Good morning, everyone and welcome to Takin' It To the Top Tuesday! Yes, I know, it's Wednesday. You know, sometimes life just gets too busy and there are not enough hours in the day. I'm sure no one else struggles with those issues, right! Doe it count that I did get the cards done on Tuesday, just not the blog post? Anyway, this week for Takin' It To the Top, we are celebrating Thanksgiving with some bright fall-themed cards with the unlikely color combination of Bermuda Bay, Dusty Durango and Ruby Red. The cards use Designer Series Papers from both the Autumn Meadows Collection and the Razzleberry Lemonade Collection (now, there's a surprise, right?). The stamp sets are Autumn Splendor, Charming and Grateful Greetings. For this first basic card, I began with a card base of Ruby Red and layered on the two DSP selections. The leaves were stamped in Black Stazon onto Designer Series Papers (the Dusty Durango print from Razzleberry Lemonade and the Wood Grained print from Autumn Meadows). The leaves are attached using Stampin' Dimensionals.
Now for the Intermediate card ... I didn't add any extra layers, just lots more interest, depth and texture by stamping some background images on the DSP, using stamps from Charming and Autumn Splendor. I stamped the leaves in Ruby Red and the fleur de lis in Bermuda Bay, stamping off some of the images so there was some color variation. I positioned the leaves a bit differently, still attaching them with Stampin' Dimensionals, so they would sweep around the greeting, which also utilized a different stamp from the Grateful Greetings set.
Okay, are you ready to Take it To the top? Sponging, sponging, sponging makes all the difference with this final card. I sponged around the edges of everything with Ruby Red Ink to add more depth and interest. I went back to the first sentiment choice but to make it more prominent, I stamped it on Dusty Durango DSP 
and then punched it out with the large Oval Punch, mounting that on a Scallop Oval Punchie. Both these pieces were sponged as well. The addition of the ribbon (Dusty Durango 1/2" Polka Dot Grosgrain, using the reverse side) is a nice touch, don't you think? And to make it fit the fall, kind of "rustic" theme, I added a few strands of Natural Hemp Twine into the bow before I tied it. That's pretty much all the changes I made in this final card but oh my, what a difference, especially from the basic card!
And of course, you don't want to forget to do a little stamping on the inside as well. A couple of simple leaves, stamped on an inside layer of Very Vanilla, adds a special finishing touch!
So, how are you going to add interest, depth and texture to your cards this week? Even if you don't take them to the top, I think you'll find that even a few, quick and simple additions can often make your cards stand out. Be sure and leave me a comment -- you know I love to read what you have to share!
I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving, everyone! And in between the turkey and football games, don't forget to find some time to stamp!
