Thursday, November 16, 2023

Peace on Earth


Hi friends!  I'm back with another combination of old and new stamp sets.  For some reason I have been drawn to these colors and this particular designer paper print, maybe because it is so peaceful, because it has been so chaotic in our house for the last several weeks.  (Finally the wood floor repair is finished and things are slowly returning to normal!)  



I absolutely adore our new angel stamp set!  When looking through my other sets I noticed that the swirls in the star from this older set seemed to go well with the swirls on the angel's dress, so I thought I'd combine the two, especially since the scriptures work so perfectly for a "Silent Night" scene.  


The star and the angel were both stamped with Memento grey ink, colored with a combination of Copic marker warm greys and cool blue-greens which softly harmonize with the colors of the designer paper.  I added a few strokes of clear Wink of Stella to add some sparkle but that is really difficult to capture on camera.


Once again I used Beate's side step card tutorial for the layout.  I am forever revisiting her tutorials on SCS.  


For the inside I used another paper print from the same designer paper pad.  Inside and out, the sentiments were stamped directly onto the designer paper.  I'm grateful for a stamp positioner so that I can stamp layer upon layer of ink to get really even coverage.  

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Before you go, here's this week's Wild Wednesday special!

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Thursday, November 9, 2023

Angels' Glad Tidings


Hi y'all!   Well, it's that time of year again!  Time to make hand-stamped holiday cards!  Actually, it is a good idea to make a few along the way all through the year, but if you haven't done that, now is the time or you could end up on a really tight timeline!  This last quarter of the year always seems to get really busy and time flies by!


My cards for today were inspired by some designer paper and a Tim Holtz greenery die cut that I used a couple of weeks ago.  I had cut and colored two and had the spare still on my desk.  It seemed to go really well with this designer paper printed tag (you'll see what I mean as you keep scrolling), so I grabbed some of our stamps (old and new!) to add to it.


I started out with this combination of sentiments and swirls from our older Christmas JOY set and the new Worship & Praise.  I love the look of the sentiment in black ink layered over top of the silver swirl.


I paper-pieced the angel for the inside, adding the JOY sentiment to the lower left corner.  

This version fits nicely into a standard envelope and is flat for mailing.  


Then I decided that I should try the same design in landscape format rather than portrait, thinking the angel would look so pretty on the front.  This paper pad is convenient for that since it includes two of each of the printed tags sheets.  Not exactly "assembly line" but it does save time to do a second card of a similar design rather than designing completely from scratch.  In this case, since the angel's dress is fussy-cut it is a little detailed for "assembly line" production anyway, but would be perfect if you have a few special folks on your mailing list.  

I probably could have made this second card into a standard sized/regular envelope card as well, but decided that the angel showed up so much better when mounted onto a tag.  I always love tags but to me they seem especially appropriate to use on Christmas cards.  I can just imagine this card topping a gift simply wrapped in shiny, plain white paper (ha! freezer paper anyone?!) with a big blue bow!  


So here's that extra sprig of greenery that I mentioned earlier.  Isn't it a nice match for this paper?!  I love how all of these elements from different sources work so well together.

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Remember also to check out our weekly Wild Wednesday specials on the Stamp Simply blog.  Here's this week's!



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Thursday, November 2, 2023

With Heartfelt Sympathy

 


Many believe that the sighting of a cardinal is a sign that those we've lost will live forever as long as we keep their memory alive in our hearts.  In the midst of intense grief, the brightly colored visual reminder brings the comfort of knowing that we will be reunited some day.    

Our beautiful God Will Take Care of You bundle is a lovely choice for many occasions; when paired with a few other sentiments or dies it is also a wonderful choice for a sympathy card.  


This beautiful barn-wood print designer paper makes a perfect backdrop for a masculine card.  I stamped a portion of the sentiment directly onto the designer paper and added a die-cut swirly "sympathy" sentiment alongside.  


Here's the inside, with the country church and a passage from Second Corinthians.  This verse will hopefully bring comfort to the family of one whose spirit has been released from the struggles of their earthly body, especially if their loved one suffered from a lingering illness or painful injury.   


Sadly I have needed several sympathy cards in recent weeks, and I'm so thankful that stamped images and sentiments are here to help express words and feelings that are difficult to convey.  There is so much love poured into the creation of a hand-made card, and I truly believe that from the moment the envelope is opened, the recipient can feel that love and compassion come rushing forth.

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Thursday, October 26, 2023

Angels Among Us!


I'm back with another new stamp set and another fun fold!  This one starts with a 5.5 x 12 inch piece of card stock and some simple scoring.  When folded it kind of looks like a simple pocket card with a belly band...


but when it is opened you can see that there is a little more to it. Don't be intimidated though...it really is not hard to do.  It's called either a Miura or mirror fold card.  


Here is a closer look at the belly band which wraps around the card to hold the folds and tag in place.  The ovals attach only to the band so it can easily be removed.  Isn't this angel absolutely gorgeous?!    


