Best Friend Sympathy - Stampin' Up! Happy Tails

 The Happy Tails stamp set is one that I will never get rid of no mater how long it's been retired.  It's probably the most used of my few retired sets and the coordinating punch is an exact match to my dogs silhouettes.  Unfortunately I had to make a sympathy card recently for a friend who had to say good-bye to her sweet Labrador but Happy Tails was just the right stamp set to use to let her know how sorry I was.

  The Country Lace DSP gave me a good starting place for this card as the soft colors and subtle patterns in this pack are a nice tone-on-tone.  I used a Basic White thick card base and then chose one of the Basic Beige patterns for the next layer.

  I stamped the sentiment from Heartfelt Hexagons in Basic Beige on a strip of Basic White.  I die cut a large heart (with retired dies) in Petal Pink then embossed it with the Eyelet embossing folder.  The Eyelet embossing folder echoes the patterns on the DSP for some nice coordination.

  The pup is stamped in Versamark on Basic Black cardstock them embossed with clear embossing powder.  After he's punched out out I popped him up on the large heart and then added a smaller punched heart in Calypso Coral also popped up.

  All of the current products used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Happy Tails (retired), Heartfelt Hexagons

Ink: Basic Beige, Versamark

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Basic Black, Petal Pink, Calypso Coral, Country Lace DSP

Accessories: Dog builder punch (retired), Eyelet embossing folder, Heart dies (retired), dimensionals

Thoughtful Sympathy - Stampin' Up! Heartfelt Hexagon

 My husband unfortunately had to send out a few sympathy cards last week so I wanted to restock my supply so I wouldn't be caught short.  I've said it before but making made to order sympathy cards is my least favorite reason to stamp so I always like to have some on hand already made to just send out without having to summon some creative energy on a sad occasion. 

  The new Thoughtful Journey DSP, available to customers starting on May 1, is beautiful paper to base a card around.  The soft watercolor scenes and restful colors are suited for so many kinds of cards but especially sympathy in my mind.

  

  I decided to use one of the scenes and frame it out because it's too pretty to cover it up.  The card base is Lost Lagoon, then a layer of Mossy Meadow and then the Thoughtful Journey DSP scene.  

  The frame is created with Mossy Meadow cardstock and the Deckled Rectangle dies.  The die cut is popped on dimensionals.  The sentiment from Heartfelt Hexagons is stamped in Mossy Meadow.  I promise that this punch and stamp set bundle will be available eventually!  I'm disappointed that the available date keeps getting pushed back because I want to show it off to my stampers in classes but so glad that it is carrying over to the new catalog.  I didn't use the punch this time but paired the sentiment with the new die set Unbounded Love coming May 1.  This set has 16 dies with 12 label/tag shapes and some leaves and flower stem accent shapes.  It will be perfect to highlight so many sentiments!

  I embellished the label with a Wild Wheat leaf and some Petunia Pop sprigs and a linen twine bow.  Sweet and simple!  I might have to use this same layout with a few more of the DSP scenes to finish the sympathy card restocking.

Current items used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.  Items marked with * will be available starting May 1, 2024 with the release of the 2024-2025 Stampin' Up! Annual Catalog. If you'd like the opportunity to order these items early you can join my Stampin' Up! team and get preorder benefits!

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Heartfelt Hexagon

Ink: Mossy Meadow

Paper: Lost Lagoon, Mossy Meadow, Thoughtful Journey DSP*, Basic White, Wild Wheat, Petunia Pop*

Accessories: Deckled Rectangle dies, dimensionals, linen thread, Unbounded Love dies*

Sweet Doggie - Stampin' Up! Happy Tails

   A friend recently had to say good-bye to her sweet dog so I wanted to send her some love and tell her I was sorry for her loss.

  The retired Happy Tails stamp set and coordinating dog builder punch is a classic that I have kept since it retired years ago.  

