A lily for sympathy

Hello crafting friends.

Is anyone else crafting like mad at the moment? It is such a great escape from the craziness that is the new 'normal'. I was lucky enough to win a stamp set from Uniko in last month's challenge and I've been able to christen it today. Come and see what I made:

The stamp set I chose was Uniko's Pure Florals Lily and when it arrived I was taken by surprise - it's much bigger than I expected! The main lily is huge and can easily carry a card by itself. I stamped it off the edge of a card panel with versamark ink and heat embossed it with white embossing powder.

It was a lot of fun to colour - I used Spectrum Noir alcohol markers with water-based markers for the stamens and the dots. Once it was coloured, I gave the background a wash of barely-there purple using a watercolour crayon, a paintbrush and some water and left it to dry.

When it had completely dried, I cut the panel out with a stitched rectangle die from Heffy Doodles, mounted it on purple card stock and attached it to my card base. The stamp set comes with some beautiful sentiments but I chose a simple blocky one from a different set to contrast with that delicate flower. It's from Simply Said Blocks by Uniko.

EDITED TO ADD AN AWARD
I was so pleased that this card was picked as one of the runner ups at Freshly Made Sketches :)

CHALLENGES
I'm linking this card up with Freshly Made Sketches, where I loved the simplicity of this week's sketch; Also, The Colour Throwdown made me want to join in with it's pink, purple and white palette - colours I haven't put together for ages!

AND IN OTHER NEWS
It is sobering to remember that while we are trying to adapt to a lockdown situation, elsewhere there are life and death dramas playing out. We, like the rest of Britain, went out onto our doorstep at 8pm and clapped and cheered for the heroes of our wonderful NHS who are working so hard on our behalf. It was extraordinarily moving.

Stay safe and keep well.

Hugs,

Here for you

Hello crafting friends!

You know, sometimes a very simple card is just exactly what is needed. Come and see:

This card started with that comforting sentiment, which is from MFT's From Me To You. I used my stamping platform to align it on a good thick card base, inking twice to make it nice and black.

The flower and leaves are from Stampin' Up's Hopeful Thoughts. I used Calypso Coral ink for the flower, stamping off on a piece of scrap paper once before stamping it onto the card base above the sentiment. The leaves were added using Mango Melody ink.

I was aiming for a fragile look for my flower.  I chose a flower centre to stamp into the centre using Poppy Parade ink to emphasise the pale petals then added a touch of Calypso Coral ink to the edges of the petals with a blender pen. A tiny pearl finishes the flower.

ACHIEVEMENTS

So pleased this card was chosen in the top 4 at AAA Cards :)

CHALLENGES
I loved the photo inspiration and colour palette at As You See It this week and thought it would work well for a card like this one. I didn't have Grapefruit Grove but went for the closest I could find - Calypso Coral, which I stamped off to make it paler. I'm also linking up with AAA Cards where they want to see Maxi White Space this fortnight, with an optional metallic twist (I may have to create another card for that twist!)

AND IN OTHER NEWS
I don't know what has got into my little golden retriever! She has been making 'aroo' noises across the street when she sees people. Her tail is wagging like mad, and I know she is just saying hello, but if you didn't know dogs you might think she was being wolfish, so I'd really rather she didn't!

What would you think if a golden retriever aroo-ed at you from across the street?

Hugs,

Sending flowers with sympathy

Hello crafting friends.

Sympathy cards are not easy to make but it really helps if you have the right tools at hand. When all my stamp sets went, so did my ability to reach for the perfect images and sentiments when I needed them. I'm slowly rebuilding my collection now though, and I believe the set I used for today's card is a worthy addition to my stamp library. Come and see:

It's MFT's Floral Focus, a versatile set which I think could be used for many different occasions. It features a large floral image which I stamped here using Memento Tuxedo Black ink, and coloured with a mix of Spectrum Noir and Stampin' Up alcohol markers.

I wanted to give the flowers just a touch of colour so I shaded only parts of them with a delicate pink, then used a colour lifter to fade out the colour.

