Since today’s May I Suggest… is being combined with yesterday’s 10 Minute Tuesday, what I would like to suggest is that you… Stamp Simply. Yes, of course!!!And I’d like to suggest paper piecing as well. It gives your card a lot of punch for very little effort. And here are two simple cards that fit this Stamp Simplyconcept well:

These two cards are made pretty much the same, using Coffee with Friends,and a very simple plan of attack! We start with

• A simple design.
• Use of designer paper for interest.
• A large main image panelwith a simple image, paper pieced, and elevated for dimension.
• The addition of ribbon or an embellishment.
• In this case, the omission of a sentiment, though we would often add one.

I rely on this simple layout a lot. I love playing with designer papers, putting them together in coordinated pairs. And sometimes it’s just fun to make your card base, even if you don’t have time to stamp. To make these card bases, in line with the Stamp Simply concept, I adhere the designer paper right to the card base to avoid any extra layers. And I really like the look of minimal layers at times.These are the card bases with only the designer paper adhered.

If you have time to make bases like this and just keep them on hand, it’s a real time saver when you’re in a rush. To make these I cut my bottom strip 2.25″ inches high. I just like that measurement — it works for me!!!The card on the left only has a bottom piece, topped with a scallop made with the Long Rectangle Nestabilities, as shown on this post. The card on the right has the bottom piece topped with a strip of solid paper. On this card, I cut the top piece 3.5 inches high and I adhered it to the card first. Then I overlap the bottom piece when I adhere it. All the designer paper above is from Scarlet’s Letter by Basic Grey.

OK, with your bases made, now you need your focal image, and for both of these cards the white panel was cut 2.75″ x 4.5″ and the framing was cut 1/8″ larger, giving you a very narrow frame. I used the simple tall coffee mug image from Coffee with Friends to paper piece both of these images.I love the look of paper piecing. For very little effort it adds a whole lot of punch to your card! Let’s take the card on the left first.

The Lily ofthe Valley from Peony were first stamped ontothe panel, making sure you stamp high enough to allow room for the vase. I colored the flowers with the Inkksentials Opaque White Pen and it sure does a wonderful job on these — the white just pops, even off of this white base. The leaves were colored with 2 green Copics and then I outlined the entireimage with the Cool Gray Copic.

Next you have to make your vase. Stamp the tall coffee mug from Coffee with Friends onto your designer paper, then cut out ONLY the portion that would be the vase — not the handle or the saucer. Then, as you can see, I turned it upside down for this vase — the narrow part is on top. I did a card yesterday making a vase with the narrow part on the bottom — it is versatile. Then for the stripe on the vase — I just picked up a scrap strip of paper from by my paper cutter, cut it to width, and adhered it. I run all these small pieces through my Xyron X — really handy! Attach your vase to the panel, frame the panel with black, tie a little bow with the Black Dotted Sheer Ribbon and attach it witha little glue dot.

All that’s left is to attach your newly created main image panel to the card. I do this with either mounting tape on a roll or mounting squares. It adds just a bit of elevation to the card and it just gives an air of elegance, I think, when that main image just kind of floats above the card — love that look. (I get these products at Wal-mart, it’s my only shopping source here.) But it may be enough to pop you up into the extra postage category, so that is a consideration! Here’s another view of the same picture from above, just so you don’t have to scroll:

Now for the card on the right with the coffee mug fromCoffee with Friends— this, too, is paper pieced, using 2 colors. You’ll have to stamp it twice on designer paper, stamping the mug on brown andstamping the saucer on the greenish/goldish color. Then you can stamp a flourish from Coffee with Friends onto your mug. In this instance, you have to stamp the coffee mug onto the main image panel, and you can also stamp on some steam. Now, take your mug and saucer pieces cut from the designer paper and adhere them over your image stamped on the white panel. Instant appeal — isn’t it great? I added brads on the handle and a photo hanger to tie on a piece of Chocolate Velvet Ribbon. These colors and the visual weight of the mug just demanded a heavier weight ribbon up there. Ok, attach this main image panel onto the card basewith mounting tape, as above, and you are done!!!

And you’ll notice there are NO sentiments on these cards. I like to have cards made up ahead that I can grab when needed, no matter what the occasion, so I often make my cards in this generic fashion. When you decide you need to use one of these cards, you will have room to add on a small circle or oval die cut sentiment, or you can just use the inside for your message/sentiment.

About the Basic Grey 6 x 6 pads — they often work together very well for mixing and matching — though each pad has it’s own design line, the sheets of solidcolor often transfer wellto another pad. My pink vase is from Sultry, while the black/white bottom is from Scarlet’s Letter.

About ribbons — two of my stand-by must have ribbons that I’d like to suggest to you today are the Dotted Sheers and the Velvet Ribbons. They both come in a wide range of colors and are so easy to work into your projects. I LOVE the bit of fun and whimsy that the Dotted Sheers add, and nothing can beat the elegance of velvet. And even on the coffee card above, I used the velvet not because I necessarily needed elegance, but because it was the weight I was after — and I needed such a little piece, but it was perfect!!!

About Coffee with Friends — I’ve had so much fun working with this set this week. It is a paper piecers dream!!! Perfect for piecing — fun and easy!!! These images also can easily be colored in by any means you prefer. And I love the versatility of the tall coffee mug — as you’ve seen I’ve made it into a couple different vases — and I have one more idea up my sleeve with this mug that I’ll save for another day!!! (Unless someone out there beats me to the punch — LOL!!!) I also need to move on and play with the small cups some more — I have ideas for those as well!!! Just LOVE the simplicity and ease of working with this all-purpose set!!!

Gosh, I feel like I’ve rambled on, so what DID I recommend today? Let me see —

• A simple card design, using Coffee with Friends (and Lily of the Valley from Peony)
• Paper Piecing using Basic Grey designer paper
• A large main image panel with a simple, pleasing image, elevated for prominence
• Using ribbons as embellishments
• Making your cards sentiment-free, allowing for versatile uses when needed

Yes, I guess that would wrap it up. Hope those of you in need of some quick and simple designs will give this a try!!! It can’t get much easier!!! Oh, and enjoy a cup of coffee while you’re at it — LOL!!!

Thank you all so much for stopping in today — I truly appreciate it!!!