  I used 2 now retired challenges; the layout is from Freshly Made Sketches and the red and crumb cake color combo is from Color Throwdown.  Time got away from me so I didn't get it shared in time to enter the 2 challenges.

  This one is pretty straightforward; I used a Basic White thick base and embossed a piece of Basic White cut on an angle with the Sale-A-Bration (SAB) Softly Sophisticated embossing folder. 

  I stamped the heart and paw print in Crumb Cake ink onto a narrow strip of Crumb Cake card stock and matched the angle of the embossed piece.  The large heart was die cut from the SAB Most Adored DSP.

  The sweet pup is embossed with Early Espresso embossing powder on Crumb Cake card stock and punched out. He's popped with dimensionals onto the heart.  I added a stamped heart and a baker's twine bow to dress him up a bit.

  Finally I stamped the sentiment onto a Stitched Shape circle and tucked it under the edge of the dog.

  Current supplies used to make this card can be purchased or earned for free in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Happy Tails (retired)

Ink: Versamark, Real Red, Crumb Cake

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Crumb Cake, Most Adored DSP (SAB)

Accessories: Dog builder punch (retired), Hearts dies (retired), dimensionals, baker's twine, Stitched Shapes dies, Softly Sophisticated embossing folder (SAB), Early Espresso embossing powder (retired)

Heartfelt Sympathy - Stampin' Up! Heartfelt Hexagons

   I started out trying to make a birthday card using the Color Throwdown colors but they just didn't want to go in that direction so I went with it and made a sympathy card instead.  The dusty blue, blush and pink are such a pretty combo and felt like they should be used with some florals.

  I started this one with a Boho Blue base, then a layer of Basic White and then another layer of Boho Blue on which I stamped in the same color of ink the flower stamp in the Heartfelt Hexagons stamp set.

  I stamped the sentiment in Boho Blue on a wide band of Basic White.  To pull in the other challenge colors I used the Painted Lavender dies to cut 3 springs.  For the other two challenge colors I used Bubble Bath and Petal Pink.

  The only embellishment on this card is a tiny Petal Pink twill ribbon knot.

  All of the current products used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Heartfelt Hexagons

Ink: Boho Blue

Paper: Boho Blue, Basic White, Petal Pink, Bubble Bath

Accessories: Painted Lavender dies, Petal Pink ribbon (retired)

Bird Sympathy - Stampin' Up! Flight & Airy DSP

  I'm not generally one that fussy cuts a lot of images directly from Designer Series Papers but the Sale-a-Bration offerings this year really give some great designs that are so easy to use even if you don't have a stamp set that coordinates with it.  I used the Trusty Toolbox DSP last Friday for a great masculine birthday card and today I'm used the Flight & Airy DSP for a sweet and simple sympathy card.  The Hand Stamped Sentiments challenge has a pretty mood board to draw inspiration from and I decided to focus on the the little bird on the branch for my card.

  

  It's always good to have sympathy cards on hand because I think it sucks having to make them on purpose.  I'd much rather just pull one out and send it off than to try to create something under sad circumstances.

  I used another piece of the Flight & Airy DSP for the background.  It's a nice Boho Blue watercolor look and pairs nicely with the rest of my color combo.  I backed a Basic White panel cut with the Perennial Postage dies with Fresh Freesia.

  

  The 2 leafy branches in Soft Sea Foam and Garden Green are die cut with the Notes of Nature dies and stacked and popped up with dimensionals.

  I fussy cut 2 of the birds and nestled them into the branches also using dimensionals. The sentiment is stamped in Boho Blue and can be found in the Lovely & Sweet stamp set. A bit of Garden Green baker's twine tied in a bow is added to the branch. I added a Fresh Freesia tinsel gem in each corner as a finishing detail.

