Wishes Blog Hop

Do you WISH you could create beautiful cards in a snap? With Close To My Heart's WISHES how-to guide, you can! Join me in a short blog hop (if you're not already hopping and coming from Helen's blog) to spotlight the Wishes Card Confidence Program how-to book and its 4-3/4"x3" card pattern "City Scape."

I decided to create a gift card, so I started with a piece of 4-3/4"x8-3/4" Colonial White card stock. I scored my card at 3" and then again 3" from that to create three "panels": my card front, base, and flap. Then I trimmed down the flap to the shape you see here, just by using my trimmer and cutting at an angle.

I covered the card front with the cool new Zippidee paper pack and just followed the Wishes pattern for the pieces. I did paper- piece the i-Pod on the front and distressed most of the pieces with Desert Sand ink.

Rather than using a strip of paper on the left like the pattern calls for, I scrunched up Cranberry ribbon and stapled it down. (Is "scrunched" a real phrase?) I also embellished the focal image with more staples and stapled the gift card pocket closed (after covering it with a piece of Zippidee paper and trimming it down to fit). Because the image didn't originally "pop" as much as I wanted, I went back and added some faux stitching with my Cranberry marker.

Do you think I used enough techniques to enter this card into this week's Heart 2 Heart challenge: use a technique?

WISH you could create this card or something that you see on the hop? Try the free pattern HERE. (If the link doesn't work, send me your email addy, and I'll send you a PDF.)

Now hop on over to Melinda's blog to see her great creation!

All materials from Close To My Heart: Ms. Chillin' stamp set; Zippidee paper pack; Desert Sand, Indian Corn Blue, and Cranberry inks; Cranberry marker; Cranberry Designer Ribbon Rounds; staples

Techniques: paper piecing; direct-to-paper ink distressing; ribbon "scrunching"; faux (marker) stitching