I couldn’t resist the title and a personal challenge to make a very simple card for my 101st post! I initially intended to design a card that I wouldn’t share until very close to Christmas so that it could be a surprise to those of my friends who read my blog. But, as we once saw on a notice in a hotel (and still laugh about) “sometimes things don’t always go as planned”. I ended up with 2 cards – one that seemed perfect for carding 101 and the other will be shown close to Christmas after I mail them out!

I decided on a winter night look using the Stampin’ Up! White Christmas set and of course started by embossing. Maybe that should be my next challenge, a Christmas card without embossing! I embossed the trees in white on night of navy and then added the snowman and put the star in his line of sight. At this point the card looked okay but not great so I put it to one side and started on another idea. Coming back later on, I played around with the idea of cutting the card down and matting it once or twice but that wouldn’t be my nice one layer card at which I was aiming. Both my mother and brother suggested doing something to the star to make it pop and that was key. I tested colouring in a star in gold and silver but it was a large rhinestone which added the wow factor and made the card work.

I think it’s proof that you don’t need to add layers or lots of colours to have an effective card. Although I have grown to love both layers and colours. I’m currently working on a challenge at FabFriday to produce a card with five which is a nice stretch.