Origami Shadow Box Card

Nancy Riley is one of my favoritest stampers, and a few days ago she posted a card featuring a technique for an origami shadow box that she saw on LeAnn Greff's blog. I loved the look, so I decided to continue toying with the things I already had on the table from yesterday's card to see what I could come up with.

This is SO easy and looks so cool! The interior will hold a 1 3/8" square, so that sort of limits what you can do. I am one who is not easily thwarted, however, so I stamped the "Thinking of You" stamp from Kind and Caring Thoughts in three steps using Tangerine Tango ink so that it would fit on my small square! The little leaf is from Great Friend, stamped with So Saffron.

The ribbon was a bit tricky, but I like the placement at the top. It sort of makes the square look like a picture being hung by the ribbon knot, don't you think?

I'm not sure who will receive this card, but it's a good one to have in the stash. It's always good to try out a new technique. Give this a try and let me know what you think! Thanks, Nancy!

The Card I Always HATE to Make

A new friend of mine experienced the sudden loss of her dad last Friday, so I had the unenviable task of creating a sympathy card. I think these are very important to send, but I do not relish making them. The process turned out to be more cathartic than I thought it would; it gave me a way to reach out to her and feel less helpless.

Part of the reason I don't like making sympathy cards is that I don't have a "go-to" set. I've not liked anything I've seen by any stamp manufacturer, so I start from ground zero every time. Well, not every time. This time I used a stand alone stamp I've had for a long time that has one of my favorite Bible verses on it. I knew it would resonate with the recipient, so I started there.

I know she likes bold color--she has a room painted red--so I was drawn to some retired Haiku DSP I have and that determined the color palette of Tangerine Tango and So Saffron and Whisper White.

I created a funky fold using a 2"x5" rectangle. I folded it in half both ways and then scored the angle from the middle to the outside corner of the upper left and lower right portions of the rectangle. I folded those and then folded the tips back. I mounted the verse on it with Stampin' Dimensionals and mounted the whole thing to another coordinating piece of DSP from the same package.

I found some old SS DSP scraps in with my SS card stock, so I used some to further carry forward the color scheme. I mounted all of that on a large piece of TT that I scored at the top and the bottom, .25" in from the edge. The whole thing is mounted on a WW base, which is hard to see in the picture.

I do not know how long it will take this card to reach Iowa from here. I do not know when the funeral is, but I know she's not going to be able to attend, due to severe health issues. My heart is so sad for her, so I'm doing the only things I know to do: praying and stamping. Hopefully some good will come from both.

Sharing Sympathy

I HATE having the occasion to make a sympathy card for anyone I know. They're a real challenge, mostly because I want to create the right tone with color and text that will communicate how much I care for the person who is grieving. I don't like them to be really somber, but appropriately so, you know?

This card is for a friend of mine whose father died over the Memorial Day weekend. His death was sudden, unexpected, and followed on the heels of her mom's death less than a year before. She is a very strong person, but this has hit her hard. Her world changed in an instant.

I chose muted colors for my card--returning former InColor River Rock, Always Artichoke, and some flowers and two other patterns from Urban Garden Designer Series Paper. I had several of these flowers and so I cut out a full one, and then created two layers with portions of the others.

I don't have a sympathy stamp set, so I went with Thinking of You from Kind and Caring Thoughts. I inked it using Craft Ink and embossed it with Clear Embossing Powder.

Since my friend is part of my Starbucks community, my partners will have the opportunity to share some words of comfort with her and her family. I trust this and a hug will minister to her during this time.

Hip to be Square!

I struggle coming up with creative titles for my posts! But this card has lots of little squares and I grew up in the 80s, which was synonymous with Huey Lewis and the News, for me at least. It's how my mind works.

This card was really inspired not by Huey, but by Mary Fish. I chose this card's color scheme to give some time in the spotlight to a few colors that are retiring at the end of next month: Really Rust and Sage Shadow.

