Whimsical Wednesday Challenge: Let's Use Our Scraps!

Happy Wednesday, dear friends! Guess what today is? My very first weekly challenge as a member of an incredibly talented design team. So excited!

The Whimsical Wednesday challenge this week is Let's Use Our Scraps! To be honest, fear struck my heart. ;) I've never created a card made exclusively from scraps, so I was intimidated. Then I laughed at myself because this is a challenge blog, after all! :o) So I dove into my growing pile of severed and Cricut'ed paper to see what would happen. I decided to use this opportunity to force myself out of my recent color rut. No pink or blue allowed. (Cue fear... again.)

Here is the color palette and scraps I settled upon:

Here is my completed project, which I'm so happy to share with you:

My thought process for this challenge was essentially this: Scraps... segments... tiny pieces... squares... QUILT... which can symbolize the warmth and coziness of friendship. My inspiration for this card is my dear friend Christina (who my followers may recognize as the one who leaves me novel-length comments... most supportive and enthusiastic cheerleader ever, in every endeavor of mine.) Her favorite color is orange and she loves nature, so I selected any coordinating orange and floral scraps I had, plus some pale yellow and white. I cut the main papers into strips and squares, then arranged them in a quilted fashion. To break up the busy pattern a bit, I added the yellow down the middle, which has a gorgeous embossed design on it. (It's the flip side of the moon cut-outs in my scrap picture.)

To personalize it while keeping my theme, I "sewed" in some of the beauty we weave into our friendship: Joy, Love, and Trust. I went to town with the faux stitching to solidify it as a quilt as opposed to a mosaic (which was my back-up plan if this didn't work out). I wanted a strong focal element that didn't overpower the quilting, so I weaved together the sweet ribbon wreath. You know how enamored I am with ribbon!

The simple tutorial is HERE if you'd like to make one, too! :o) I nestled the sentiment inside, pop-dotted the entire center element, and finished off my card with a few butterflies and a smattering of orange rhinestones. An unsparkly wreath wasn't an option. ;) I was tempted to add more stuff, but resisted. For this theme and this recipient, an overall simple look with one special technique was my goal.

I hope you'll join in the fun this week! I would love to see what your scraps can morph into. :o) Check out the Whimsical Wednesday Weekly Challenge post to see what prize is being offered. Also be sure to visit the rest of the Design Team's blogs to see their fabulous creations. :o)

I'll be back tomorrow with a new project I'm working on... my first altered item! And for my sweet crafty friends who have inquired, I'll also tell you a bit about my most perfect Saturday night at the concert. It couldn't have been more amazing! I wanted to tell you about it so much sooner, but this week has been nuttier than a Snickers. Have a gorgeous and sparkly day, everyone! Thank you for visiting. :o)

Key Recipe Components:
 * Cricut cartridge: Elegant Edges
 * Paper: Bazzill, DCWV, Graphic 45, Papertrey Ink
 * Ribbon: Celebrate It, Essentials
 * Flower: Prima
 * Miscellaneous: Fiskars butterfly punch, iRock