it's that time again!

CAARDVARKS' challenge time, that is! yepper, the new one's up and the minimalists among us can prepare to rejoice! this time it's as easy as 1-2-3; which means you get to use: 1 embellishment, 2 patterned papers, 3 flowers...and that's IT! the exact nature of prizes have not yet been revealed, but i do know our sponsor is the angel company, and i've heard the word "rubber" mentioned... :)

now, you may have noticed, i'm not really a "less is more" kind of gal! (lol) i'm actually a "more is more...and even more is even better" kind of gal. (i don't believe "maximalist" is a real word, nevertheless, it sums me up pretty well!) so for me this truly was a challenge! but once i got rolling, i really enjoyed the way the strict limitations meant having to carefully consider each added item; and how that helped me be super-selective to ensure all my choices really pull their weight, in a design sense.

before i show my cards, i have a funny (unless you're me) little story for ya: it seems i misread the challenge email (DUH) and instead of 1 embellie and 2 patterned papers, i used 1 patterned paper and 2 embellishments! on four cards. yeah. because even when i am an idiot, i am a scrupulously over-achieving idiot. (niiiice!) :) fortunately, two of them were "on the line" of almost looking very nearly sort of somewhat right, and the lovely jenyfur let me post them anyway! (thanks, jen & sorry!) here they are:

see, this one has an epoxy brad and some heidi swapp decorative tape as embellishments, but the tape kinda *functions* like patterned paper...so it slides by...almost fair and square!

this baby only has one patterned paper...but i used kraft cardstock rather than white...so...well, it's got a strong contrast, anyway! the giant gold bee is obviously the primary embellishement...and, i mean, the ribbon is SO SHEER it practically doesn't exist at all...!! :) ok, ok--it totally *IS* cheating, but i'm glad they used it--b/c i really liked this card! (i don't think you can necessarily tell by my mediocre scan, but the circles are punched thru the front of the card & there's is a strip of matching patterned paper inside, onto which the regulation 3 flowers are glued.)

however, all in all, this is QUITE embarrassing, and i'm soooo grateful that my fellow caardvarks are every bit as kind as they are talented, or i would feel even sillier than i do now!