be the best you that you can possibly be

i don't mean to keep harping on the hot weather we're having because i know there are places that get it much, much worse.  i also don't want to use my blog as a platform for complaining...but it's really hot again!  the window in my studio is open right now and there is a HOT breeze coming through it.  it feels pretty gross!  i just looked at the outdoor temperature and it's 101 degrees...i think that qualifies for some A/C.  

enough about that!  i have a couple of cards to share today, both of which use a lot of My Mind's Eye paper.  the first one features 2 from the Be Amazing collection.  these papers are beautiful and are focal points themselves, which makes creating cards with them especially easy.  

here, for example, i just cut down the piece featuring the bicycle and kites, added a little stitching under the sentiment, and half the card was finished right there.  the sentiment, by the way, says: be the best you that you can possibly be.  great advice, don't you think?

the corner opposite the bicycle did look a little bare so i added the "Life is a Journey" stamp from Papertrey Ink and two little triangles.  i matted the smaller paper piece to the larger, colorful striped square and added more stitching down the side.  

a little paper flag, made with a toothpick, a Crate Paper scrap, and a button, tucks sweetly under the seam binding bow.  super easy but pretty cute, if i may say so.

for my next card, i used pieces from the Be Happy line.  it's softer than Be Amazing, but just as beautiful.  the focal point here is a flower i "built" out of various tags and paper punches, some tulle circles, messy thread, and a button.  i simply piled one thing on top of another until i had a colorful flower i was happy with.

i typed out the "dear friend" onto vellum using my vintage typewriter and layered that onto a small scrap.  i used a lot of scraps for this card, in fact, making them into flags, arrows, and tiny triangles.  

in between the larger pieces of paper, i sandwiched a little bitty bag from Whisker Graphics that holds a tag.  the little bags are so adorable; this one is the gray grid print.

i made the tag from a piece of kraft card stock and used more scraps to decorate it.  before i adhered them, though, i ran the plain tag through my typewriter to type out "you simply shine."  i punched a half scallop circle into the edge of the yellow honeycomb scrap and it makes a cute window through which the sentiment peeks.  i cut the little yellow polka dot sun out of a piece of 6x6 Simple Stories Summer Fresh paper.  it coordinates beautifully with the My Mind's Eye papers here.  

that's all i've got for today.  i know last week i promised a look at some affordable goodies i picked up on a recent shopping trip.  it's still in the works--i have to get one more photo and then do some editing before it's ready for show and tell, but it IS coming.  (the ball of twine in the photo above is one of the things i got.)  and next week...well, i may just be able to let you all in on a little secret i've been carrying around.  be sure to check back!  have a great weekend!