  Don't forget you can earn the gorgeous Flight & Airy DSP with a $50 or more order during Sale-A-Bration (SAB).  All of the supplies used to make this card can be purchased or earned in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Lovely & Sweet (SAB)

Ink: Boho Blue

Paper: Flight & Airy DSP (SAB), Basic White, Fresh Freesia, Soft Sea Foam, Garden Green

Accessories: Perennial Postage dies, Notes of Nature dies, dimensionals, Tinsel Gems, Garden Green baker's twine (retired)

Autumn Layers - Stampin' Up! Layering Leaves

   I made today's card for the Color Throwdown challenge.  When I saw these colors all I could think of was "autumn".  I even tried pulling a few Christmas sets to go in a different direction but autumn was cemented in my brain so I stopped fighting it and created a seasonal thinking of you card.

  I paired up Layering Leaves bundle with carryover products from last year; Ringed with Nature stamp set, dies and embossing folder.

  Since I re-discovered this nice Pecan Pie plaid from the Let's Go Fishing DSP last week I wanted to use it again as a nice neutral background for the other elements of the card.  We're to use Kraft (Crumb Cake), Brown, Yellow Gold, and Red for the challenge.  So I thought the browns would be the main colors with pops of the yellow and red.

  

  The Crumb Cake layer is embossed with the Ringed With Nature embossing folder.  The sentiment from Ringed With Nature is stamped on Very Vanilla with Pecan Pie ink and die cut with the Stylish Shapes dies.

  I stamped several of the Layering Leaves branches in Pecan Pie ink onto Crushed Curry and Poppy Parade and punched them out with the coordinating punch.  I layered the stamped branches with some die cut branches from the Ringed With Nature dies behind the sentiment and popped the whole thing on dimensionals.

 

  I added a linen twine bow to the side and some Crumb Cake adhesive-back speckled dots under the sentiment.

  All of the products used on this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Ringed With Nature, Layering Leaves

Ink: Pecan Pie

Paper: Let's Go Fishing DSP, Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Pecan Pie, Poppy Parade, Crushed Curry

Accessories: Ringed with Nature dies/embossing folder, Stylish Shapes dies, Bough punch, dimensionals, linen twine, adhesive-backed speckled dots

Layered Sympathy - Stampin' Up! Layered Leaves

   I needed a sympathy card recently and didn't have any in my stash so I had to make one.  Never at the top of my list of cards to make I usually make them when I don't need them so they are ready to pop in the mail without my having to to create on the fly for such a sad occasion.  I need to add "sympathy cards" to my stamping to do list so I'm not caught short again.

  I used a mix of supplies to put this one together in a soft color palette with nature elements.

  The base is Basic White thick with a smaller layer of retired Peaceful Prints DSP on top.  I love this birch tree pattern and the soft neutral tones were perfect as a background to my main element.

  The label die cut was in my orphaned card parts basket and I stamped the sentiment from the retired Sale-a-Bration set Delicate Dahlias.  I didn't have a single current sympathy sentiment so I was glad to find this one in my retired sets drawer.  I stamped it in Pebbled Path and then added all the leaves behind it.

  I used the Layered Leaves stamp set for the Soft Sea Foam stamped leaves and used the coordinating punch to punch them out as well as the little Pebbled Path sprigs.

  The Boho Blue stamped leaves are from the Timeless Arrangement set and they and the smaller Soft Sea Foam sprigs are die cut with the Timeless Arrangement dies.  Once the leaves were adhered to the back of the label I popped it all up on dimensionals.

 Two Boho Blue 2023-2025 In Color dots are added to the side of the sentiment for the only embellishment.

  All of the current products used to make this card can be purchased in my ONLINE STORE.

  Thanks for looking.  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Layering Leaves, Timeless Arrangements, Delicate Dahlias (retired- SAB)

Ink: Soft Sea Foam, Boho Blue, Pebbled Path

Paper: Basic White thick, Basic White, Boho Blue, Pebbled Path, Soft Sea Foam, Peaceful Prints (retired- SAB)

Accessories: Bough punch, Timeless Arrangements dies, label die (unknown set), dimensionals, 2023-2025 In Color dots

Blue Ridge Mountain Scene - Stampin' Up! Picturesque

   It's busy times in the Stampin' Up! world!  We've got the Last Chance list with all the retiring items from 2 catalogs, demonstrator pre-order for the upcoming new annual catalog and a Color Collection Refresh!  So much to keep up with!  

