Hello stampers. Unexpected kindness is always such a lovely surprise. People who are prepared in advance to be ready for such opportunities inspire me. Kay used Butterfly Wishes to make this lovely card and she had it ready just in case it would be needed! Let me tell you a story about what happened one evening on the ship.

Every evening we would go to the formal dining room at 8:30 for our assigned seating. We had a lovely group of people to sit with and we looked forward to sharing stories of the days adventures. I had also noticed that the ship’s crew would often sing with great enthusiasm at different tables for someone’s birthday. All the tables around us were also populated by Stampin’Up! people. About four or five tables away I saw someone being celebrated one night, so after supper was over and I saw this group of people congregated outside the dining room I also offered my congratulations. There was an eruption of mirth! It turns out that it really wasn’t anyone’s birthday at all,but there was a fun American prankster who thought it would add some life to the party to just celebrate someone each night. He came up to me on the pool deck the following day and suggested that we should celebrate my daughter Rachel that night. Why not?

Sure enough, he talked to our head waiter, and at the end of another lovely meal, there came a piece of chocolate cake with a candle burning brightly and a group of ship staff from many different countries all singing happy birthday with their adorable accents. Rachel was shocked but she went along with it. The song was barely over and there comes the lovely Kay Smith from Newfoundland who was sitting at the table next to us with a birthday card for Rachel!!! Rachel whispered that it wasn’t really her birthday that day but the card was already signed, sealed and delivered. I thought it deserved it’s very own blog post! Thanks Kay for being such a wonderful inspiration! I always want to be that person who has cards at the ready to hand out to people but most often that is not the case. This is a habit I want to cultivate because spreading joy is contagious. Here is Kay’s card:

I love how Kay used basic gray for the branch and because Butterfly Wishes is a DistINKtive stamp it comes out two-toned! This card was a blessing to Rachel, but also for me since it gave me the raw material for a blog post! I have been struggling with chronic nose bleeds so my energy level is down and my stress level is up, so this was a real God send. Yes, I have a doctor’s appointment and I picked up a new bottle of liquid iron so I am doing what I can to stay healthy. It is a genetic thing for sure, my Pap had terrible nose bleeds as a child and also as a senior. We used to think it would kill him in his eighties, but he is still alive and well at 92 and doesn’t have them very often any more.

What do you think about the unusual combination of Terracotta Tile and Seaside Spray on this card? I really like it a lot. Like I said in my blog post on Saturday, the easiest source of inspiration for colour combinations is looking at the list of colours that are found in our designer series paper. You really can’t go wrong!

Would you like the dimensions of this fun card? I know I always appreciate when I get the dimensions and don’t have to struggle to figure it out. The card base is 11″ by 4 1/4″ scored at 2 1/2″ and 5 1/2″. The smaller “Z” is 3″ by 9″ scored at 3″ and 6″. Kay’s card actually looks amazing considering it traveled across the ocean for 10 hours by plane, several hours on a train and also in a cab and then our own car! Only the front panel was run through the embossing folder. On the inside back panel Kay used a piece of patterned paper from Woven Threads that is 4″ by 5 1/4″. Hopefully I will have time some time this week to do a video showing you how to put this card together. If I run out of time which is entirely possible, then I will feature it in my Facebook live next week Tuesday at 7pm. Every Tuesday starting tomorrow I am committed to doing a Facebook live with the theme “Coffee and a Card Revisited”. I hope you tune in!

Now my goal is to have in my purse at all time a thank you card, a birthday card and a thinking of you card. That should cover the basics don’t you think? I think I will keep them in a clear stamp case so that they don’t get dinged up too badly. If you have any random acts of kindness stories to share that involve cards, I would love for you to share in the comments below. I will choose one lucky winner to get a Paper Pumpkin stamp set from me. Thanks so much for dropping by, I appreciate each and every one of you. If you need any of the supplies below and you live in Canada, then please do click on the images and you will go straight to my online store. Please use the current host code as it helps me keep my costs down and be able to offer blog candy now and then. Host code:  XBTQ47UR

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