers, ribbon, mixy matchy collectables in the hutch and beautiful antique chair!

Freestyle Collage

Karen Davis 



Pink and this cute Chickadee stamp, I thought they were a perfect match.



I was inspired by the papers i choose.After i saw these little cute elephants,i knew i wanted to use this adorable elephant die...of course in pink! :) And since this is reather a card for a little one,i will give this to my 9 year old on Valentines day!

Classy & Elegant

I focused on the overall soft feeling I got from the photo.  I used embossing, a die cut flourish, a sparkly button and I framed my image for an elegant look.

Nothing says elegant like pearls, lace and a swirly sentiment.



Our Rules
  1. Use the Challenge to create a card.
  2. Choose one of the design team "styles" to create your card. Click HERE for the different styles summary.
  3. Explain in your post which style you used.
  4. Link up your blog post here, not your whole blog.
  5. Comment on the card ahead of you and behind you in the linky. Everyone loves comments!
This challenge will end on Monday, February 17th at Noon (PST).
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Challenge #2 - Winners

Hello, Tracey here with the winners from Challenge #2 - Using Texture.  Once again the response to the challenge was overwhelming with 119 entries for the second challenge.  We hope that you are enjoying our challenges and will be back to play again this week for Challenge #3 which goes live in one hour at 5:00 AM (PST).

 Congratulations to all of our participants for this week's challenge here at The Card Concept. We have each chosen a winner who we liked the best but not necessarily in our design style, and who followed the rules and challenge.

If you are viewing this in Google Reader, please visit our blog, to see the winning projects, by clicking on the pictures.
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Wednesday, January 29, 2014

There is Still Time to Play in the Texture Challenge!



There is still time to play along with Challenge #2 here at The Card Concept!


You can find the details of the challenge HERE. We are loving the submissions so far, and we hope you'll join in the fun!

This challenge will end on Monday, February 3rd at Noon (PST).





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Thursday, January 23, 2014

The Difference between Clean & Simple and Clean & Layered!


Hi everyone! Lesley here, creator of The Card Concept. 

 Wow, I am thrilled with the response to our challenge! Thank you so much for joining us!

 To play along with the current challenge, please CLICK HERE.

My sweet bloggy friend Darnell, asked this excellent question:

I think a lot of us are still confused about what is CAS and what is CAL. I should say, speaking for myself, that I am confused about it. If someone could enlighten me about my card today, I would be grateful. I see that Tracy's and Deanna's brilliant cards both have layers, so I'm beginning to understand that it is really more about the "white" space than the layers? Yes? My card this week is really questionable in my own mind as far as whether I've left enough "white" space to be considered CAS. Thank you! Hugs, Darnell

 Thank you for your question, Darnell!

 Clean and Layered is actually QUITE a bit different from Clean and Simple. For instance, all of the designers over at Freshly Made Sketches are Clean and Layered artists. I think of clean lines, lots of design papers or embossing and usually some embellishments. There is nothing "simple" about a clean and layered card.
Here are some cards I created in the Clean and Layered style. As you can see...not simple but layered with NO sponging or distressing...they are clean and layered. The second card looks more simple, because of the white space...but it is Clean and Layered too...because of the flowers, and the flourish. It took a while to make! LOL!



Clean and Simple is all about less is more. Usually one layer...sometimes artists like Deanna and Tracey use pens to create lines that "look" like layers. I truly do not usually "do" clean and simple but there have been some great examples of it in the linky gallery. One of our winners for last week's challenge, Brian, shared an excellent example of Clean and Simple.
Happy Watercolor, Petal Parade, Stampin' Up!, PP179

Our Challenge Manager, Tracey McNeely, created this awesome Clean and Simple card...no "white" but lots of white space!


I hope this helps to clarify the difference between the two styles! Thanks again for your question, Darnell!


Clean and Simple (CAS)

Definition:
  • One main image
  • Lots of open space (uncluttered)
  • Limited layers & embellishments
  • Quick & easy to recreate

Clean and Layered

Definition:
  • clean lines
  • lots of layers
  • designer papers/embossing
  • embellishments/accents
  • clean and fresh looking
  • some coloured images at times
  • white space
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Wednesday, January 22, 2014

Challenge #2 - Use Texture (Jan 22)

Welcome to The Card Concept. 
This week we would like you to add some texture to your card! You must use the texture and create your card in one of the styles of the designers. 
The styles are explained HERE.