  If you want to order retiring items before they are gone for good and get up to 60% off on some items check out my ONLINE STORE  

  Are you so excited to see the the new annual catalog and you can't wait to order all of the Color Refresh colors?  You can get early access to all of that by joining my team during the month of April.  Contact me for more information or go ahead and JOIN MY TEAM

  My card today features a few retiring items from both the annual catalog and January - March 2023 catalog.  My stampers used all of these products to make this card in class last week.

  We used Crumb Cake for the base then a layer of Starry Sky to back our image panel.

  To make the image we started with a piece of Basic White about 4" x 5.25" and the Picturesque stamp set which is on sale for 50% on the Last Chance list!!!  First we stamped the bottom edge with the one tall tree in Starry Sky leaving an edge of Basic White to create a frame.  Next comes the lower vegetation stamp in Orchid Oasis, then the valley/river in Pool Party and then the distant mountain range in Orchid Oasis.  To get the best result in lining up each stamp you might want to stand up to stamp and be able to look straight down.

  If you end up getting some white space between layers use Stampin' Blends markers to fill in the gaps.

  Once the scene was stamped we used a small blending brush and Pale Papaya ink (retiring soon!) and lightly blended the sky for a bit of a sunrise look.

  Then we used the Stitched Rectangle dies (retiring soon - 30% off in the Last Chance sale!) to cut out the scene leaving a nice white border around the edges.

  We added some In Color baker's twine, the sentiment stamped in Starry Sky ink and then punched out and popped on dimensionals.  

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Picturesque

Ink: Starry Sky, Orchid Oasis, Pool Party, Pale Papaya

Paper: Crumb Cake, Starry Sky, Basic White

Accessories: Stitched Rectangle dies, dimensionals, small blending brush, baker's twine, circle punch/die

Get Well Journey - Stampin' Up! Greatest Journey

   Today's card is a really straightforward design using the Global Design Project challenge colors.  The Coastal Cabana, Crumb Cake and Vanilla combo could be used for so many types of cards and I decided to go with a get well card.  My stampers made this one at my last Quick & Easy card class.  The limited supplies and and easy embellishments make this card a great one to reproduce with supplies you've got at home.

  This one starts with a Very Vanilla thick card base topped with a panel of Dandy Designs in a geometric Coastal Cabana pattern.  

  Using some Crumb Cake I cut a rectangle with the Stitched Rectangle dies.  The large flower stamp from the Greatest Journey stamp set is stamped to one side in Crumb Cake ink.  A few of the blossoms are colored in with a blender pen and Coastal Cabana colored pencil.

  A length of thick Frayed Ribbon is adhered to the side of the flower panel (I used a bit of Tear & Tape to make sure it stayed put!).

  The sentiment from Inspired Thoughts is stamped on Very Vanilla in Coastal Cabana ink and cut out with another Stitched Rectangle die.  It's then popped up on top of the ribbon.  I gave my stampers the choice of either a get well or sympathy sentiment as I think it a design that can go for either depending on what you need for your card stash.

  The last details added are some Classic Matte Dots in Very Vanilla.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Greatest Journey, Inspired Thoughts

Ink: Crumb Cake, Coastal Cabana

Paper: Very Vanilla thick, Very Vanilla, Crumb Cake, Dandy Designs DSP

Accessories: Stitched Rectangle dies, Frayed Ribbon, Classic Matte Dots, dimensionals, colored pencils

Petal Sympathy - Stampin' Up! Petal Park

   I realized the other day that my stash of sympathy cards was getting pretty skimpy so I had that in the back of my mind when I saw the colors over at The Color Throwdown.  At first I thought they would be great colors for a guy card and they are, don't get me wrong, but to make it a true challenge I decided to go with a floral sympathy card instead.  What do you think?

