Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Control Freaks Blog Tour: Flat & Fabulous

It's time for another Control Freaks Blog Tour! Whether you're coming from Melissa Davies' Rubberfanastic's blog or just arriving -- welcome!! I'm so excited about this month's theme! We're focusing on "Simple & Elegant" or "Flat & Fabulous"! This is my kind of card! Quick and clean!

A couple years ago, I was mailing some packages at the post office and handed the clerk some cards that were stamped and ready to mail. Of course, he felt them out and decided that because of the little bump, I needed extra postage. He told me I had to mail it as a parcel! I argued that it was "just a card". But he insisted that it wasn't just a card because of the bump. I said it was a card with ribbon. He said it was a a card AND ribbon. Needless to say, I walked away with the card in hand. I wasn't going to pay a parcel rate to mail it!

The machines that handle our letters and cards are not gentle! Unless you pay extra for a non-machinable card to be hand-cancelled, your cards really should be FLAT. Even a brad or a rhinestone will tear through the envelope. So here are some FLAT but fabulous card ideas that will make your post master happy!
Stampin' Up! Giggle Greetings Notecards with Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack
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For a "Flat & Fabulous" cards, I love the Whisper White Notecards & Envelopes (#131527). I dressed up the envelopes with some designer series paper cut with the Envelope Liner Framelits (#132172). 
The cards themselves are pretty simple. I punched shapes from the Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack (#133787) out of Whisper White cardstock and then punched the 1" Square Punch (#124094) around it. I did use some Stampin' Dimensionals to pop each square off of the colored Postage Punch, but that will squish through the postage machines okay. I stamped the greetings in coordinating colors: Blackberry Bliss, Tangelo Twist, and Honey Hello. I love the new Giggle Greetings stamp set. It will be available to hostesses this fall, so watch for details to find out how you can earn this exclusive set for free when it's released!

The set of notecards would make a cute gift packaged up in the Polka Dot Gift Bags (#135503). I made up a quick tag using the punches and stamps from the notecards with the Tag a Bag Accessory Kit (#133629).
 Stampin Up! Notecard Gift Bag with Itty Bitty Accents Punch Pack
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Here's another way to use the Polka Dot Gift Bag; I cut off the end and turned it into a flat and fabulous envelope! The card itself is very simple. I used the new Filigree Frame Embossing Folder (coming soon in the Holiday Catalog) and then stamped the Feel Goods greeting (#129684) in Hello Honey before adhering the Whisper White card to the Hello Honey card base.
Stampin' Up! Feels Goods Card
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That's all I have for you today! Be sure to come back and visit me again for more new projects! For now, it's time to continue on with the tour and head over to see what Judy DiScipio has in store for you!
http://judystamps.blogspot.com/2014/08/tour-de-freaks-blog-tour-brought-to-you.html

4 comments:

Melissa Davies said...

LOVE the envelope idea - thanks for sharing!

Wendie Waldman said...

Love your work - always!

Debbie Henderson Debbie's Designs said...

Love your little postal story! Your cards are fabulous and love the way you turned the bag into an envelope, neat idea!

Heidi Baks said...

Beautiful, clean cards, Julie! I'm guilty of sending bulky cards through the mail. :)