Oh Damask.....

I've long admired the Damask set from Paper Trey Ink. At CHA it was in and out of my hands only about a hundred times. As I was packing my bags to come home to Boston, I was seriously regretting not having picked it up. But, I was *trying* to adhere to a budget!!

So, on my most recent order, when I was stocking back up on my essential ribbon - the saddle stitch, and picking up some more buttons, of course, the Damask set just jumped into my cart to join them.

I can't believe that I hadn't yet played along in Dawn's color challenges. She always has such fresh color combinations, that I wouldn't reach for on my own. This combination is simply gorgeous, just **look** at that yummy fabric, but then when I sat down, I started to scratch my head a little (and I was bemoaning not yet having all the PTI ribbons up on my shelf...)

I usually get all crazy with the layers and the stitching, but for this time, I really just enjoyed stamping with that beautiful background, and keeping the overall design clean. Its nice to step out of your "normal" routine now and again. What's interesting is that my mother and sister repeatedly tell me that these types of designs are their favorite.

When I design cards for a customer order I like to try to keep them mailable (my usual designs are pretty pricey to mail with all the extra embellies and layers on top. They usually only just barely can fit into an envelope!!)

Now as you can see, I just can't seem to leave well enough alone because as I sat down to create a card for my father's birthday I still had this color combination on my mind, and gave it another whirl. You'll see though, that I didn't stay true to the simple layering and got a little bit more complicated with a few extras.... .

So which is your style, cleanly classic or loaded with the extras... me I'm not sure because I honestly like playing on both sides of that fence...