gossamer blue :: november :: mini cards + vellum pockets

Let me ask you a question:  Have you checked out the new Maggie Holmes collection from Crate Paper?  It's called Open Book and it is gorgeous!  The colors are stunning.  And the little leaves that you see in all of my photos today?  Get used to them--they are my favorite new photo prop.  There are several pieces of Open Book in the Gossamer Blue kits this month so I've been working with it for a few weeks now and have made several projects with it already.  As it happens, I'll be posting them here all week so if you like today's mini cards, be sure to stop by again!

Today's project is these sweet mini cards.  I used the GB November Main Kit only, plus a couple sheets of vellum paper to make the card pockets.  Aside from Open Book, there were products from Heidi Swapp's September Skies and Basic Grey's Second City.  What I had found myself doing in the past was typically using only one brand per project for GB.  That was easy to do since the collections are coordinated.  To challenge myself, I really wanted to try not to do that this month and mix the collections.  If you've seen Second City and Open Book, you know they are completely different!  Because I'm naturally drawn to more feminine products, I easily could have made these cards using only Open Book.  But I did try to get a little edgier here... 

The main kit also featured some GB-exclusive acrylic pieces--the yellow and purple hearts, "this moment" sentiment--and I adored those.  I think I used all but two of the pieces for this project.  And the only Open Book products on this card are the crepe paper tag and glitter bow.

One color combination I've been loving for awhile but haven't really put to work is blush pink with deep purple--think eggplant.  I've had an idea in my head for months that has yet to be constructed but I think it's perfect for fall...and if not fall, I'll try for winter--perhaps around Valentine's Day.  I put the colors together here with the purple acrylic hearts and that striking rose.  I also can't help but admire the pale pink with the black stripe...it stirs up so many ideas and there is just so little time.  Sigh.

The cards are about 4 inches each (roughly 3 1/2" x 4") and don't fit in any size envelope I have so I stitched up a few little pockets with vellum and gold thread.  The vellum immediately softens them, don't you think?  I don't use vellum nearly as often as I should.  Because the glitter bows are so dimensional, I punched a notch in the top of each pocket, left of center, so that it doesn't get smushed.  I like the way it looks, too, with the bow peeking out.

Thanks for coming by today!  As I said, I've got more projects lined up this week and Saturday, the 15th, is the monthly Gossamer Blue DT Blog Hop.  I'd love it if you'd stop by for that!

I also want to let you know that if you do a December Daily album, Gossamer Blue's December Memories kit is AMAZING!  It is packed full of embellishments, journaling cards, stickers...and the colors are awesome, too.  I just got mine yesterday and I can't wait to start playing with it.  I'm actually not doing a December Daily, but I have something very fun planned for the kit, which I'll be sharing later this month.  I love this time of year!!