Gosh, it’s Tuesday again — where does the time go!!! Good thing Tuesday’s call for only a 10 minute card!!! Before I get into any details, I’d like to itemize all the things about this card that contribute to it being just a 10 minute card:

1. No stamping
2. Use of tools (Heart shaped Nestabilities)
3. Use of a scrap (that happened to be pre-stamped)
4. Use of ribbon for a scalloped edge (no need to make scallops)
5. Use of designer paper (rather than stamping a background)
6. A CASED design (YES, it is OK to CASE!!! LOL!!!)

This 4.25″ square card is a design CASED from Tracy Durcan. You can see her darling card here. As you can see, I only changed the focal image from her sentiment scallop to my heart. Though the colors and patterns are different, the basic design is the same. Taking someone else’s design and making it your own, is a sure-fired time saver.And those of us who take the time to upload and share our work, generally don’t mind being CASED. After all, isn’t imitation the highest form of flattery? We just must always be careful not to submit the workof another for contest or publication, and if we upload workCASED from another, we must remember to credit the original designer. Very simple rules. And most Blogs do have their own statement in the sidebar as to their feelings on being CASED, so it’s always a good idea to check there. Gee, I didn’t mean to get side tracked — back to the card —

The designer paper I used is from the Sugared 6 x 6 pad by Basic Grey. Love the colors and fun prints in this pad!!! I took my Classic Heart Nestabilities and first cut and embossed the smaller heart, then found the scrap of So Saffron with the retired SU French Script already stamped on it — how handy — so I thought I’d use it for the larger heart. I often use corsage or stick pins in my work, but I always insert them at an angle — don’t know why — it’s just what I do — LOL!!! I recently saw this card by Velta where she inserted the pin straight up and down into the heart and I loved it — so, another CASE!!! Mycorsage pins are from Michaels and the tiny pearl beads are from Wal-mart. I then tied on a little piece of the Pink Velvet Ribbon by May Arts. Love the richness just this little bit of velvet adds!

Once again, I have used the Scalloped Edge Satin Ribbonby May Artsto create a scallop along the border of my designer paper. Now, had I been thinking, I could have cut this ribbon down the center and done this with only a bit over 4″ of ribbon; however, I wasn’t thinking, and I put a full strip of ribbon on both top and bottom — oh well, next time!!! Also, I ALWAYS wrap my ribbon, either behind a panel or around the card front. Well, this is one of the few times that I actually cut my ribbon and it doesn’t wrap around anything, but with it being tucked under the paper, we are not seeing any ragged or frayed edges, so I’m OK with that in this situation.

• Stamps: None (SU retired French Script on So Saffron scrap found)
• Paper: Pretty in Pink, So Saffron, Sugared by Basic Grey
• Ink: None (More Mustard was used on the French Script scrap)
• Accessores: Scalloped Edge Satin Ribbon, Velvet Ribbon, Corsage Pin, Pearl Beads, Dimensionals, Classic Heart Nestabilities by Spellbinders

And I guess that pretty well sums it up — gee, took me tons longer to write this post than it took to make the card — LOL!!! I encourage you all to try a 10 minute card, employing some of the hints I’ve listed above. If you do, let me know how it turns out! If you care to link back here, I’ll take a peek!!!

Once again, thanks so much for stopping in!!! Tomorrow (Wednesday) is Flourishes release of 2 new stamp sets, so hope you check back in. And I’ll give you a little hint — there are some other fun activities planned in the Flourishes forum at SCS for tomorrow, so stop in over there, too!!! Hope youall have a great day!!!

Editing to Add: I was reminded by a comment that not eveyone knows what Nestabilities are. Nestabilities are thin metaldies, made to run through a die cutting system. I use mine in my Cuttlebug. They not only cut out your shape, but they can also emboss the edge for you — a very cool feature. My photography skills are not the best,but here’s a card that shows the embossed edges on the hearts. And below is a photo of a complete set of Nestability Circles that I just got in the mail and haven’t openend yet:

The shapes come with a standard straight edge and also with a scalloped edge. See how there are two pacakages of each? There is a large and small of each. They come in graduated sizes which nest together, which is great for layering and matting. If you only have one size of a shape, it will mat to about 1/4″, but if you have both sizes of the shape, the matted layers will be about 1/8″. Here’s a card with the narrower matting, using dies from both the sets.

And here’s a link to a videotutorial by Nancy Kirk from Flourishes showing you how to use the Nestabilities in your Cuttlebug. A very helpful tutorial if you’ve never seen this done before! I have purchased all of my Nestabilities from Flourishes.

If you’ve got an inkling to take the plunge and try them out, I GUARANTEE you will love them — no doubt about it!!! And we didn’t even touch on the discussion of storing these as opposed to storing large punches, or the tremendous cost savings when comparing a similiar number of punches to Nestability dies. This conversation could go on forever, but I think you get the idea — I LOVE my Nestabilities!!!

Hope this helps those of you who may be unaware — again, thanks for stopping in!