Hello stampers and happy Monday to you. I almost forgot to share these beautiful Forever Fern sympathy cards with you! Forever Fern is a stunning DistINKtive style stamp that is perfect for making sympathy cards. Take a look at what I have made and I think you will agree with me.
Forever Fern Sympathy Cards
The dies used on this card are from Tasteful Touches bundle which is one of the choices you have as your free bundle if you get the starter kit. I used Pretty Peacock as the accent colour and the stamp set is Here’s A Card. The gold foil embellishments from the last two cards are from the vastly improved Laser Cut Gold Foil Paper.
Embossing on Wood with Forever Fern
Yes, you can emboss on wooden elements. Just press the wood into the versamark firmly several times and sprinkle with white embossing powder. Hold it firmly with tweezers and heat emboss. If you only use one coat of embossing powder then the intricate design will still show through. Here is a close up.
Stamp Sets Used
Here are the stamp sets I used for these cards. If you watched my daily live videos you have seen how quickly and easily these cards came together. Stampin’Up! makes it so easy to make beautiful things with their coordinated suites. Don’t forget that if you live in Canada you can get the amazing deal on the starter kit through me and get a free bonus bundle. There is no need to “do parties” or to do what I do. If you love to stamp, you deserve your own discount, it is as simple as that.
One More Card!
Wow, this is turning into a long blog post, you are definitely getting a good read today and lots of ideas to jump start your own creativity. This last card uses more of that beautiful Forever Gold Laser-Cut Specialty paper. I also used the dies from the Tasteful Touches bundle.
To save you from searching everywhere, the ribbon is from the Flowers for Every Season suite collection, it comes in a ribbon pack with lovely twine and also gingham ribbon. Love, love, love.
The Video
Here is the video I made showing you how to make these cards. It’s a Facebook live video so there is a fair bit of chitchat, but you can fast forward at any time and I will never know! I hope you have a super day. As an aside, I must share that I find it very therapeutic to make sympathy cards. I know that in a small way I am making a difference, I am showing that I care enough to make a personalized card for the person who is grieving. Somehow, I think you feel the same way.
Hello stampers. I am feeling philosophical again today. Simple gratitude. That is what is on my mind. My heart is overflowing with gratitude today. Pap is finally on the mend. His appetite is back, his pain is under control and he is scheduled to go home from the hospital tomorrow. This lovely 93 year old man will be home for Christmas with the love of his life and he will celebrate simply. I am also grateful for simple cards and that is what I am going to share today!
The Joy of Simplicity
It can be so very refreshing to make a simple card. Clean lines. Simple elements. Just some pretty paper and ink put together to express your love. How awesome is that? Sometimes we can make things too complicated and the frustration of it can suck our joy. With the busy season upon us, maybe you are also ready for some simple inspiration. Don’t be afraid to extend this simplicity to your food prep and your decorating. Take time for what really matters! You, your family and your friends. And of course God.
The Cards
I am grateful for swap cards like this one that I received from Cheryl De Souza from Markham, Ontario at OnStage in Toronto. Such a pretty card with lovely clean lines and elements. the jingle bell actually rings when you shake the card. My inner child really likes that.
This card is also a swap card from OnStage and I am so grateful for them during this busy season. It was wonderful to have some extra cards on hand to share with you on this blog. This weekend I am celebrating an early Christmas with all the kids and grandkids before I leave for Holland, so this is a happening place at 81 Delaware. Michelle Sturgeon from Long Sault, Ontario made this card and you can see more of her wonderful work on her blog here. I called Michelle to see if there was a framelit for the tree. There is not. But she dusted off her Brother Scan-n-Cut and it did a fine job cutting these for her!
This last card is my own design. I love using paper strips to make a big present. Each strip is 1″ by 3″. That means you can get 12 strips out of one 6″ x 6″ piece of patterned paper. This card uses Wrapped in Plaid paper and the saying is from Snowman Season using the Stamparatus of course to get it nice and dark and perfectly straight. A card like this would be perfect for a family card making night. You could have all the strips cut out and put in little baskets so people could mix and match to make their own unique “presents”. It’s also a great way to use up paper scraps.
Gratitude Made Simple
It truly is amazing what simple gratitude can do for you. Take a few moments to think about what you are grateful for. Not just big things, but especially little ones. Your whole day will change! Add a few deep breaths (yes, it is amazing that we forget to breathe meaningfully!) and your spirit will feel lighter. I am ever so thankful for each one of you, for your loyal following, for taking the time to comment, for the surprise online orders, for buying my tutorial, the list goes on!
Giving Back
I would like to take this opportunity to show my gratitude and to offer some blog candy. It’s been a while and it is fun to give away a present to “my people”. If you take the time to comment on my blog and share it either on Facebook or Pinterest, then you will be in a draw to win Holiday Haul. The stamp set will be mailed out on Tuesday. I will do the draw at noon on Tuesday, so any comments and shares done by then will be included. Good luck!!
Thanks for dropping by. If you need anything and you live in Canada, you can order from me online, just be sure to use the host code posted on the right side of this blog on the home page. Orders placed by December 10 should arrive in time for Christmas.
