Beyond Plaid - Takes I and II

Happy Wednesday!

Well ... day 1 of "healthy living" went well.  I spent a lot of time (and money) grocery shopping for healthy options ... thank goodness for 10% Tuesday!  Now I just have to EAT the stuff!  I'm pretty famous for BUYING healthy food (and excercise equipment, diet cookbooks and gym memberships) but I'm starting to figure out that BUYING it isn't the key ... you actually have to USE it ... before it expires *lol*

Today I have a card that I made using my April Stamp-Set-of-the-Month set - Beyond Plaid - page 14 of the Spring Mini - $21.95 clear; $28.95 wood.  You'll recall I used it for the first time for my Easter card (despite BUYING it in December!!) here:

I just LOVED how the pattern on the stamp matches the pattern on the middle rabbit.  I also loved that I could get the DSP LOOK without the actual DSP.  When you have a patterned STAMP you can make it any color you want .. without a lot of cost involved.  I decided to check out what other stamps I had with the same, or similar, pattern to those in the Beyond Plaid set.  Hellooooooo?  Check out the mini - page 14 ... the "Dapper Dad" set has the same patterns.  Just another reason why I love Stampin' Up!  They take all the hard work out of designing and coordinating!  This next card literally fell together in about 6 minutes.  It was just so easy!

SO easy!  As Craig always tells me - you have to keep "guy" cards simple.  This fits the bill!  I stamped the background image in Basic Grey ... using my Stamp-a-ma-jig (page 7 - $15.50) to line the patterns up perfectly.  I stamped the watch and attached a silver brad for the wind-up knob and taped it to a grey mat.  I tucked a tiny snippet of the 1 1/4" Grey Two-Toned ribbon (page 13 - $9.50) behind the mat for a little "soemthing" (yes, it breaks Criag's "no-ribbon" rule but some times I just have to be defiant!).  The sentiment is from Best Dad Ever (again!) - page 27 - $17.95 clear; $22.95 wood) in Black Staz-on (page 157 - $10.50).  That's it!  Seriously.  6 minutes!

Realizing just how versatile this Beyone Plaid set is I decided to make it my Stamp Set of the Month for April.  Yesterday I went downstairs and came up with another great card using it.  Pop in tomorrow to check it out.  Until then ... well, you know ... have a stampy day ;)

Tam