Well good morning stampers. I just couldn’t wait. I had to share these gorgeous sympathy cards with you. Go figure. I don’t blog for three months, and then I blog three times in one week. Perhaps you will love these cards as much as I do. The best part is that they make clever use of an amazing die!
Gorgeous Sympathy cards with just two dies!
It does feel a bit odd to use the word “die” in the same sentence as sympathy cards, but this time the word has a different meaning. A die is a shape made out of metal that is used to cut something out of paper using a die-cutting machine. Stampin’Up! has an awesome one called the Stampin’ Cut & Emboss machine. To see how I made the focal point with the dies, check out this one minute video (that is much quicker for me than taking step by step photos and then editing them all!)
After looking at these cards you might be wondering, where are the sentiments. Sometimes I prefer my cards without sentiments, but the day after making them I still wanted to see what they would look like with sentiments. Are you curious too? First I am going to share the closeups so you can see the lovely details in the patterned paper as well as the dies.
Closeups of the Sympathy Card focal points
My first one
This was the first card that I made in this series. I think I am partial to blue now even though I always thought my favourite colour was red!!
Sympathy Cards with sentiments from Comforting Thoughts
Have you discovered Comforting Thoughts? It really is an essential stamp set in anyone’s collection. It truly is perfect for sympathy cards and in other difficult situations. At the end of this blog post you will find a supply list. These are also links to my Canadian webshop if you would care to shop with me. As a thank you, you will receive a pdf tutorial bundle from me!
Thanks so much for joining me today! Have a super day.
Hello stampers and happy Monday to you. Today I have a very fun technique to share with you. I call it the Diagonal Stack and Shuffle technique. It was my squirrel friend and fellow Canadian demonstrator Tamara Bertram who first showed me this style of card. What fun!! Just like her. To make it even easier for you I have also made a diagram to show you how and where to cut your patterned paper to make it work. Further on in this blog post you can also watch the YouTube tutorial that I made to make three lovely cards using Winter Meadow designer series paper. Not only is this paper gorgeous for Christmas cards, it is also great for sympathy and get well cards. Shall we take a look??
Here you can see a closeup of how well the “bling” matches the paper. They are called Tinsel Gems.
Diagonal Stack and Shuffle cards with Christmas paper
This technique is also fantastic for Christmas cards or just a thinking of you card. The sentiment on the one card comes from Nested Friends and the other is from Joy to You.
Video Tutorial
In this video I not only show you the diagonal stack and shuffle technique, I also explain a family favourite game. This dice game is great for all ages and has provided countless hours of joy for my parents. Gerard and I even played this game with Messenger video chat during COVID. Enjoy!!
Diagram for Measurements: Diagonal Stack and Shuffle Technique
Here is a diagram that I made to help you “see” it rather than just watch the video. I think it is a helpful tool.
Thanks!
Thanks for joining me today! I hope you were inspired and that you have fun with this technique. Below you will find a product list that is also a link to my Canadian online store. Have a super day. Hugs from Holland,
Hello stampers and happy Monday to you. I hope that you had a wonderful weekend. Mine ended with a phenomenal Christian concert called Young Messiah. I had never heard of it before, but I love anything to do with Handel’s Messiah. Fun fact about me. I once joined a choir just so I could sing in this beautiful oratorio. Every minute of it was just wonderful and now I am listening to it on Spotify as I write this blog post. SEO analytics will tell me to put the key word in the first sentence, but I am rebelling a bit. The blog post today is about Winter Meadow, which is a stunning designer series paper from Stampin’Up!
Winter Meadow Designer Series Paper
Do you know why our patterned paper is called Designer Series Paper? It is because there are actually in house artists, or designers, that create this beautiful paper. It is often referred to by its shortform, dsp. Just one of the many things that give Stampin’Up! its own lingo. Newbies can be confounded with all the terminology including the two word colour names! My cards use primarily Bojo Blue, Misty Moonlight and Basic White. If you want to see how I made the card below, please check out this YouTube video.
The card above uses the Dutch version of Autumn Wishes called Herfstwensen. I added a layer of torn vellum behind the Bojo Blue cardstock to soften up the patterned paper and also to symbolize the tearing away of a life, of a loved one. The pearls were coloured with Bojo Blue Blends, which is a great trick to coordinate your gems with your patterned paper or cardstock.
Same Layout, Different Paper
I also made this card using our lovely All Autumn Autumn paper which is now back in stock. You can see that video here. Here is a closeup of the card, just enough so you can see how beautiful the paper is.
My Tutorial and Other Great Fall Card Tutorials!
I participated in a blog hop with the Dreamgirls Dutch team from Maaike deRidder-Sack. What an honour!! You can check out it below.
My Last Winter Meadow Card
This card was inspired by a card sample in the holiday mini catalog. You can find the card that inspired me on page 36, top left.