The retiring colors will be available until June 30, or while supplies last. We demonstrators were informed last week that some card stock has already begun to be depleted, so textured card stock in the same color is being substituted until it runs out too. The reinkers will be restocked until May 30, and then once the stock is depleted, they will not be replenished.

I stamped images from these sets, just pulling out what I liked and what I thought went well together. All were stamped in Chocolate Chip classic ink, which is being moved from the Earth Elements family (which is being renamed the Regals Collection), into the Neutrals Collection.

These 1.25" squares were mounted on the Really Rust card stock, and accented with Sage Shadow .25" grosgrain ribbon, and a butterfly stamped in SS and mounted on top of the same image, creating a shadow of sorts.

Wedding Medallion

This Medallion background stamp is more and more fun to use each time I play with it! If you haven't seen the first post I did using this stamp, click here. Earlier this week at work, a partner commented that we should have a card for our district manager who is getting remarried this weekend. I told him I'd put one together, and this is the result.

I was influenced heavily in the design by this post by dberry on Splitcoaststampers.com. I really liked how she made the image look like a tile, and so I set out to put my own twist on it. The image is large--4.75" square. I chose Very Vanilla for the card stock and Soft Suede for the ink. I needed to be able to easily divide the VV in thirds, so I made my square 4 7/8". This allowed me to score at 1 5/8" and get the desired look. After I scored the square, I folded it and creased it several times to break down the paper fibers. Then I tore it apart. This left only the outer edges to distress with scissors.

I used some Soft Sky card stock from the InColor collection of 2 years ago (measuring 5 1/8" square) and attached both layers to a 5.25" base of Soft Suede. Old meets new.

Where to put the (from Kind and Caring Thoughts) was the biggest challenge. I thought about splitting it up and putting "Best" in the upper left corner and "Wishes" in the lower right corner, but I determined that keeping it all together was better. I split the message using my Stamp-A-Ma-Jig positioning system.

Most wedding cards feature designs that are feminine, so I'm pleased that this one seems to strike a balance and maybe even lean toward being more masculine.

Being Thankful

A few weeks ago, I sent out an email questionnaire to my customers to inquire about an aspect of my business I was thinking about expanding. I told them that if they provided me with feedback, I would give them a stamp. It took a little longer than it should have, but this past week I was able to get those women thanked appropriately.

For each one, I made a card. I used Haiku DSP, which is retired, and I used a layout I saw on Mary Brown's blog, StamperCamper.com. I liked the layers and the 5.25" square size. The layers ended up being 5" mat of DSP, a 2" x 5" strip of a coordinating DSP, 2 pieces of 2.75" x 4" of card stock, one as a mat with a ribbon and the other as a background for the focal image, which measures 2.5" x 3.75".

I chose More Mustard, Old Olive, Whisper White, and Tangerine Tango for bases, and coordinated card stock and ribbon accordingly. The focal image is from Kind & Caring Thoughts, a Level 3 Hostess Set from the new Big Idea Book & Catalog. I used direct to rubber coloring technique and sponged the highlight color around the edges.

The other two cards I made used OO as the base and the lovely large cabbage flower images also from Haiku DSP. It was so fun to make a card that was lovely without anything else but a sentiment! The gate fold is always a great layout to go with when you want something special, and the center mat from the original layout design fit this 4.25" x 11" card well too.

The packages should arrive early this week, so I'm hoping I've delayed the posting of this post enough so that they aren't seeing their cards here first! Expressing gratitude is becoming a lost art and I don't want to be party to this social tragedy. Thanks, gals, for taking the time to help me with my business by answering a few questions.

Who are you thanking today?

Simple Is Best...and Fast!

