Wednesday Card Inspiration

Today's Wednesday Card Inspiration is by Amy Rysavy at Prairie Paper & Ink. I chose it today because of its unusual color combination for a Valentine cards. The dark gray and deep pink are very effective and not your run of the mill colors.  So, why does this card work?

Color-again I think this is a very effective and trendy color combo that shouldn’t just be saved for Valentines. It’s great for a birthday, anniversary, heck, it works for just about any occasion. It might even work for some forward thinking guys in your life. That is if you have one of those guys.

Layout- the layout of this card gives the eye a lot to do. First we see the heart grouping in the lower right. I like how she has overlapped the items. I call this the “cuddle up” effect. It makes one cohesive design element and all the items relate to each other. How would it look if she spaced these items were they didn’t overlap?  It would look rather crowded and dull. One trick when you are creating a grouping is to imagine these items being tossed on the table all at one time. How would they land?  Try it sometimes. You want the group to look random and happenstance, carefree and not contrived.

Details- This little card is packed with details and you know how I love details.  One detail is the round lower corners. She could have rounded all the corners but she chose just the two. It’s a small thing but effective.  Next is the watermark stamping behind the heart grouping. Like with most watermarks the eye doesn't see it at first. Then it’s like a little surprise. By placing the watermark stamping under the group she adds to the weight and impact of the grouping. Last the pink border around the edge. I think you know how just I love borders. And the skinny pink border is the perfect final touch. It adds a bit of color and frames the lovely creation.

So I hope today’s card inspirations gives you a few design ideas to work with this week. Be sure to Toot Your Horn and share you work with the group.