Here's the sentiment. Floral Focus comes with six words in this beautiful font, so you can mix and match them. Once the panel was finished, I prepared a card base, attaching a piece of striped designer paper (retired SU) to the front. The floral panel was then trimmed and attached to the paper with dimensionals.

The beautiful sketch from Inspire, Create was the perfect inspiration for this card and is another new (to me) challenge that I shall enjoy joining in with :) I shall also be linking up with the fabulous Addicted to Stamps and More, where this week is a Make Your Mark colouring challenge.

AND IN OTHER NEWS
My youngest son has texted me to tell me that he needs a kettle. It seems that there's no need for me to worry that he's being caught up in a life of hard booze and wild parties - it appears he's more inclined to invite his friends round for tea and Magic The Gathering card games!

Thanks for visiting me today. I'm off on a long, muddy walk now with two keen hounds! What are you up to this weekend? Do let me know in the comments below :)

Hugs,

With sympathy

Hello crafting friends.

Here's my advice of the day: do not wait to make sympathy cards until you need them. It's hard to make them and you may find yourself making the same card over and over because you feel that every mistake is a mark of disrespect. This one is still not perfect but here it is anyway. Come and see:

I started with some (ancient!) Stampin' Up designer paper in a soft grey. I trimmed it, attached it directly to the front of a card base and added a strip of black card stock to ground it.

The topper is a circle of grey card stock decorated with a spray of flowers and leaves from Concorde and 9th's Enjoy it All. I stamped them in Stampin' Up Smoky Slate and Memento Tuxedo Black, then fussy cut them and popped them up with dimensionals.

The card was finished with a sentiment from MFT's Floral Focus and a sprinkling of clear gems.

A big thank you to Just Us Girls for starting me off with this week's Designer Paper challenge and to Just Add Ink where I used their beautiful sketch flipped upside down. I shall be linking up with both challenges :)

Edited to add: Actually, I won't be linking up with Just Add Ink, because - YET AGAIN! - I appear to not have any clue about Australian time zones! 

AND IN OTHER NEWS
Eva and I have just come back from a long walk by the river in the sunshine. She tried staying awake for tea time but she just couldn't quite keep her eyes open...

... and for two pins, I'd join her!

Thanks for visiting me today - always lovely to see you here :) Pleeeease tell me I'm not the only one who wants to hibernate!

Hugs,

A Sheltering tree with sympathy - Stampin' Up artisan blog hop

Hello and welcome to another Stampin' Up artisan blog hop. As usual, the team has loads of ideas to inspire you - so let's get started!

SENDING SYMPATHY WITH SHELTERING TREE
Cards and gifts are not always celebratory and this week I want to show you a little card and gift I sent to a friend when she was knocked for six after the death of her little cat.

I used the beautiful Sheltering Tree stamp set for a sombre card and took it round to my friend with a gift of snowdrops, which I thought she might want to plant as a memorial.

The pot of flowers was wrapped in white tissue paper and fit perfectly in one of the 9 x 9 x 6.4 cm kraft gift boxes. I kept the decoration very simple, adding just a pretty seam binding bow and a garden marker cut with the Handpicked framelits dies.

The card uses just stamps and ink, my favourite kind of card! I layered the images to create the scene, using the leafy image to create a vaguely bokeh effect. The trees were stamped in a variety of neutrals giving a misty look.

There are lots of useful sentiments in the Sheltering Tree set but again, I wanted to keep it simple so I used the 'thinking of you' greeting. With this kind of card, the stamped image takes centre stage so I simply scored and sponged ink over the edges of the panel and pasted it onto my card front.

The loss of a pet can be devastating but I hope this project brought my friend a little comfort.

Now, I know my talented friend Allison Okamitsu has something fab to show you and she's next on the blog hop! Just click the button below.

YOU CAN BUY THE SUPPLIES TO MAKE THIS PROJECT NOW!
Click on any item to be transported to my online shop!
Don't forget you'll get a free Sale-a-bration item for every £45 you spend

Sheltering Tree Photopolymer Stamp Set £22.95	Wild Wasabi 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon £6.25	Handpicked Framelits Dies £20.95	Kraft Gift Box £2.75
Soft Sky Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	Wild Wasabi Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95	Smoky Slate Classic Stampin' Pad £4.95

My shop is open 24/7 so you can buy Stampin' Up products from me any time, day or night.

