Category: Sympathy Cards

Stampin' Up!, Sympathy Cards

Sympathy Card with “Fresh Fig” Ink and Ribbon

smackey2012

When I was designing the cards for this new In Color Card Collection (scroll down this post to see all five cards and click here for the coordinating card box) I was aiming for a variety of card types.  I knew I wanted to have a sympathy card in the mix and Fresh Fig seemed like it could be a consoling color when paired with the right stamps and card design. I think Tranquil Tide would be my other choice for a sympathy card.

 I love the 1/2″ Finely Woven Ribbon that is available in all five of the 2017-2019 In Colors. Thanks to fellow demonstrator, Josee Smuck, for the ribbon graphic below.   I didn’t want to get too flowery with a big ribbon on this sympathy card, so I opted for a more subtle option and ran it along the middle of the card. I really like the way it provides a darker contrast and an anchoring point for the sentiment, which I popped up with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

It has been awhile since I’ve created my own DSP (Designer Series Paper) like this. I took the large flower image from the Watercolor Words stamp set and stamped it repeatedly to create a gorgeous background.   It really is a great way to stretch your stamps.  I stamped on the envelope flap as well, something I try to do as much as possible – the outside can be pretty too!

The Watercolor Words stamp set  has some beautiful large sentiments and a few more large images that could also work well for creating your own DSP.

The sentiments on the front and inside of my card come from a set that carried over from the last annual catalog (and I’m glad it did!) called “Better Together”. It is full of coordinating inside/outside sentiments.

I have been using the “Better Together” stamp set a lot. Although I still write a short personal message in every card I send, it helps to have a little something stamped to start you off. It looks pretty too. 🙂 This stamp set has been a great investment – it’s so versatile with sentiments for so many occasions: New Baby, Birthday, Sympathy, Wedding, Just a Note, and Christmas, as well as cute coordinating graphic stamps.

Check back in a few days to see the next card from the 2017-2019 In Color Collection (I’m thinking I will post the last two, Lemon Lime Twist and Berry Burst, together) or subscribe to my blog by email so as not to miss a post (see the “Follow My Blog by Email” section near the top right of my blog).Click here to see the past posts on the Tranquil Tide Card and the Powder Pink Card.

Bonus Days are back!...Stampin’ Up!® - Stamp Your Art Out! www.stampyourartout.comYou earned in July, and now it’s time to redeem in August. 🙂 Don’t forget to redeem your Bonus Days coupons before the end of the month.

Today is the first day that demonstrators get to pre-order from the Holiday Catalog. But it’s not just demonstrators who get to have all the fun – you too can pre-order the Carols of Christmas stamp set and coordinating Card Front Builder Thinlits dies, today through the end of August. You can even use your Bonus Days coupon towards this stamp set and die set.

If you would like to buy any Stampin’ Up products, you can shop on line 24/7 in my online store HERE, or get in touch with me at stephaniemackey2012@gmail.com.  I would love to help you in whatever way I can.

I hope you are inspired to create some of your own DSP with stamps – you can pick any of our 50 colors for some real personalization!

Joyful stamping!

~Stephanie

Dimensions:

  • Card base – standard A2 size (5 1/2 x 8 1/2″, scored in half at 4 1/4″)
  • Fresh Fig layer – 5 1/2 x 4 1/4″
  • Whisper White stamped layer – 5 3/8 x 4 1/8″

Supplies:

  • Watercolor Words Stamp Set
  • Better Together Stamp Set
  • Fresh Fig 1/2″ Finely Woven Ribbon
  • Fresh Fig Classic Stampin’ Pad
  • Cardstock: Thick Whisper White, Fresh Fig, Whisper White
  • Adhesive: Snail & Stampin’ Dimensionals
All Occasion Cards, Designer Series Paper Cards, Just Because Cards, Stampin' Up!, Sympathy Cards

Butterfly Boutique

smackey2012

Hello everyone! I recently taught a class based on Designer Series Paper (DSP). When I was designing cards for this class I was thinking of layouts that showcase many designs of DSP packs as well as use up scraps of DSP so they don’t have to go to waste. My next few posts will be cards from this DSP class. I hope you enjoy them!