  I think they background ended up being a bit busier than I had planned so I might have to re-create this one in the future and spread the background to have more white space.

  I started with a Night of Navy base then using a piece of Basic White I stamped the leaves in Basic Gray then filled them in with the 2 step stamp in Smoky Slate.  Then I stamped the open flower images in Basic Gray and filled them in with stamped off once Night of Navy ink.  Using the Petal Park Builder punch I punched out my flowers and adhered them to the panel.  I trimmed off the ones that were hanging off the edges and then added it to the card base.

  Using the coordinating Sentimental Park dies I cut one label in Night of Navy and topped it with another cut out of Basic White and stamped with the sentiment.

  I looped two layers of the Night of Navy Bordered ribbon to the side of the label and then added one of the punched flowers.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Petal Park, Inspired Thoughts

Ink: Basic Gray, Night of Navy, Smoky Slate

Paper: Night of Navy, Basic White

Accessories: Sentimental Park dies, Night of Navy Bordered ribbon, dimensionals, Petal Park Builder punch

Inspired Sympathy - Stampin' Up! Inspired Thoughts

   I recently held one of my Quick & Easy card classes and we made this sympathy card with the soon to be retiring Heart & Home DSP (it's on sale too for the next few days! Ordering link in my sidebar!).  All the prints in this pack are so sweet and the opposite sides are wonderful gray woodgrain prints which are so useful for many kinds of cards.

  

  I used a few of the die cuts from the coordinating Flowers of Home dies to accent around the stamped sentiment.  Some small adhesive pearls are added to the flower centers for a subtle accent.

 

  The whole DSP panel is popped on dimensionals on the card front.  As this card shows, there is definitely no need to overthink a sympathy card.  Some pretty DSP and a sentiment can make for a lovely card to show your love.

  

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Inspired Thoughts

Ink: Garden Green

Paper: Smoky Slate, Pale Papaya, Basic White, Heart & Home DSP

Accessories: Flowers of Home dies, dimensionals, adhesive pearls

New Horizons Sympathy - Stampin' Up! Beauty of Friendship

  Happy Monday!  I hope you all had a fun and/or restorative weekend!  We were on spring break last week so it's even harder to get back in the swing of things today!  This week is crazy busy with a ton of commitments for the entire family so I'm trying to gear myself up to be super organized and productive so nothing slips through the cracks. Of course sharing cards is always one of my priorities so I'm back today with another card I made a while back since there was no stamping last week on vacation!

  The New Horizons DSP makes a great background for sympathy cards.  I highly recommend using this paper and creating several sympathy cards to have on hand 'just in case'.  You never want to have to send them but you will always need them.  It's best to design and stamp them when there isn't sadness or a time pressure involved.

  I paired the soft watercolored background with a tree stamped and die cut with the Beauty of Friendship bundle.  The trunk is Soft Suede and is stamped directly onto the the DSP and the tree top is two step stamping with Soft Succulent and Evening Evergreen and then die cut.

  The birds are from the On the Horizon stamp set and the sentiment is from Inspired Thoughts.

  The Beauty of Friendship stamp is carrying over to the new catalog but the coordinating Beautiful Trees dies are retiring.  Don't ask me why they both aren't carrying over but if you want this bundle order it soon before it's too late.  You have until May 2 to place orders from 2021-2022 Annual Catalog.  Many items on the retiring list are on sale so head over to my shop and place your order today.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Beauty of Friendship, On the Horizon, Inspired Thoughts

Ink: Soft Suede, Soft Succulent, Evening Evergreen, Misty Moonlight

Paper: Soft Succulent, Basic White, New Horizons DSP

Accessories: Beautiful Trees dies, dimensionals, Misty Moonlight ribbon (retired)

Silhouette Sympathy - Stampin' Up! Amazing Silhouettes

   Mondays are always busy so it's a quick and easy card for today.  I even made a video showing how fast this card comes together with just a few supplies.