Clean & Simple


tracey_CC2
I was inspired to recreate the scene using texture and dimension through dry and heat embossing while still keeping true to my CAS style.


I love the colors in this photo and pulled from them to create this CAS card.
Clean & Graphic



Choose two or three elements to focus on from your inspiration to create a graphic card!



Using sandpaper in a masculine design is an interesting way to add texture to a card.


Clean & Layering


When I saw the word texture, I immediately thought of the Perler beads that my daughter and I have been playing around with lately.  I used one of my little beaded creations for the texture on my card.



I was inspired by the red and white of the house for my card, and chose this stamp because the tree trunk reminded me of the wood texture of the roof.


Shabby Chic


The texture of the shingled roof reminded me of burlap and the colours of my card were based on the colours from the inspiration pic.




I was inspired by the colors from the photo - coral, green and kraft!


Freestyle Collage



I was very inspired by the colour contrast between the house and the greenery, and the challenge requirement to use Texture.

Cindy Lovell 

I was inspired by the red of the house and the word texture.So i did a little embossing on the red piece of paper and started my card from there.

Teresa Kline (Guest Designer)
I was inspired by the roof and immediately thought of corrugated cardboard. I knew I wanted to use a piece of cardboard, I then added a glittered flower and used rusted metal for the leaves.


Classy & Elegant


Natural settings always inspire me to use natural materials such as burlap, which gives great texture.  Heat embossing adds texture and also provides elegance, especially when on black cs.

Cathy Weber

Gold spray paint adds an elegant textured touch to rustic wired jute ribbon.


Our Rules
  1. Use the Challenge to create a card.
  2. Choose one of the design team "styles" to create your card. Click HERE for the different styles summary.
  3. Explain in your post which style you used.
  4. Link up your blog post here, not your whole blog.
  5. Comment on the card ahead of you and behind you in the linky. Everyone loves comments!
This challenge will end on Monday, February 3rd at Noon (PST).
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Challenge #1 Winners!

Hello, Tracey here with the winners from Challenge #1 - Colours. The very first challenge at The Card Concept.  We had quite a time choosing our winners with 104 participants! Hope that you all come back and play next challenge which goes live in an hour at 5:00  AM (PST).

Congratulations to all of our participants for this week's challenge here at The Card Concept. We have each chosen a winner who we liked the best but not necessarily in our design style, and who followed the rules and challenge.

If you are viewing this in Google Reader, please visit our blog, to see the winning projects, by clicking on the pictures.














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Tuesday, January 21, 2014

Meet Our Newest Classy & Elegant Designer!

Today I am thrilled to introduce our newest Classy & Elegant Designer. Cathy is an amazing and creative designer. I can't tell you how many times I have seen a card she has posted and said to myself "why haven't I ever thought too do something so fantastic!" You will love her designs and her ability to add that regal touch to her creations! 

Let's welcome, Cathy Weber!


Hi there...I'm Cathy Weber and I live in Southern California with my husband of 34 years.  It wasn't until my three children grew up that I discovered there was a "crafty" side of me.   My typical crafting style is Clean and Layered, but I am going to stretch myself right out of my comfort zone and be one of the designers who represent the Classy and Elegant style.  Those two styles actually have a lot in common and I hope to be able to combine the best of both as I join what I consider to be the “hottest” card challenge out there today…The Card Concept.  Let’s see how much “Classy & Elegant” I have in me!



The Classy/Elegant Style can be defined as:



  • polished
  • shiny finish
  • sparkling embellishments
  • rich colour scheme
  • sophisticated sentiments
  • regal
  • sweeping
  • dramatic
  • monochromatic
  • layered textures
  • awe
  • impress

     Have you ever created of using this style before? 
    If you have or would like to come and try it out our next challenge starts Wednesday January 22nd, 5 AM (PST)--see you there!
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