A Shiny Bright New Year!

Hello stampers!

Thanks for joining me today on this second day of our bright and shiny new year!  Wasn't yesterday just the sunniest start ever to a new year?  I thoroughly enjoyed the sunshine and I hope that you were able to get outside for a few minutes too, just to soak up some of those rays.  It was really c-c-c-cold, but I'll put up with the cold for some sunshine any day.

Well, now that New Year's Eve and New Year's Day have come and gone, it really is time to leave the holidays behind.  Take one last fond look in the rear-view mirror, and then let's resolve to let 2012 go and focus on all the fun and excitement that are just ahead of us in 2013. 

As promised, I have another card for you today featuring new stamps and accessories from the Spring catalog, which goes "live" tomorrow, January 3rd.  I've been upstairs in my stamp room the past couple of days and I've had fun using some of the new things I pre-ordered from the Spring catalog.  Here is one of my favorite new cards....

I was going for a super-fresh, clean look for this card and I've found that the best way to achieve a clean and crisp look for a card is to leave lots of white space.  The colors here are Summer Starfruit, Pool Party, and Basic Black which combine for a nice contemporary look. 

You'll find the stamp set, called "Oh, Hello" on page 4 of the new Spring catalog.  I stamped the "friend" tag with the Tiny Tags stamp set (page 124 of the annual catalog) and then punched it out with the Jewelry Tag punch (page 183 of the annual catalog).  The 1/16th inch hand-held circle punch (page 184 of the annual catalog) is just right for punching the tiny hole in the tiny tag!  The rose is punched out using the  Extra-Large Oval punch (page 184 again).

While I could have added more elements to this card, I deliberately kept it clean and simple.  In fact, keeping it clean and simple sounds like a great way to start a new year. 

Thanks for stopping by today and don't forget to check back on Friday when I'll have another new card for you!

Happy New Year and keep stamping!
Susan