Navy Front

The DSP showcased in this first card is the Floral Boutique DSP. My favorite design of the 12 different designs in this pack is the one with the differently shades of blue lines (upper right hand corner). I love things with shades of the same color.

Navy Side

The rectangles measure 2 x 1 1/2″. The crumb cake banner measures 3 1/2 x 3/4″. The whisper white banner measures 3 1/4 x 1/2″.

Navy Top Angle

I borrowed my friend’s precision base plate to use with this detailed die cut from the Butterfly Thinlits die set. I wanted to see if it really made a difference in getting a cleaner cut for all the little pieces and I am happy to report that it did. It was also very helpful in getting a clean cut with the largest die cut of the Flourish Thinlits (see my recent post, Flowering Flourishes) and also for the two larger dies in the Detailed Floral Thinlits die set.

Navy Inside

I couldn’t resist adding a little interest to the inside of the card with this gorgeous little butterfly from the Papillon Potpourri stamp set. This more realistic butterfly image is my favorite from this set.

I hope you are inspired to be creative with some DSP and maybe to give this layout a try. 🙂

Joyful stamping!

~Stephanie

All Occasion Cards, Just Because Cards, Stampin' Up!, Sympathy Cards, Techniques

Flowering Flourishes

smackey2012

I have had a blast these last few days creating with the Flourish Thinlits Dies. I earned this die cut set as a reward for meeting a sales goal for Stampin’ Up! demonstrators. That’s right, I got this $29 set for free! Stampin’ Up! treats its demonstrators so well. If you’re interested in hearing more about the benefits of being a SU! demo, contact me for more information. I’d love to have you on my team!

In Laid Front

I love CASEing beautiful cards that I find on Pinterest, but there is something very rewarding about creating a card myself. Thinking through design and layout, planning color combinations, going outside of my comfort zone, maybe tossing out an idea or two when it just isn’t working, and then the happy feeling of holding a card in my hand that I designed and being proud of it. 🙂 I hope you have that feeling every once in awhile too. Below is the Flourish Thinlits set that has been inspiring me to come up with my own cards the last few days.I posted a card not too long ago in my post “Fluttering Flowers – Inlaid Die Cut Technique” that featured the same technique I used on today’s card. I think this technique works amazingly well with intricate dies. I was inspired to try some mixing and matching with the colors of the positive and negative images. I think I will try this card again but switch the background (negative image) to Rich Razzleberry and change the positive image (the flower die cut) to Pool Party. How fun would it be to see those two cards side by side? Maybe in a future post? 🙂

In Laid Close Up

Here are the dimensions for this card: Base- 8 1/2 x 5 1/2″ (scored at 4 1/4″), Pool Party Background Piece- 3 1/4 x 4 1/2″ (I took an inch off the measurements for the height and length to leave a 1/2″ border all around), Whisper White Sentiment Layer-1/2 x 3″, Pool Party Sentiment Layer- 3/4 x 3″, Rich Razzleberry Sentiment Layer- 1 x 3″.

In Laid Inside

Tips & Tricks: I thought it was a little something different to leave the ends straight and not flag them. I used the Fine Tip Glue Pen to adhere the die cut flowers. I stamped off once before stamping the sentiment in Rich Razzleberry Ink. I thought it was a fun embellishment to add the die cut border image on the inside of the card.

I hope you too are inspired to create your own cards – maybe with the Flourish Thinlits set! 🙂

Joyful stamping!

~Stephanie

**Supplies**: Flourish Thinlits Die Set, Big Shot, Sheltering Tree Stamp Set, Rich Razzleberry Classic Stampin’ Pad (stamped off), Whisper White Thick Cardstock, Pool Party Cardstock, Rich Razzleberry Cardstock, Rhinestone Basic Jewels, Snail Adhesive, Fine Tip Glue Pen, & Stampin’ Trimmer.

**All supplies can be purchased from my online store.

Just Because Cards, Sympathy Cards

Swallowtail Sympathy Card with Watercolor Emboss Resist Technique

smackey2012

Hello everyone! Today’s card is dominated by a bold, large butterfly with subtle watercoloring. I haven’t done much watercoloring lately, but I recently held a watercolor class and got back into it. My next few cards will feature more watercolor techniques.

This card features the emboss resist technique, which features watercoloring over an embossed image.

