Ginkgo Sympathy

 Hello and welcome back! Here's today's card:

A close friend's father passed away last week and I'm sending this card to her mom. I've known them for over 40 years and for a while, her parents were like a second family to me.

I fell in love with this gingko set when I first saw the preview of the mini catalog. Gingkos are one of my favorite trees. The shape of the leaves is so unique. The inspiration for this design came from the mini catalog. There is a gift package sample that I tweaked a bit to come up with this.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy stamping!

--Cindi

Supplies used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamp set - Gingko Branch, Flourishing Phrases (inside sentiment)

Paper - Very Vanilla and Mossy Meadow Cardstock; Hydrangea Hill DSP; Distressed Gold Specialty Paper

Ink - Old Olive, Pear Pizzazz, Mango Melody

Accessories - Old Olive Twill Ribbon

Tools - Big Shot, Gingko Branch Dies, Scalloped Contour Dies, Stitched Rectangles Dies, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Stampin' Dimensionals

Friendly Love and Support

 Hello and welcome back! I needed a quick, simple card for a friend who recently lost her mother. Here's what I came up with.

I used the sketch at CAS Colours & Sketches and the Sale-A-Bration challenge at TGIF Challenges for inspiration. 

I simply cut 1-1/2" squares from the DSP and Basic White for the sentiment and layered them onto 1-5/8" squares of Basic Black cardstock. I used a 1/2" circle punch to notch the edge of the card so that I could tie the ribbon around the card front. A few gems were added to the flower centers for a bit of accent. Even a clean and simple card needs a bit of embellishment.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy stamping!

--Cindi

Supplies used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamp sets - Friendly Hello, In Your Words (inside sentiment)

Paper - Basic White Thick Cardstock, Basic Black Cardstock, Friendly Hello DSP

Ink - Pool Party

Accessories - Elegant Faceted Gems, White Glittered Organdy Ribbon

Tools - 1/2" Circle Punch, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Mini Glue Dots

Eden's Garden Sympathy

Hello and welcome back! Today's card is for my son's friend whose grandmother passed away this week.

Once Christmas was over I finally got around to unboxing an order I had placed in November. It included the Eden's Garden suite of products, and I thought these would be perfect for a sympathy card.

 I still have lots of die-cut pieces from the Forever Gold Specialty DSP so I added one of those to the card front. Since there are gold accents in the Ever Eden DSP, this coordinates beautifully.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy stamping!

--Cindi

Supplies used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamp sets - Delicate Dahlias, Heal Your Heart (inside sentiment), Eden's Garden (envelope)

Paper - Soft Succulent, Evening Evergreen, Basic White Cardstock; Ever Eden Specialty DSP; Forever Gold Specialty DSP

Ink - Evening Evergreen, Soft Succulent

Accessories - Soft Succulent Open Weave Ribbon, Gilded Gems

Tools - Big Shot, Stitched Shapes Dies, Eden Dies, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Stampin' Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots

Dove of Hope Sympathy

Hello and welcome back! Well, I finally got all my Christmas cards done and put them in the mail yesterday. Sadly, while I was preparing them, I found out that one of my old high school classmates lost his wife last week. So the card I had already made out for them was out the window (so to speak). It's incredibly difficult to make sympathy cards right before Christmas and I can really empathize with those who lose loved ones near the holidays, as I have lost more than a few myself at this time of year.

Anyway, I needed to make a card to send to him so I went to Pinterest for some ideas and CASEd a card from Yvonne Pree.

Yvonne's card was all in white, but I felt like that was a bit too stark so I used Balmy Blue instead. She is an Australian demo and her card was sized differently so I had to adjust my "angel wings" more horizontally to fit on the front without hanging over. I added three Opal Rounds to the center to cover the glue.

This card was simple to make but I think those wings make a great impact.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy stamping!

--Cindi

Supplies used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamp sets - Woven Heirlooms, Dove of Hope (inside sentiment and envelope)

Paper - Balmy Blue Cardstock, Vellum Cardstock

Ink - Misty Moonlight

Accessories - Opal Rounds

Tools - Big Shot, Stitched Nested Labels, Detailed Dove Dies, Tasteful Textile 3D Embossing Folder, Stampin' Dimensionals, Multipurpose Liquid Glue

Peaceful Cabin Sympathy

 Hello and welcome back! This card started out as a CASE from the July-December Mini Catalog for my Christmas card stash. However, it turned out to be much more involved than I anticipated, so I just made one and created a sympathy card for the widow of someone who recently passed at my church.