  This is a great design to make a few of to keep in your stash so you're always ready to have one to mail out.  It's also a great card for beginner stampers to get to use some stamps and a punch to make a pleasing card in just a few minutes.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Amazing Silhouettes, Inspired Thoughts 

Ink: Soft Succulent, Evening Evergreen

Paper: Crumb Cake, Basic White, Soft Succulent, 2021-2023 In Color DSP

Accessories: Rectangular Postage Punch, dimensionals, adhesive pearls

Watercolored Sympathy - Stampin' Up! Blessings of Home

  Unfortunately I had the need to make another sympathy card this past week.  This one started as just playing out with some inking techniques to make a background and before I had taken the card in another direction I found out I needed a sympathy card so I used the background I already had made and built the card up from that.

  I started with a piece of watercolor paper that I lightly brushed with Soft Succulent reinker and water for a very light band of color down the middle of the paper.  Then I dripped large drops of water and reinker from above for the large splatters.  Once those were dry I flicked smaller drops of reinker for a lighter splatter. When that was dry I inked up the smaller flower stamp in Gray Granite and then stamped off before stamping the water color paper.  Then finally I tore the edges off all the way around the panel for a soft look.

  I used a square vellum doily as the base for building up the rest of the elements.  Next are a few sprigs of greenery from Soft Succulent cardstock, then a small strip of retired burlap ribbon.

  I stamped the flower in Gray Granite onto another piece of watercolor paper and used Soft Succulent, Fresh Freesia, Daffodil Delight and Mango Melody reinkers to color it.  I die cut with the matching die from Flowers of Home die set and then popped it up on dimensionals over the other elements.

  The sentiment from Many Messages is stamped in Gray Granite and then adhered across the card front.  I added a few adhesive pearls to finish the details. 

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Blessings of Home, Many Messages

Ink: Gray Granite, Soft Succulent, Fresh Freesia, Daffodil Delight, Mango Melody

Paper: Fresh Freesia, Watercolor paper, Soft Succulent

Accessories: Flowers of Home dies, vellum doily, adhesive pearls, dimensionals, burlap ribbon (retired)

Horizon Sympathy - Stampin' Up! On the Horizon

   Unfortunately I've had to make a handful of sympathy cards in the last 2 weeks.  My creativity goes right out the window when faced with having to make a card to acknowledge a family's grief.  The New Horizons DSP and coordinating stamp and die set, On the Horizon made this sad task a bit easier this week.

  

I'm sharing this one over at the Alphabet Challenge which is on letter 'T' for trees.  The pretty tree silhouette stamps was a good match for this scene.

  I let the DSP do all the hard work and just added the trees and birds in black ink and then in the foreground the grass is stamped in Old Olive. 

  I die cut some grass out of another sheet of the DSP as well as the fencing in Basic White.  I layered them along the bottom part of the card and added some of the new Pebbles Enamel Shapes.  The sentiment is from Many Messages and is stamped in Misty Moonlight.  I had a bit of rough twine in my scraps and wound it around the end  for a bit of texture.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: On the Horizon, Many Messages

Ink: Memento Black, Misty Moonlight, Old Olive

Paper: Misty Moonlight, Basic White, New Horizons DSP

Accessories: Horizons dies, Pebbles enamel shapes, dimensionals, twine

Soft Fern Sympathy - Stampin' Up! Forever Ferns

   My card today is playing along with the Just Add Ink challenge.  They have a lovely inspiration photo to work with this time (see it at the bottom of my post).

  I was inspired by the white painted brick, the light wood colored pillar candle holders, the colors, and the scrolled metal grates on the side of the fireplace.

