Love that old paper - Raise the Bar challenge#3

This weeks challenge at Raise the Bar is.... "The Older the Better" - use DP that you've had in your stash for a while. You know, like the ones Stampin' Up doesn't even remember carrying.

I don't know about you, but I have loads of pretty patterned papers in my stash that i haven't used, some of them because they are too pretty, and others because i just don't know what to use them for.  The first thing i did for this challenge was to have a look through some of the papers i've had for years, when i first started cardmaking (about 7 years ago) i bought a few mixed lots in online auctions.  I was lucky and always happy with the selection i received, but some of them just weren't very 'Suzi' lol;  so i decided to really challenge myself and use a couple of sheets of paper that didn't really speak to me.

After selecting my papers is was time to choose an image, i must admit i've actually spent a couple of days thinking about what image to use, as this challenge has made me change the way i go about a project (i usually choose the image first); Originally i was going to create a masculine card with these papers, but that seemed a little too obvious, then i spyed Wild Sprout Charlotte (i'd printed out extra copies earlier in the week) from The Greeting Farm and my decision was made.

I decided to use a sketch for my layout, and this weeks sketch challenge at Splitcoaststampers, fitted my image very well. I've kept this card very simple, the only real embellishment being the punched border i created, and the faux stitching.  To finish the card i stamped the 'Love' sentiment, used a circle punch to cut it out and popped it onto a foam pad to give some dimension.

This really was a challenge, but i'm pleased with how the card turned out,  it was nice to look through my paper stash too, as i came across lots of lovely papers i'd forgotten all about, so now i just need to start using them more :)

Thanks for visiting
Suzi
xxx