My Current Favorite Card

I keep this card on display on my printer when not using it. It just makes me smile.

While preparing to be a CARDtober host, I played around with different types of cards that I could use for a challenge. One of those was the oval step card that I posted previously. I didn't like how it turned out, and not just because it was pretty much just decorated with die cuts. The problem was that it didn't fold as cleanly as I expected, so I used my Silhouette software to create my own version of an oval step card from scratch. It closes much better, and the steps are a bit deeper.

I used the Heartfelt Creations fairy stamps from their Wildwood Cottage collection to make the fairies, but the paper was Simple Stories Great Escape. I liked the fern pattern, and the mix of green colors, especially since it seemed perfect for fairies. I added some Silhouette print and cut mushrooms, the Fairy Garden sign (a Silhouette cut file that I turned into a print and cut), and I stamped the phrases with stamps from my stamp hoard, from two different sets which are probably long since retired. The stamp I used for the top of the card was probably from Graphic 45, and the one below was from Hero Arts. Both sets included medieval images. We love Renaissance Fairs, so I bought the stamps for helping me scrapbook those photos, which still hasn't happened, but they were perfect for this card.

By the time I had finished making it, I felt that it was one of the nicest cards that I had ever made. It's my current favorite. I don't know that I will ever give it away, unless I make a duplicate, which I might. I definitely need to stamp and color more fairies. Unfortunately, I really don't like to color, an odd confession from a stamp addict. However, I am happy with the coloring that I did for the fairies.

The open card:

The front, when closed:

 And the back, where it can be signed and a personal note added:

 

I realized before CARDtober that I couldn't use this as a challenge, since I didn't really feel I had the right to share the cutting file. And considering how few card makers seemed to like my "Outside the Box" challenges, maybe it was a good thing.