The card in the catalog uses the Cork Specialty Paper as a background. I don't have any of that but I did find some old adhesive cork in my stash, so I figured I might as well try that. This is actually cork, not just something printed to look like it, so it's got some real texture to it. I wasn't sure which adhesives would work but the green glue seems to hold paper to it just fine. The sample also had lots of layering with dimensionals but I didn't want to add more thickness because of the cork, so I only used them for the sentiment piece and the foxes.

I tucked a circle of silver foil behind the cabin and tree because I felt like it needed the moon. Surprisingly, this card isn't any heavier than any other with lots of layers.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy stamping!

--Cindi

Supplies used (all Stampin' Up! unless otherwise noted):

Stamp sets - Peaceful Cabin, Inspired Thoughts

Paper - Basic White Thick Cardstock; Basic White Cardstock; Snowflake Splendor DSP; Silver Foil Sheets; Adhesive Cork Stack (DCWV)

Ink - Soft Suede, Early Espresso

Tools - Big Shot, Cabin Dies, Basic Borders Dies, 3/4" Circle Punch, Detailed Trio Punch, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals

Card of the Day - Spice Cake Sympathy

 Hello and welcome back! For today's card, I went waaay back in my stash of Designer Series Paper.

I think Spice Cake was one of the first DSPs I bought when I became a demonstrator a little over 10 years ago. I just loved the patterns and colors! (I think I even have some of the fabric and coordinating giant buttons somewhere in my studio...) Like many of us, I tend to hoard DSP so I thought it was time to give it some love. Don't worry, I've got plenty left! Not so with the River Rock cardstock though. Just had about a half-sheet worth of scraps but enough for this card.

The sentiment from Inspired Thoughts is stamped in Soft Suede on a scrap of River Rock and die cut with one of the dies from Tailor Made Tags. I added a little die-cut reinforcement with Pool Party, then a flag of crochet trim and a linen thread bow to tie it together.

This design was inspired by the sketch challenge at Sunday Stamps.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy stamping!

--Cindi

Supplies used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamp sets - Inspired Thoughts, Day of Gratitude (envelope)

Paper - Very Vanilla Thick Cardstock; Pool Party, More Mustard, Soft Suede, River Rock cardstock; Spice Cake DSP

Ink - Soft Suede, Pear Pizzazz

Accessories - Victoria Crochet Trim, Linen Thread

Tools - Big Shot, Tailor Made Tags Dies, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Stampin' Dimensionals

Card of the Day - Starshine Sympathy

 Hello and welcome back! Today I have a sympathy card for a friend who recently lost a close friend.

My design was inspired by the sketch at Just Add Ink. I missed the cutoff for entry, but I liked the simple sketch.

I used the Little Twinkle stamp set to stamp the heart in Whisper White Craft Ink, which I then embossed with clear embossing powder. I punched the stars and moon from Silver Foil Paper and then attached them to the Twinkle Twinkle DSP card front layer. The DSP is layered on a piece of Whisper White cardstock and some bakers twine from the Flowers for Every Season ribbon combo was tied around the front before adhering it to the Night of Navy card base.

The idea to use stars came from this sentiment. I was so happy to see it in the In Your Words stamp set (available as a Sale-A-Bration host gift with a $300 workshop order). It's one of my favorites for sympathy cards.

Thanks for stopping by, and happy stamping!

--Cindi

Supplies used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamp sets - Little Twinkle, Inspired Thoughts, In Your Words

Paper - Night of Navy and Whisper White cardstock; Twinkle Twinkle DSP; Silver Foil Paper

Ink - Whisper White Craft Ink, Night of Navy, Misty Moonlight

Accessories - Misty Moonlight/Whisper White bakers twine from Flowers for Every Season ribbon combo, Clear Embossing Powder

Tools - Twinkle Builder Punch, Heat Tool, Double Oval Punch, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Stamparatus

Card of the Day - Sorry for your loss

 Hello and welcome back! Today's card is for a friend who recently lost her mother. Sympathy cards are often the most difficult to make, but also the most important.

My design was inspired by a couple of challenges this week, the sketch challenge at Freshly Made Sketches and the color challenge at the Paper Players.