    I started with a Soft Succulent card base.  I think this is my most used color so far in this new set of In Colors.  Even though there is an (over??) abundance of greens in the Stampin' Up! color collections Soft Succulent is different enough to warrant being given a chance!

  Next, I used a piece of Whisper White to emboss with the Brick & Mortar embossing folder and edged it with skinny pieces of Gray Granite from my scrap bag.  Next the sentiment from Many Messages is embossed in white on another skinny piece of Gray Granite.

  The jar is punched from a piece of In Good Taste DSP and then I used one of the Plenty of Patterns masks and a blending brush to add the medallion pattern.  I tied a bit of linen thread around the neck and then got to work on the greenery.

  I stamped some of the ferns in Soft Succulent and Gray Granite and then die cut them and added them to the jar.  The whole thing is then popped on dimensionals.  I added one of the smaller ferns to the bottom for balance.

  This was a fun card to put together and use elements from the photo.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Forever Fern, Many Messages

Ink: Gray Granite, Soft Succulent, Versamark

Paper: Soft Succulent, Gray Granite, Whisper White, In Good Taste DSP

Accessories: Brick & Mortar embossing folder, white embossing powder, dimensionals, Plenty of Patterns masks, Jar punch, linen thread, Forever Flourishing dies

Fern Sympathy - Stampin' Up! Forever Fern - Paper Players 542

   The Paper Players are back with a new challenge today!  Jaydee has given us a lovely sketch to work with this time.  

  Unfortunately I needed a sympathy card this week so this sketch came in handy so I didn't have to start from scratch.  I pulled out a nice sheet of the Beauty of the Earth DSP and layered that with some Whisper White and Misty Moonlight.  I always feel that nature themes are a safe bet for sympathy cards.

 

  The images and dies in the Forever Fern set go well with the the leaves on this pattern so I cut one out in Whisper White and adhered it to a Misty Moonlight stitched oval and the oval is popped on dimensionals.  The rounded corners on the background soften the edges and also echo the oval shape.

  The sentiment from Inspired Thoughts is stamped in Misty Moonlight following the sketch.  Finally I colored a length of crinkled seam binding ribbon with my Mossy Meadow dark Blends marker and tied it in a knot for the stem.

  The Paper Players Design Team has loads of inspiration for you for this challenge as well as projects throughout the week:

Jaydee
 LeAnne
Claire
Joanne
Laurie
Anne Marie
Ann
Nancy
Debbie 

Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Inspired Thoughts

Ink: Misty Moonlight

Blends: Mossy Meadow dark

Paper: Misty Moonlight, Whisper White, Beauty of the Earth DSP

Accessories: corner rounder, stitched oval dies (retired), Forever Flourishing dies, dimensionals, crinkled seam binding ribbon

Purple Perennial Sympathy - Stampin' Up! Pretty Perennials

   We've made it through another week stampers!  It's Friday and the Fab Friday Challenge is celebrating with a new color challenge.

  Unfortunately I needed a few sympathy cards this past week so I used these pretty colors to make a clean and simple design.  I think the Pretty Perennials set has been my go to for color challenges lately!  With so many images and die cuts it just works so well for multiple colors.

 

  Going into this design I wanted it very clean and open so I stuck with a Whisper White thick card base and then layered an embossed Whisper White panel on top.  The Dainty Diamonds embossing folder is nice and subtle and I liked the mix of geometric with the floral.

  The sentiment from Many Messages is stamped in Mossy Meadow onto a narrow strip of Mint Macaron.

  I used a bit of Mossy Meadow cardstock for the Calypso Coral berry/buds? stems.  I layered 2 Mint Macaron leaves behind the Highland Heather flower that has multiple layers.  The whole cluster is popped on dimensionals.

  Check out how the rest of the Fab Friday Design Team used these colors and then make your own to share in our gallery!