Hello stampers. SImple stamping is very rewarding when done properly. Just because a card is simple does not mean it has to be boring. It’s all in the details. Choose your elements carefully. If there are few of them they have to be nice! Pretty paper does not need a lot of embellishment, but it does need matching cardstock and ink. It needs to be balanced and uncluttered. This butterfly card is a perfect example of simple stamping.
The other thing that is crucial to simple stamping is colour coordination. Stampin’Up! products take all the guesswork out of designing a pretty card. The ink, the cardstock, the patterned paper and the ribbon, they all coordinate so the finished product looks super “put together”. The butterfly is punched right out of the patterned paper. The only thing stamped is the sentiment which came from Humming Along which is retiring on June 3.
Here you can see the beautiful colours in the Butterfly paper. See how it coordinates also with the gingham gala paper, the pretty highland heather ribbon and the highland heather ink for the sentiment? I used my favourite ribbon trick to tie the faux bow. If you are not familiar with it, be sure to watch the YouTube video, I will include it here.
We made this card at my monthly beginner class which will be the last Wednesday of the month at 1pm and 7pm. Everyone was delighted with the cards, not only because they were pretty, but also because they were so easy to make.
The last card I want to share with you is another alternative to the Hugs from Shelli Paper Pumpkin card. This time I coloured the eggs and the leaves with Blends. I love the vintage feel of this card. Paper Pumpkin is the essence of simple stamping made beautiful. No creativity needed to make beautiful things, and in the making your own creativity will be unleashed like magic.
I added some wink of stella to the eggs and in person it looks so very pretty. This glitter brush adds just the right touch of elegance and sparkle to your creations. You should add it to your wish list!
I just had to take a picture of the card in front of my Blends storage system. I love how it looks on my desk and it is so wonderful for keeping my Blends close at hand and well organized. Remember, Blends club members get to order them with no tax and free shipping as part of the perks of being a Blends club member. Here is a closeup so you can see the pretty details and texture!
Thanks so much for joining me today, please help me out by pinning your favourite cards! That helps me out so much and it is such a small thing to do. Yay!!! My heart is happy to have you on board with me. Have a super day.
Hello stampers. Simple stamping is a forgotten pleasure. Sometimes we forget that a simple card can be prettier than a very fancy one. I was busy creating for my Bingo party which I host to introduce my people to all the new products in the upcoming catalogue. These projects need to be simple for several reasons. First of all there are a LOT of people in attendance. Second, it really is all about the Bingo and winning great product prizes. We stamp so that we can use the new products and see the new in-colours in action. I also want new people to be totally comfortable at this event, so I keep it simple. I had a lot of fun creating my simple projects. I find that when the paper is especially beautiful it is even more important to keep the card simple so that the paper really has a chance to shine. The Perennial Essence designer series paper just called for simple stamping. Let’s take a look.
The Perennial Essence suite also comes with gorgeous vellum in three shades: old olive, petal pink and so saffron. It has a coordinating punch so it is easy to make beautiful flowers and the life-like perennial essence floral centres really make the flower pop. Since the paper has such a soft look I felt that it was important that the flower also look soft and that is why I used vellum. I also used an old trick and I dry embossed the vellum flower with a stylus on the paper piercing mat (also known to my people as the foamie). I will share a short video on how to do that tomorrow with a Facebook live video. I stamped the saying in vellum as well so that you get a hint of the pretty paper showing through as well. I think I achieved my objective with this card. Simple, soft and pretty.
For the vellum piece which measures 1 1/2″ by 4″ I adhered it by adding my tape only under the flower and a bit right under “beautiful”. It worked perfectly. You need to be careful when adhering vellum as most adhesive will show and look unsightly.
Here you can see just how pretty that flower is. The perennial essence floral centres really do make all the difference. They already have adhesive on them so they are super easy to put in place. This paper totally reminds me of Monet’s famous paintings. Now remember, use your pretty paper, don’t hoard it! #loveitchopit. One 12 x12 sheet of paper will cut into 6 card front layers each measuring 4″ by 5 1/4″. You can also cut more than one layer at a time. So I cut two strips of 5 1/4″ by 12″ and then cut those into 4″ sections. Easy and fast and ready to turn into cards. Here is a quick and slightly flawed video to show you how I made the flower:
The inside of the card isn’t stamped perfectly, but that’s ok. Then the recipient will know that it was made with love by an equally flawed but loving individual. Embrace your imperfection!
The section of things to buy below is quite small since the stamp set and the paper are new products that won’t be available until June 1, but I wanted to give you a taste of what is coming. If you are the type of person who loves to be the first to get their hands on new product, you might want to consider getting the starter kit. On May 1 there will be a large selection of preorder products that you can put in your kit. As always there is no shipping or tax on the kit and you get a bonus $30 in product, and that is nothing to sneeze at.
Thanks for stopping by, I hope you have a super day! ( I forgot to mention that a LOT of great things have been added to the clearance rack, so be sure to check them out here) If you could also use the current host code, V7NT9B9U, that would make even happier!! Only while supplies last. Happy shopping people.
