Tiddly Inks Challenge #124: Clean and Simple

It's been ages since I've made a card and entered a challenge, but the new year seemed like the perfect opportunity because it seems as if I've been crafting and blogging more this January compared to all of 2013!  I only had 22 posts last year; it's kind of sad to know that I didn't take the time to write things down! I think it's because of Instagram, haha. I am hoping to be much more consistent with writing things down because if I can cultivate the habit of recording memories on a more daily basis, it'll be second nature when Luke and Leia (the twins we joke that we're going to have when we decide to have kids) come into the picture!

The current challenge on the Tiddy Inks blog is "Challenge #124 - Clean and Simple (CAS)."  I have only a couple of the Tiddly Inks digital stamp freebies, but the one I wanted to use is called "Wryn and Emmy - BFF."  Last November, I just happened to be up late at night when I saw that a $3 off code was posted on the Facebook page for the next 30 orders since they wanted to make sure their previous problems of customers getting error messages was completely fixed.  There was no minimum order amount, so the digital stamp I chose was exactly $3.  I wanted something that wouldn't be too specific so that I could use it for any occasions, and this one fit the bill exactly.

As you can see, the digital image actually shows both girls from head to toe.  I decided to print them out at 5 inches since I was going to cut it down to fit the 4 inch square card base. 

I colored the girls in with Copics and Bic Mark-it markers.  Clearly, I have not yet mastered blending and shading with Copics, but that's because I never purchased the correct paper so that the colors wouldn't bleed past the lines.  Maybe one day I'll get into it, but for right now, I don't mind.  The reason I wanted Copics was to have a wider range of colors.  This card would not look the greatest, I think, if they both had the same brown hair color if I used Crayola markers!  Those markers are also the best in getting skin tones, so I'd have to say that the few colors I purchased were definitely worth the investment.

The sentiment was from Pink by Design's set "Friends to the End."  It's kind of a "plain" card, but I actually prefer the clean and simple designs.  My husband Howard was the one who told me years ago that it's okay to have a lot of white on a card, and I really do agree!  I also figured I'd do something different this time by not centering the images, and I'm happy with how it turned out.  Those two girls will look as cute as ever regardless of where they are on the card!