Stretching Myself

Summer has really hit Shanghai - hot and humid. They're not kidding when they call it one of the "seven furnaces" of China! Surprisingly, we haven't been running our air conditioner all that much, but I'm sure that will change as the summer progresses. Funny story: when Seth went to pay the electric bill the other day, the girl in the office told him (with more than a touch of surprise) that our bill was "like a Chinese person's" - meaning that usually we foreigners have crazy high electric bills in comparison to the general population, due to our constant running of the air conditioner, tv, computer, etc., etc. I told him to just wait till next month, when it's really hot!

I finally got a little crafting time in yesterday. I decided to go for a more eclectic look this time. I'm always drooling over cards that are more "scrappy" in nature - bits and bobs put together to form a look that is multi-dimensional, textural, and colorful, but still with an overall feel of minimalism. So I thought I'd give it a try. Since I don't have any pre-made labels, dimensional stickers, or the like in my stash (crazy, I know), I had to come up with my own embellishments. Thank goodness for my trusty Cuttlebug! The result is still pretty conservative, but for a first try I'm pretty pleased. Definitely a style I want to try again.

Card Supplies:
Stamps: Studio G; Ink: SEI Carcoal, Ranger Antique Linen distress ink; Paper: My Mind's Eye (lime polka dots), Amy Butler (gray/lime floral); Accessories: Cuttlebug, Provocraft circle frame die, Provocraft butterfly die, small corner rounder punch, tag, rhinestones, brad, foam dimensionals