  Thanks for looking! Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Pretty Perennials, Many Messages

Ink: Mossy Meadow, Mint Macaron, Calypso Coral, Highland Heather

Paper: Whisper White thick, Whisper White, Mint Macaron, Mossy Meadow

Accessories: Dainty Diamonds embossing folder, Perennial Petals dies, dimensionals

Furry Friend Sympathy - Stampin' Up! Cat Punch - The Paper Players 529

   Is everyone thawed out?  If yes, then it's probably too muddy to go out so you should stay in and stamp.  If you're still snowed/iced in then you should definitely stay in and stamp!  Either way it's a win for stamping!

  We have a new challenge at The Paper Players today.  LeAnne has challenged us to do a Clean and Simple (CAS) Feline card!  It doesn't just have to be a cat you can do a lion, tiger etc!  Get creative but remember to keep it clean and simple!

  I only have one retired cat stamp set and not a single lion, tiger, puma or mountain lion in sight so my options were a bit limited but I got there in the end letting the cat punch do the work!

  You can't get much more simple than this design!  Hardly any stamping and just a few little details to keep it from being clean and boring!  It's always sad to hear when friends or family have to say good bye to a beloved pet so it's nice to have a card on hand to send out to them. 

  It starts with a Whisper White thick base topped with a piece of retired black and white Golden Honey DSP.  Next I cut a Stitched Rectangle in Whisper White, punched out the cat and then embossed it with the Tasteful Textile embossing folder.

  The sentiment from Happy Tails is stamped in black and then cut out with the Tasteful Label dies.  For a pop of color I used a piece of Magenta Madness twill ribbon across the top and then popped the whole panel on dimensional. 

  The final touch is the Rainbow Glimmer Paper heart on the cat.  The pink in the gradient color of this Glimmer paper is a great match for Magenta Madness. 

  For more inspiration from the The Paper Players team check out the challenge blog or their personal blogs:

 Jaydee
 LeAnne
Claire
Joanne
Laurie
Anne Marie
Ann
Nancy
Debbie 

 Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Happy Tails (retired)

Ink: Memento Black

Paper: Whisper White thick, Whisper White, Rainbow Glimmer Paper, Golden Honey DSP (retired)

Accessories: cat punch, Stitched Rectangle dies, Tasteful Label dies, Tasteful Textile embossing folder, heart die, dimensionals, Magenta Madness twill ribbon

Perennial Sympathy - Stampin' Up! Perennial Petals Dies

   Sympathy cards are never the kind of card that I want to make so I was glad to have a bit of help from a challenge to get one made.  The creative ideas almost always fly right out of the window when I have to make a sympathy card but the Tic Tac Toe Challenge saved the day with their challenge board this week.

  My card used the center-down column which has ribbon/twine, CAS, and tag as the elements to incorporate on the card.

  I started this one with a Soft Sea Foam base then another layer of the same color embossed with the Old World Paper embossing folder.  I added a square vellum doily next.  It doesn't show well in the photo but in real life it's a nice delicate detail in the back.

  I dug through my ribbon scraps to see if anything worked and I came across this strip of what I think is Pear Pizzazz ribbon and some twine left from a years ago banner kit.  Both were just right; I added the ribbon around the middle and the twine was used at the top of the Crumb Cake tag.

  The Perennial Petals dies have this nice sized leaf sprig so I cut 2 of them.  The outline is Pear Pizzazz and then the inside is Soft Sea Foam.  I glued the outline to the tag and then glued the lighter color to the open leaf spaces.

  The sentiment is from the retired Petite Pairs set and is stamped in Pear Pizzazz and then cut out with the Tasteful Label dies and popped up with dimensionals.  The last thing added is a few small adhesive pearls.

  Thanks for looking!  Did you stamp today?

Stamps: Petite Pairs (retired)

Ink: Pear Pizzazz

Paper: Soft Sea Foam, Crumb Cake, Pear Pizzazz, Whisper White

Accessories: Tag punch, Perennial Petals dies, Tasteful Label dies, Old World Paper embossing folder, pearls, dimensionals, ribbon (retired), twine (retired)