Watercolor Butterfly

This butterfly in these colors just really spoke “sympathy card” to me so I went with that. I first embossed the butterfly with Black Stampin’ Emboss Powder. I did the butterfly’s body in Night of Navy and then worked from the inside of the wings to the outside with Perfect Plum, Night of Navy, Island Indigo, and then Perfect Plum again.

The aquapainters worked great for this card.. I tried not to go too heavy with the water so that the cardstock wouldn’t get to soggy and rip. I dried the cardstock afterwards with the heat tool before adhering to help with warping. Just be sure to hit it from the back so you don’t overheat the embossing powder.

I hope you inspired to try your hand at some watercoloring. It will be sure to impress the card’s recipient. 🙂

Joyful stamping!

~Stephanie

*Supplies Used: Basic Black cardstock, Whisper White cardstock, Black Stampin’ Emboss Powder, Versamark Ink Pad, Heat Tool, Swallowtail Stamp Set, Crazy About You Stamp Set (sentiment), Island Indigo Classic Stampin’ pad, Perfect Plum Classic Stampin’ pad, Night of Navy Classic Stampin’ pad, Aqua Painters, Dimensionals, Snail, Paper Snips.

*All supplies available from my online store.

 

Designer Series Paper Cards, Stampin' Up!, Sympathy Cards

Flowering Fields Sympathy

smackey2012

Header_SAB_demo_Nov1615_NA

Hello everyone! I just wanted to remind you that we are nearing the end of the first month of Sale-A-Bration. Sale-A-Bration ends March 31st.  Be sure to check out the Sale-A-Bration Brochure. It’s chock full of products that you can earn for FREE with a $50 purchase.  Some  Sale-A-Bration products are only available until February 15th.  The new Occasions Catalog is also brimming with new products that are available through May 31st.

If you have a lot on your wishlist, you might want to consider joining Stampin’ Up! as a demonstrator.  I’d love to have you on my team!  Sale-A-Bration is the best time of year to join Stampin’ Up! During Sale-A-Bration, you can become a demonstrator for just $99. You automatically get to choose $125 worth of product and during Sale-A-Bration you get to choose an extra $30 more of FREE product for your Starter Kit. That’s a total of $155 of product for only $99. Plus, your starter kit ships for free! As a demonstrator you enjoy a 20% commission on all your purchases, all year round. Imagine how that discount would look applied to your wishlist. 🙂

Sympathy Angle

The card for today is a sympathy card. I chose to use the bright colors that coordinate with the Wildflower Fields Designer Series Paper Sale-A-Bration item to represent the hope that those who are grieving will be comforted.

Sympathy Front

The card base is the standard 8 1/2″ x 5 1/2″, scored at 4 1/4″. The Wildflower Fields Designer Series Paper is 4″ x 5 1/4″. The Whisper White piece is 3 1/4″ x 4 1/2″.

Sympathy Close Up

It was fun planning the arrangement of flowers. I like how the Hello Honey 5/8″ Striped Cotton Ribbon pulls the card together.

I hoped you are inspired to create with the Flowing Fields stamp set or the Wildflower Fields Designer Series Paper. They go together and are both so pretty!

Joyful stamping!

~Stephanie

Supply List

Built for Free Using: My Stampin Blog

Fall Cards, Just Because Cards, Stampin' Up!, Sympathy Cards

“Thinking of You” for PPA270

smackey2012

Hello everyone! Today I have a fall inspired card for another Pals Paper Arts color challenge (PPA270).ppa270CHALLENGE

Usually I stamp on Whisper White or Very Vanilla, but I thought I’d try out Sahara Sand on this card since it was part of the color challenge. I think it turned out pretty neat. And isn’t that little swing just adorable? It is stamped in Always Artichoke, as is the wood grain background & the sentiment. The tree is stamped in Sahara Sand.

PPA270

This leaf stamp from the set “Sheltering Tree” is awesome for stamping off. Stamping off is where you stamp once and then stamp again without re-inking. With this stamp I think stamping off gives the image a windblown look. It is a little hard to see in the pictures, but I scattered several Rhinestones in the tree leaves to brighten up this darker toned card a little.

PPA270Closeup

Thanks for reading! I hope you are inspired to make some fall cards of your own!

Joyful stamping!

~Stephanie