When laying out the design, I let my spontaneous side overrule my perfectionist side and I eyeballed the layout instead of using a ruler to line everything up. Of course when I was finished, I realized that my rows are not exactly straight. Oh well, sometimes you just need to go with the flow. The fact that some of the circles are popped up with dimensionals disguises it, so it's not so bad.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

--Cindi

Supplies used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamp sets - Heal Your Heart, Butterfly Gala (on envelope)

Paper - Crumb Cake, Misty Moonlight, Merry Merlot, Basic Black cardstock

Ink - Merry Merlot, Misty Moonlight

Accessories - 2020-2022 In Color Enamel Dots

Tools - Big Shot, Pierced Blooms Dies, Subtle Embossing Folder, 1-1/8" Scallop Circle Punch, Lovely Labels Pick-a-Punch, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Stampin' Dimensionals

Card of the Day - Blended Background Sympathy

 Hello and welcome back! I made today's card to add to my sympathy stash. A couple of friends have lost loved ones this week and I didn't have anything ready to go.

Dear Doily was one of my favorite sets when it came out a couple of years ago and it's perfect for a sympathy card. I purchased a couple of sets of the Blending Brushes when they came out but have only tried them once. They are so smooth, I don't think I'll ever use sponges or daubers again! I stamped the words first, then did the blending, and finally added the doilies.

They are hard to see, but I added tiny Epoxy Shapes to the center of the small motifs. 

I made two sets of cards, one with the Coastal Cabana at the top and one with the Gorgeous Grape at the top. Both have Balmy Blue in between.

This card was inspired by the challenge at Just Add Ink.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

--Cindi

Supplies used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamp set - Dear Doily

Paper - Shimmery White and Basic Black Cardstock

Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Gorgeous Grape, Coastal Cabana, Balmy Blue

Accessories - Playing With Patterns Ribbon Combo Pack, Glitter & Clear Epoxy Shapes

Tools - Stamparatus, Blending Brushes, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Mini Glue Dots

More October Cards

Hello and welcome back! Today I want to share some of the other cards I've made this month that weren't entered in challenges. Some are my own design, while others have been CASEd from Pinterest or from Stampin' Up! catalogs. 

These first two cards are for wedding anniversaries. For friends celebrating their 40th, which is the ruby anniversary, I came up with the color combination using the retired In Color Berry Burst. I changed out the sentiment on the front for other anniversaries.

This card was CASEd from the Annual Catalog and was made for a cousin who just lost her dog. I colored the dog to match hers and this card is a full-sized one, while the one in the catalog was smaller.

These two cards were made for friends who have just moved into new homes. I used the retired Wood Textures DSP for the doors, matching the color to the actual homes.

This card for October birthdays was also CASEd from the Annual Catalog. The only thing I changed was the ribbon and the pearls (the original used the Butterfly Gems, which I don't have yet).

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

--Cindi

Cards of the Day - Prized Peony

Hello and welcome back! My cards today are all made with the Prized Peony stamp set and are CASEd from samples in the 2020-2021 Annual Catalog. As a demonstrator, I have access to a document that has "recipes" for all of the samples in the catalog. However, it doesn't go into a lot of detail about how certain looks are accomplished. So I have to guess. Sometimes I guess right and sometimes not.

This first card is an example of "not." The texture stamp was used on the background on the sample, but the recipe indicated that there was heat embossing used. I tried that but I wasn't happy with my placement of the stamping. I also thought that the embossing was a bit harsh, so I went back and filled in with the same stamp in Whisper White Craft Ink. It's a little better but I'm still not totally happy with it. Oh, well, live and learn.

Card #1

 This second card is better. There weren't any unusual techniques, just a dry embossed piece and a heat embossed sentiment. A bit of coloring with Stampin' Blends and it's complete. 

Card #2

 Here's an example of "close enough." On the sample it looked like the dry embossed layer was inked over with white ink. Unfortunately, I was a little heavy-handed with the ink pad and added a few streaks where there shouldn't be any. The embossing is so fine on this folder that it would be difficult to get it just perfect.

Card #3

I think this is the one I'm happiest with. It was a little more challenging and I seemed to be pretty successful. The background has some sponging and some stamped texture images. The frame was added on top and then the colored flowers and leaves were popped up on top.

Card #4

I don't think any of these cards would qualify as "Pinterest fails." The beauty of handmade is that it doesn't have to be perfect to be beautiful. Getting over my perfectionism has been a challenge, but I'm working on it. A couple of years ago I probably wouldn't have posted these cards. 

