Hello friends,
I have a question for you. Are you an encourager? Do you like to be creative? Would you like to combine those two attributes? As we find ourselves in an unprecedented time in our lives, enduring “shelter-at-home” protocols and “social distancing” in an effort to avoid the spread of the now infamous Corona virus, I’d like to inspire others to use their extra time creatively in an effort to send a little encouragement along to those who might need it. Have you ever been “down in the dumps”, feeling alone, or perhaps facing an illness, and a simple note in the mailbox from somebody saying, “Hello, I’m thinking about you,” just brightens your day? I know I’ve been in that spot before and as we forge ahead in a battle against this virus, I want to reach out to as many folks as I can whom I know are feeling isolated, nervous about their financial status, or simply frustrated with the sudden changes in lifestyle: kids having to be home-schooled by parents who are working full-time and questioning their ability to take on the role of teacher in addition to the multitude of roles they already play; people with much anticipated events that have had to be canceled; friends unable to go out and enjoy a night out; church-goers who are unable to congregate and worship together. I want to be an encourager always, but especially in this time of change and uncertainty.
Perhaps it sounds like a small thing but putting a handmade card in the mail might just give someone feeling overwhelmed and discouraged that small boost of encouragement they need to smile and realize, hey, I’m not alone in this. I bet if we were all to stop for a minute and make a list, each of us could come up with multiple people we know who are battling an illness, stressing over finances, feeling lonely, feeling discouraged, stressed out with kids cooped up at home, etc., etc., etc. Well, I want to encourage you to do just that, make a list of people you know who could use some good old “snail mail” in the form of a handmade card with heartfelt sentiment to just let them know, “I’m thinking about you.”
We’re going to walk through a couple of cards, all made with Stampin Up! products. If you’re not familiar with Stampin’ Up, I’d love to introduce you to their line of products as they truly are second-to-none and I’m proud to represent and promote this company. A full list of supplies I used to make these cards will follow at the bottom of this post, and all can be ordered from my online store; just click the link and it will take you there.
Finally, I want to thank you for spending a little bit of your time today checking out my new blog; it will be a work in progress. I hope I can inspire you to be creative, and through your creativity, touch others’ lives in ways you may never know you did. Let’s be there for each other – today and every day – even after the Corona virus fades into the background and life returns to “normal”. Love and kindness never go out of style. Be somebody’s encourager today! And if someone does something nice for you, send along a heartfelt “thank you”!
Ornate Garden Teaser
Stampin’ Up will be releasing the new annual catalog in June and as a build-up to their big release, demonstrators get an early crack at new products. Ornate Gardens Suite is the first of their teasers that they released to demonstrators. Me being me, I had to have it all. It’s ABSOLUTELY GORGEOUS!!! The colors are so rich and vibrant. The papers are double sided with a lot of metallic flair. The dies are to die for (pun intended), but really, I love the detailed frames and borders. You’ll be seeing a lot more of this set from me over the next several days. It will be available to customers on April 1, so check it out below!
This paper is so pretty, I had to go big to expose more of the gorgeousness (is that a real word?). This card is a 5×7 size and so the cut measurements reflect that. The sentiment is from stamp set “Beautiful Moments” and can be found in the January – June, 2020 Mini Catalog.
Card Recipe:
Early Espresso CS cut 10” x 7”, folded in half to create a 5”x7” card.
Ornate Garden DSP was cut at 4 3/4” x 6 3/4” to create the base mat.
Old Olive was cut with the largest die from Ornate Layers Dies (part of the suite)
Cajun Craze was used with the second largest die in Ornate Layers Dies.
Whisper White was cut at 2 1/4” x 3 1/2”.
Next I used the Stitched Shapes Dies to cut a 2 3/4” oval out of Early Espresso CS, and two 2 1/4” ovals from Whisper White CS.
Use one of the white ovals as a mask on the 2 1/4” x 3 1/2” white piece (attach with removable adhesive), and sponge Mint Macaron ink, working from the outside edge of the CS to the inside so that the edges are darker.
Remove the mask, leaving a nice white oval in the center of your CS.
Using Early Espresso ink, stamp the single daisy stamp from the Ornate Style stamp set, in the middle of your oval.
Color the daisy with Stampin’ Blends – I used the So Saffron combo (light and dark), Soft Suede combo for the center of the flower, and Old Olive combo for the leaves/stem.
Cut a 3” piece of Cajun Craze ribbon (also part of the suite) and attach ends to the back of the white cardstock about 1/2” from the bottom. (I like to use mini glue dots to do this)
Cut a 2” piece of Cajun Craze ribbon and tie it to the other piece of ribbon using a simple single knot. Trim your ends if needed.
Next stamp your sentiment on the unused white oval and layer over the Early Espresso oval using dimensionals.
Now assemble all the layers using snail adhesive and/or multipurpose liquid glue. (Use picture for placement).
For the inside, I cut a mat of Old Olive at 4 3/4” x 6 3/4” and topped it with a Whisper White layer cut at 4 1/2” x 6 1/2”.
I used the corner stamp from Ornate Style in both top corners in Cajun Craze ink, and cut a strip of the DSP at 4 3/4” x 3/4” and applied near the bottom just to pretty it up!
I love the larger size of this card both to show off the pretty DSP, but also to allow me to write more on the inside!
Product List
Painted Poppies Thank You – Quick and Easy
Card Recipe:
Card Base: Whisper White 5 1/2″ x 8 1/2″ – folded in half for 5 1/2″ x 4 1/4″ card
Mat 1: Basic Black 5 1/4″ x 4″ (cut 2)
Mat 2: Painted Poppies DSP (Designer Series Paper) cut at 5″ x 3 3/4″
Belt across bottom of card is a Basic Black strip cut at 3 3/4″ x 5/8″, topped by a strip of the opposite side of the DSP cut at 3 3/4″ x 1/2″
Sentiment Mat is cut from Real Red CS using the Stitched So Sweetly dies, topped by the smaller tag also from Stitched So Sweetly dies in Whisper White CS.
The sentiment is stamped in Memento Black Ink and comes from the So Sentimental stamp set.
Finally, the poppy embellishment from Peaceful Poppies Elements is wrapped a few times around with linen thread and both ends attached to the back of the die-cut with a mini glue dot. A small bow is tied using Linen Thread and adhered to the front with a small amount of liquid adhesive.
I like to make the inside of my cards as pretty as the outside, so I used the stamp from Painted Poppies a couple times across the bottom width of the white panel and colored the flowers with a combination of both Dark Real Red and Dark & Light Poppy Parade Stampin’ Blends to create some depth and shadowing. The flower stems I carefully lined with Light Old Olive Stampin’ Blends. The pieces were then all adhered together and finally a light scattering of Peaceful Poppies Sequins on the front for a little extra bling finished it off.
Product List
