I was having a hellacious time trying to shoot these against a white backdrop (bright sunny days are an exposure nightmare for me when I need to photograph something. Of course, so are dreary rainy days, too. Whenever I have to shoot something, I hope it will be a cloudy day; no such luck since last Friday. LOL!).

After a lot of frustration, I tossed aside all the white backdrops I had on hand and grabbed this lovely, minimalist woodgrain tray I found at Nitori while I was in Japan. I love woodgrain, and when I spied these trays that came in different wood finishes and a ton of different sizes, I had to bring at least two home with me. I mean, c’mon—something utilitarian that can also do double duty as a photography backdrop? No brainer. •fist pump• And I love the contrast they provide to my typical mostly-white cards!

So. How ‘bout those limes? I love having a citrusy rainbow of color behind them and used that fun background from Wonky Backdrops—it’s so good for so many things!

I taped together two Hero Arts Infinity Circle dies to make a die cut ring to cluster my lemons, etc. into. I was having trouble clustering all the elements how I wanted them and corralling them like this led me to a pleasing arrangement. Before I mounted them, I scored a trio of lines across my card front just for a little added texture and interest—gave it just enough without going over the top or cluttering things up.

When life hands ya’ lemons, just remember . . . •chortle•

I cut the sentiment apart before popping it up—Hey, Mikey! I likey!

It’s hard to tell in the first photo, but I put a layer of Clear Pico Embellisher by Tsukineko/Imagine Crafts over the top of the lemons to make ‘em all juicy and what not. Hopefully, this angle shows it off much better. You could use Glossy Accents or NUVO Clear Drops, of course, if that’s what you have on hand.

All of today’s designs were stamped with Tuxedo Black Memento and colored in with Copics (specific colors I used are listed down below in the supplies).

Are you a fan of citrus? I love it. And margaritas. Shaken, not frozen. •chinkle•

Alrighty, then! That’s all I got today. Have a gooder!

SUPPLIES (affiliate links used wherever possible):