I forgot to add the Deckled Circle Dies and the Nested Essentials dies to the supply list but they are essential to the card above. Both are fantastic and highly recommended. At the risk of sounding like a broken record, I still want to urge you to take advantage of the starter kit. It really is the BEST deal ever. You can put $165 worth of products in your kit and you pay only $135. NO shipping and no tax in most of the provinces. Super great deal. Plus you get to be on my team!! How amazing is that? No need to do what I do, that’s for sure.
Video Tutorial
Here you can see how the card above was made and also see each of the stamps and dies in the Magical Meadow bundle.
Thanks!
Thanks for joining me today, I really appreciate you! I hope that I have inspired you today. Happy stamping, and remember, together we CAN change the world, one card at a time. Hugs from Holland.
Hello stampers and happy Monday to you. Masking Paper and Blending Brushes add up to a lot of fun AND some pretty awesome cards. I will be teaching these cards tomorrow in person and I am so looking forward to that. Today I also made one of these cards for my weekly Cheer Corner which is live on Facebook every Monday at 10am EST or 4pm Central European Time.
Video Tutorial
Three More Cards with Masking Paper
I must admit that I used our retired layering ovals dies to make the mask for these cards. Here’s hoping that they end up in our new annual catalog on May 1!
Thanks for joining me today. If you live in Canada you can get these products in my online store by clicking the links below. Live in Europe? Then you can shop with me here or join my team. Have a super day!!
Hello stampers and happy Thursday to you. Today I am sharing my Hope & Prayer Stack and Shuffle cards. Hope & Prayer is a beautiful stamp set and the stack and shuffle technique is perfect for making a stack of simply stunning sympathy cards. I hope you like them as much as I do!! Let’s take a look.
Hope & Prayer
Hope & Prayer is a stamp set with four images and four sayings. It is not only suited for sympathy cards but also for thinking of you and thank you. Use this stamp set to uplift your friends and the people in your life. Take the concept of happy mail one step further and turn it into a ministry of love, support and encouragement.
Here you can see the inside of the cards.
Finishing Touch
The finishing touch to these beautiful Hope & Prayer sympathy cards is definitely the Natural Finish Ribbon and Tailor Made Tags. You can see the lovely detail here below.
Measurements for Stack & Shuffle Technique
Here is a handy graphic for you to use so you can make these Stack and Shuffle cards yourself. Start with a 4″ by 6″ stack of four different patterns.
Video Tutorial
I did a video tutorial on YouTube but the technological gods were not smiling at me that day. The picture quality is a little blurry but at least I talk you through how to do this technique. My viewers said that they still enjoyed the video despite its visual shortcomings.
Shop With Me!
I really do hope that if you are looking for someone to buy your stamping supplies from that you will consider me. With the links below I have tried to make it as easy as possible for you to do just that! If you have any questions please message me and I will do my best to help you out. Have a super day!
Hello stampers and happy Monday to you! I thought it very fitting to write a blog post today called Many Happenings! Today is my dear mama’s 90th birthday. What a tremendous blessing to still have both of my parents, now 90 and 95 still living in their own home, still in love and still mentally sharp. Praise God!
Many Happenings
Many Happenings is a one piece stamp set that has many, many sayings on it. You stamp once and then you cut them all out using the coordinating Messages Dies. There is a second stamp set called Many Messages that also coordinates with this die. The dies are retiring AND on sale! The stamp sets are both retiring but they are not on sale. Get them before they disappear as retiring products are only available while supplies last.
I used this set to make my Prime Time cards last Thursday. These videos and instructions are exclusive for this private group, but YOU can join too for only $10 a month. Why so cheap? I wanted to make it accessible to all especially when COVID happened and we couldn’t do in person classes and I needed a way to keep my business afloat. Here is the link to join. As a thank you for your loyal support, you get a free pdf tutorial each month that is worth $20.
Clean and Simple Card
As much as I love the sailboat, I think the card is even nicer without it. Am I the only one craving a clean and simple look? Which is your preference?
Can you guess which stamp set I used for th background? I know, it looks just like patterned paper! Tip: you can find it in the product list at the bottom of this blog post.
There are no words
It’s true. Sometimes there are no words. Only feelings. Empathic silence. A hug. This card conveys just that. Perhaps it could have used a few birds stamped simply in the sky. You can find a great bird stamp in the On The Horizon stamp set.
Prime Time Cards
Here is a photo of all the cards I made for my Prime Time Group. It’s nice seeing them side by side so you can see the subtle differences.
Thanks!
Thanks so much for joining me today. Tomorrow I fly to be with my love again. I’m over the moon excited! Each time we are apart it gets harder. Looking forward to sharing my travels with you again. Let me know if I can meet any of your stamping needs. Have a super day!
