from YUCK to WOW - the evolution of a card sketch

Today has been very productive - yay! Got some laundry done and my grocery shopping finished. (One thing that frustrates me with our new location - having to go to 2 grocery stores to get the things we need, and even then, doing without several things I was used to getting in a larger community.) Then, I had some crafting time with my sister-in-law - double yay!! She worked on birthday party decorations for my sweet little niece, and I worked on cards. 
To get me going, I started with the Mojo Monday sketch 289. Right away I knew it was going to be a challenge for me... it's kind of a "busy" sketch. I'm going to share the first card I made from the sketch, just so you know that I don't love everything I make. In fact, when I finished, I said "this might be one of the ugliest cards I ever made!" My sis-in-law is so sweet and tried to say nice things like, "well, it's bright... maybe it's just the paper." Ummm, yeah... 

The idea I had in my head did not translate well into card stock and paper.   :(   As a joke, my sis-in-law is sooooo getting this in the mail on some random day! I think the message inside will say something along the lines of "I made this just for you to show you how much I care..."

One thing I think turned out well was using two colors for the brad trios. I'll have to remember that for later.

I wasn't going to let this sketch beat me, and I had another triangle of Summer Smooches DSP left, so I started over and made a pretty awesome card, that I am quite pleased with!   :}

Love, love, LOVE, LOVE this color combo- Lucky Limeade, Whisper White, and Rich Razzleberry. It's so striking together! I eliminated the square from the sketch and let the bow from the Lucky Limeade Baker's Twine stand in for the small flower... aaaahh - much better. 

I used one of the Single Stamps for the focal point - the Basic Label stamp fits perfectly in one of the Apothecary Accents Framelits. Then, using the Stamp-a-ma-Jig, I stamped my sentiment (Forever with You) to the left of center, leaving room for the tiny DSP strip and flower to overlap. 
Isn't that flower pretty??? I made it by punching out 7 scallop circles from Rich Razzleberry card stock, which are held together with a brad (can you believe there are 9 brads on this card???). Starting with the top layer, I spritzed some water, and scrunched it up around the brad. I repeated the process, working my way down through the layers one at a time.
Looking at the finished card, I think it's one of the prettiest cards I ever made. So have you ever experienced a YUCK card - something that turned out completely different from your idea? Were you able to fix it? I'd love to hear your story!  :)