If you have any queries, or prefer to speak to me, I'm happy to help.

You can contact me by email or phone on 01280 820593.

Forgive me if I'm a little bleary today. We enjoyed a heady evening of drama and dancing at my youngest son's school last night and watched him and his friends lift the cup for Best Performance. Off I went to Mumland! Honestly, who needs the Oscars?!

See you tomorrow when I'll have a round up of the week's Stampin' Up special offers :)

With Sympathy, with designer paper by Stampin' Up

I use my Stampin' Up stash pretty much every day to celebrate birthdays, new arrivals, weddings, anniveraries, to say thank you or congratulations or good luck... well I think you get the idea with that! But as well as making cards for high days and holidays, it's important to offer support during sad times and that's what today's card is all about. Come and see:

I had a left-over snippet of the wonderful leafy design from the Motley Monsters designer paper pack and I thought those swirling leaves would work well with the trees from White Christmas. I added a touch of colour to the ground with a sponge dauber and filled in the trees with a Crumb Cake marker.

The sentiment is from the Love and Sympathy stamp set and I think it's beautiful both in what it says and in the way it looks.

I'll be linking this card up with the Snippet Playground where it's high time I joined in again - it's conker season for goodness sake!

BUY THE SUPPLIES TO MAKE THIS CARD NOW!
(Click on each item to find it quickly in my online shop) 

White Christmas Photopolymer Stamp Set £13.95	Motlley Monsters Designer Series Paper £9.95	Early Espresso A4 Card Stock £6.25	Love & Sympathy - Clear-Mount Stamp £10.95
Pear Pizzazz Classic Stampin' Pad ...	Whisper White Note Cards Envelopes £5.50	Crumb Cake Stampin Write Marker £2.95	Sponge Daubers £4.50

My shop is open 24/7 so you can buy Stampin' Up products from me any time, day or night.

If you have any queries, or prefer to speak to me, I'm happy to help.

You can contact me by email or phone on 01280 820593.

I had this impassioned text from my daughter yesterday: "Maman? How does one Launderette?!" The thing is, I actually don't know as it's been, ahem, several years since I used one! I'm so impressed that she's making the effort actually; I thought all students just brought their washing home!

See you tomorrow with something bright and cheerful!

Simply Sketched with sympathy

Sadly I needed a sympathy card this week. Simply Sketched was out on my desk from Monday - although the result couldn't be more of a contrast to this card I showed here on Monday. Come and see:

I thought a peaceful nature scene would be appropriate. The leaves and the bird were stamped off the edge of the notecard and I added the sentiment using Basic Grey ink.

I coloured everything in using markers, adding highlights with my white Signo gel pen.

I'll be linking this card up with Make My Monday where the theme is Nature.

HERE'S WHAT YOU'LL NEED TO MAKE THIS CARD
(Click on each item to find it quickly in my shop) 

Stamps: Simply Sketched (hostess set) wood or cling

Ink: Basic Grey classic ink, plus markers

Card stock: Whisper White notecards with matching envelopes

Other: Stamp-a-majig

Click above to place an order any time, day or night,

but if you have any queries, or prefer to speak to me, I'm always happy to help.

You can contact me by email or phone on 01280 820593.

CHOOSE ONE OF THESE PHOTOPOLYMER STAMP SETS WITH EVERY £60 YOU SPEND (excl. p&p)

Our cat Tuppence has been behaving quite strangely (nothing new there!) She has abandoned her usual haunts in the back garden and the house and has taken up permanent patrol duty in our tiny front garden, refusing even to come in at night! She pops in for meals, which she orders loudly and bossily, and then demands to leave the house again. One side effect of this is that our back garden has become heavily populated with birds of all sorts. It's such a pleasure to see them out there although I fear if she knew what was going on Tuppence would be apoplectic with rage!

See you tomorrow,