Hey all! I'm tuckered out from a 35-hour week at Starbucks. I know; some of you work that plus 5 every week. You do not, most likely, work in the food service industry. It's a WORKOUT! Normally, I work around 25 hours, but with 3 partners out this week, there were more than enough hours to go around! I have a sore knee and I've had to wear my arm brace to combat the inflammation of my cubital tunnel syndrome (carpel tunnel of the elbow, for those who care). But, I survived, and to treat myself, I wanted to stamp!

The card was inspired by this layout at Clean and Simple Stamping. This blog specializes in layouts, and it's great when someone else volunteers to do the thinking for you! Vicki from It's A Stamp Thing made a card using this layout, and attached a link, so thanks, Vicki!

I used the sweet circle flower stamp from Flower Power to create the focal images. I paired Pretty in Pink with Soft Suede. It's a yummy combo! I can't tell you how happy I am that SU! finally manufactured Stampin' Write Markers for the InColor collection! They're fantastic for small images.

The circles are 1" and 1.25". I created a 2.75" x 4" template from cardboard, rounded the corners, and traced around it to create the border. "Best Wishes" is from the Level 3 Hostess Set Kind & Caring Thoughts.

One of my stampers requested birthday cards, so this is for next Sunday's SAS. The little detail in the middle of the center flower is a clear 3/8" button tied with linen thread and mounted with a glue dot. To save time, I think I'll tie these ahead of time for my friends, since some are intimidated by bows--you know who you are! :-)

After the week I've had, I'm going to finish this day reading, relaxng, (okay, doing a little laundry--we have to have clothes!), and letting my dear husband cook. If you don't live local, but would like the cards featured in this month's SAS, I can mail you all the pieces-parts; all you have to provide is the stamps. The cost is $25 for 10 cards/envelopes or $12 for 5 cards/envelopes, plus the cost of postage.

A Kind and Caring Garden

As you know, the new catalog has debuted, and one of the coolest benefits of being a demonstrator is getting to pre-order items so that I have samples of new stuff to show you.

We are always allowed to purchase a Hostess set, and this time around one of those available was Kind & Caring Thoughts. It is a gorgeous Level 3 set with 12 stamps. Not only does it have nice images, it has a FANTASTIC array of sentiments. I'm all about good sentiments, and if the set has Kristina Werner's handwriting in it, all the better!

This afternoon I wanted to make a card just for the sake of making something. No agenda, no occasion. Just creating for the fun of it. Several months ago I saw a color combination and loved its crisp, bold look. I can't remember any more about it than that it used Brilliant Blue, Green Galore, and Whisper White.

I had scraps of these colors sitting on my desk already, so I pulled out my new set and went at it. I also pulled out one of my favorites, retired Garden Silhouettes, since I knew it would coordinate so nicely with one of the main images I wanted to use--the gingko branch. (At least that's what I think it is; if you have horticultural knowledge I should have, please share.)

The other color I was going to use was Tempting Turquoise. But then I thought about Bermuda Bay, one of the new InColors, and wondered what it might look like with the others. I did a sample stamping and liked the BB better. I used my 1 3/8" square punch with the GG, cut 4 1.25" squares in WW, and the strip of BB is 1.75" x 6.5".

Besides adding a random length of WW 1/4" grosgrain that I had laying around, the final piece that completes this card is the sentiment. Isn't that an amazingly wonderful sentence to have in stamp form to be able to send to a friend?!? I think so. Double click on the photo of the set at the top of the post to be able to read all 6 of the sentiments. It's a great set.

How can you get your hands on this set? You have three options:

1)You can host a class for your friends and neighbors where I'll teach everyone how to make beauties like this with their own two hands.

2)You can host a catalog order party, where you show your friends, neighbors, Sunday School classmates, the local barista at your favorite coffee shop, and your work colleagues the new Big Idea Book & Catalog and take orders from them for what they want to purchase.

OR

3)You can place an order yourself for merchandise totaling $500. With all the amazing new creations in this catalog, it wouldn't be too hard to do! I'd love to help you get your hands on this set. Let's talk!