Well, that's it for today. Tomorrow I'll be showing you the results of my "One Sheet Wonder" adventure!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

--Cindi



Supplies used (all Stampin' Up!):

Card #1
Stamp set - Prized Peony
Paper - Basic Gray and Whisper White Cardstock
Ink - Basic Gray, Petal Pink, Old Olive, Versamark, Whisper White Craft
Accessories - Square Vellum Doilies, Elegant Faceted Dots, White Embossing Powder
Tools - Big Shot, Heat Tool, Water Painters, Peony Dies, Stampin' Dimensionals, Multipurpose Liquid Glue

Card #2
Stamp set - Prized Peony
Paper - Basic Gray, Gray Granite, and Whisper White Cardstock; Peony Garden DSP
Ink/Coloring Tools - Memento Tuxedo Black; Stampin' Blends: Old Olive Dark and Light, Petal Pink Dark and Light, Daffodil Delight Dark
Accessories - Elegant Faceted Gems
Tools - Big Shot, Peony Dies, Stitched Shapes Framelits, Dainty Diamonds 3D Embossing Folder, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Stampin' Dimensionals

Card #3
Stamp sets - Prized Peony, Flourishing Phrases
Paper - Basic Black, Whisper White, and Petal Pink Cardstock; Peony Garden DSP
Ink - Versamark, Basic Gray, Whisper White Craft
Accessories - Square Vellum Doilies, Elegant Faceted Dots, White Embossing Powder
Tools - Big Shot, Heat Tool, Peony Dies, Stitched Nested Labels Dies, Dainty Diamonds 3D Embossing Folder, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Stampin' Dimensionals

Card #4
Stamp set - Prized Peony
Paper - Whisper White Cardstock, Whisper White Thick Cardstock
Ink/Coloring Tools - Balmy Blue, Basic Gray, Memento Tuxedo Black; Stampin' Blends: Rococo Rose Dark and Light, Granny Apple Green Dark and Light, So Saffron Dark
Accessories - Elegant Faceted Dots
Tools - Big Shot, Peony Dies, Stitched Rectangle Dies, Sponge Daubers, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Stampin' Dimensionals

This week's cards

Hello and welcome back! This week started out happy, with news that my niece gave birth to a darling baby boy, but quickly turned sad when I learned of the passing of two friends' parents and a long-time member of my church. The new baby card will wait until I finish the framed art piece I'm making, but I'm sharing the sympathy cards today, along with a birthday card I made for my husband's aunt.

First, the birthday card:

This particular aunt has been a prolific artist in her own right, creating oil paintings for just about everyone in the family. She has moved on to watercolors and does beautiful work. I wanted to make something that honors her artistic talent, and the My Meadow stamp set allowed me to created something that looks like watercolor without all the work!

I even decorated the envelope.

Yesterday, I spent the afternoon making sympathy cards. Not my favorite way to spend the day, but unfortunately necessary.

This card was inspired by a sample in the January - June 2020 Catalog. The sample is a treat bag, but I used a retired background stamp as a substitute for the bag. It's stamped with Versamark and embossed in copper, but it's hard to see in the photo. I did a watercolor wash on Shimmery White cardstock before die cutting the pieces for the flower (except for the poppy outline and the flower center).

This card was inspired by a sample in the 2018-2019 Annual Catalog. The catalog sample was a small square card, but I used the entire panel of retired Graceful Glass Vellum to create the card front. It's colored with Stampin' Blends. I also added the die cut on the side and wove retired Certainly Celery Grosgrain ribbon through it for an added accent. The butterfly on the envelope was also colored with Stampin' Blends. I put a piece of cardstock inside the envelope before coloring to prevent bleed-through from the markers.

That's it for today. I'm getting ready to start on my March birthday and anniversary cards after sending the last of my February cards this morning. Total for the month includes 22 birthday cards, 3 anniversary, 3 get well, 4 sympathy, and 20 Valentines for my co-workers. March will be even busier!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

--Cindi



Supplies used (all Stampin' Up!):

Birthday card --
Stamp set - My Meadow
Paper - Whisper White, Basic Gray, Pool Party, and Crumb Cake cardstock
Ink - Early Espresso, Soft Suede, Crumb Cake, Granny Apple Green, Basic Gray, Real Red, and Pool Party
Tools - Stampin' Dimensionals, SNAIL

Poppy sympathy card --
Stamp set - Peaceful Moments, Pretty Pattern (retired)
Paper - Whisper White Thick Cardstock; Whisper White, Shimmery White, Crushed Curry, Basic Black, and Poppy Parade cardstock
Ink - Poppy Parade and Old Olive
Tools - Big Shot, Poppy Moments dies, Stitched So Sweetly dies, Aqua Painter, 3/8" Circle Punch, Heat Tool, Copper Embossing Powder, Multi-purpose Liquid Glue, SNAIL, Stampin' Dimensionals, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals

