Quick and easy makes for beautiful cards

For me, part of the joy of paper crafting is the long, laborious task of the design. It is at least 2 hours to design a card but more like 3 hours. I love this time. I love labouring over colour choices, I cut out dies and then rethink them and cut others. Lay them out on the card, stand back, look at it, rearrange, etec. I feel that if I haven't spent 3 hours on a card, I haven't done my job.

But man-oh-man, there is something to be said for a quick and easy card!!

Cute little 5 x 5 card using: stencil, 2 inks, multi-frame die (that includes the doily-type), and a sentiment stamp.

Products used

• Creative Expressions stencil #CSMK14
• Clarity Stamp stencil brushes #ACCBR0006
• Marianne Designs Multi-frame Die #CR1332
• Background inks
  • Cosmic Shimmer Cloud Inks in Clear Day and Decadent Oak
  • Creative Expressions Sentiment Stamp #CEC820

Really it's all about the paper in this card. Decorer Decorative Papers set the stage for this Butterfly die from Dee's Distinctively. Multi-frame die from Marianne Designs, a stamp sentiment and PVA pearls ... doesn't get much easier than that!

Products used

• Decorer "The Wall" Paper Pack yes, even behind the butterfly!!
• Dee's Distinctively Butterfly #IME232
• Marianne Designs Distressed Square Multi-Frame Die
• The sentiment stamp I think is from Joy Crafts and I don't see it listed any longer so might be out of stock)

This card was a design by Rose Marie at Frog's Whiskers. Love this cute little 5 x 5 card. Two stamps, two inks and a circle cut out from a Multi-Frame die. I will admit, I did make a mask for the seagulls so the blue sky wasn't showing through their wings ... I can only let quick and easy go so far :-)

Products used

• Frog's Whiskers Seagulls CJ1019
• Colorbox inks Teal and Pear and Nellie's Ink Applicator
• Nellie's Multi-frame circle die MFD055

Each card can be cut and assembled in less than 15 minutes. But the look is as lovely as a card you'd spend hours on. Keep it simple.

Happy Crafting!