Stained glass sympathy card --
Stamp set - Painted Glass
Paper - So Saffron, Basic Black, and Whisper White cardstock, Graceful Glass Designer Vellum (retired)
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black
Coloring Tools - Stampin' Blends: Pumpkin Pie Light and Dark, Night of Navy Light and Dark, Balmy Blue Light and Dark, Flirty Flamingo Light and Dark, Old Olive Light and Dark, Daffodil Delight Light
Accessories - Certainly Celery 5/8" Grosgrain Ribbon (retired)
Tools - Big Shot, Stained Glass dies, SNAIL, Stampin' Dimensionals, Mini Glue Dots

WWYS 205 - Lovely Lattice

Hello and welcome back! Today's card is for an old high school friend who just lost her mother. Sadly, as we age, these cards are becoming more necessary.

I got this set at On Stage, but wasn't sure how I felt about it. I have come to love it, but I wish it had matching framelits. I'm not a fan of fussy cutting, and haven't been able to fork over the bucks for a Scan 'n Cut. :) It is a great set for coloring with Stampin' Blends, and the subtle colors here are perfect.

After stamping, coloring, and cutting, I was ready to assemble the card but felt it needed just a little something extra. Then it hit me -- the Subtle embossing folder! You almost don't notice it, but that bit of texture makes all the difference.

This card is for the challenge at What Will You Stamp?

FYI - you can get the two stamp sets I've used today for FREE with a qualifying purchase during Sale-A-Bration! Check out my online store for more information.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

--Cindi



Supplies used (all Stampin' Up!):

Stamp sets - Lovely Lattice, Lasting Lily
Paper - Petal Pink and Whisper White cardstock
Ink - Memento Tuxedo Black, Petal Pink
Markers - Light and Dark Petal Pink Stampin' Blends, Light and Dark Granny Apple Green Stampin' Blends, Light Daffodil Delight Stampin' Blends
Tools - Big Shot, Stitched Shapes Framelits, Subtle TIEF, Paper Snips, Multipurpose Liquid Glue, Stampin' Dimensionals

PCC 265 & TTTC 021 - Sending Love & Hugs

Hello and welcome back! Today's card is for the challenges at the Paper Craft Crew and TicTacToe Challenge.

And here is today's card:

For the TicTacToe Challenge, this card uses the left column - butterfly, purple, die cut.

No matter how hard I try, I just can't seem to get away from using some retired elements in my card making. I really miss the Washi Tape punch and the background DSPs. :(

The sentiment is from Sunshine Sayings. I stamped the individual words on a strip of Whisper White cardstock and used the Washi Tape punch on each end to trim them down. The vellum piece is embossed with the Fluttering TIEF to continue the butterfly theme.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

--Cindi

UPDATE - I have also entered this card in the tic-tac-toe challenge at The Paper Players. I've used the center column in this challenge. Simply add a birthday sentiment inside the card - love and hugs are always good for birthdays! 

Supplies used:

Stamp set - Sunshine Sayings
Paper - Whisper White Thick Cardstock; Whisper White, Wisteria Wonder, and Elegant Eggplant Cardstock; Vellum Cardstock; 2011-2013 In Color Backgrounds DSP (retired)
Ink - Elegant Eggplant
Tools - Big Shot, Bold Butterfly Framelits, Butterflies Thinlits, Stitched Shapes Framelits, Fluttering TIEF, Washi Tape Punch (retired), Multipurpose Liquid Glue, SNAIL, Stampin' Dimensionals, Mini Stampin' Dimensionals

AYSI 157 & TGIFC 123 - A Sympathy Card

Hello and welcome back! Today's card is for the sketch challenge at As You See It and the color challenge at TGIFC.

And here is today's card.

For this card, I went with a clean and simple look. I first tried stamping the background flourish with Peekaboo Peach but it was a bit too garish, and when I tried stamping off, it was too faint. I think the Soft Sky looks much better. I used the Peekaboo Peach for the die cut flower, layering two of them together. Once again, I pulled out my Stitched Shapes Framelits. They sure get a lot of use!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great day!

--Cindi



Supplies used:

Stamp set - Flourishing Phrases
Paper - Whisper White Thick Cardstock; Soft Sky, Early Espresso, Peekaboo Peach, and Whisper White Cardstock
Ink - Early Espresso, Soft Sky
Accessories - Basic Pearl Jewels
Tools - Big Shot, Stitched Shapes Framelits, Flourish Thinlits, SNAIL, Stampin' Dimensionals, Fine-Tip Glue Pen, Stamp-a-ma-Jig