So gorgeous, and it's easy to color and die cut!  


The tag is not attached to the card at all.  It simply nestles in place because of the shape of the folds.  

I smile every time I look at this set because the angel reminds me of a pair of wooden angels that my Mom painted for us years ago.  She mod-podged fabric onto the wood and then painted portions of the pattern over the fabric...they are absolutely gorgeous with beautiful colors and swirls of gold.   

Supplies:

Be sure to visit Stamp Simply to find out more about a new weekly feature, Wild Wednesdays!  



 

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Thursday, October 19, 2023

Wintry Country Church Center Step Card


I can hardly read this passage of scripture without singing "How lovely is Your dwelling place..." although this darling country church also makes me wanna sing "Church in the Wildwood!" Never in my life (lived almost entirely within a few miles of Interstate 10) have I attended church in such a lovely snowy setting, but I really enjoyed playing with these new stamps and dies from Stamp Simply!  


I followed Beate's tutorial on SCS except that I made the side strips a little wider and the center panel a little narrower than her measurements.  The center panel of the card has a mat of silver card stock.  The sentiment and church were stamped directly onto a rectangle of card stock, the country church colored with Copic markers.  The surrounding sky was masked/sponged with pale blue ink, the cloud die-cut from silver card stock.


I cut extra strips the same width as those narrow side panels and used our new tree line dies to cut them to varying lengths.  After sponging the trees with pale blue ink and dabbing them onto a Delicata Silvery Shimmer ink pad, I glued three strips one on top of the other and then glued that to the side panels of the step card, then repeated the same process for the inside.  I used more die cut trees and the slope die to add accents to the bottom of the card.  It really added a lot of depth and dimension, giving the impression of snowdrifts and tree-lined mountainsides.     


The inside includes a beautiful sentiment and a silver cross cut using our gorgeous cross dies.

This is one of those shimmery, ethereal cards that the camera simply cannot accurately capture.  So much prettier in person than the photographs show.

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Wednesday, October 18, 2023

Trio of Tags


Hello friends!  I'm back with a trio of tags using new stamps from Stamp Simply.  That swirly music stamp and Studio Light's Sending Joy designer paper prints inspired the idea of a "Let's Go Caroling" invitation, and the rest flowed from there.  All were made assembly-line style using Tim Holtz Tag Collection dies, so they were super fast and easy, and honestly, can you ever have too many tags at Christmas time?    


The first tag is a soft monochromatic country church snowscape with a star-sprinkled sky.  I can't even read that tiny tag at the top without singing the song in my head!  It brings back thoughts of the church from my childhood, and of my parents and others who were so influential to my faith.     


This particular paper design is the one that inspired the trio.  With the addition of those lovely music stamps it is the perfect "Let's Go Caroling" invitation, but I suppose it could also be "Let's Go Purchase & Decorate the Tree," or "Deck the Halls with Me" since holiday music is always such an important part of those things.        


Here's the third tag with a beautiful scripture passage about encouraging each other and singing praises to God with gratitude in our hearts.  

All three of the tags have sentiments under-stamped with grey ink that was over-stamped with silver.  Choosing different colors/styles of card stock, ink and ribbon can really change the flavor and personality (casual, elegant, etc) of each tag.    

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Ribbon options
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Thursday, October 12, 2023

New Stamps: The Lord's Prayer


We are celebrating a new release at Stamp Simply and sharing cards made with some beautiful new sets.  Today I'm sharing a card made with the new bundle, The Lord's Prayer.  


The Lord's Prayer series includes two stamp sets (The Lord's Prayer and Pray Without Ceasing) along with two sets of steel dies.  


I stamped the praying hands with Memento Ink and colored them with Copic Markers, adding a swipe of clear Wink of Stella glitter marker to the fingernails.  The cuffs portion was stamped again onto coordinating designer paper and fussy-cut.     


I wanted the card to display the entire prayer, and after browsing Pinterest found a tutorial for this triple easel card which was easy and worked perfectly.  One of our beautiful cross die cuts fits alongside as a  lovely accent.  


A side view shows the construction of the card which stands for display but collapses to fold flat to fit into a square envelope.  

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Visit the Stamp Simply blog and store to see more stamps and cards from the new release, which is available individually or in a wide variety of bundled options.


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Thursday, October 5, 2023

Time to be Grateful


Hello friends!

It has been a bit chaotic in our household in recent weeks.  A while back we had a slab leak which was repaired early on, but the damaged wood floor was another story.  Finally last week the floor guys came to remove the warped wood and deliver replacement wood which has to acclimate for a while before they return to install it.  That meant lots of furniture moving and living with things out of place, crowded and in the way, or inaccessible for a while.  Suffice it to say that with all of that going on, I needed a little attitude adjustment!  And it's not even over yet!  We don't know yet when they'll be back to finish!  

So that is what inspired this card made for someone who might need a reminder as I did!  A gentle nudge to take the time to be grateful and to find the beauty in every day, because it is right there before our eyes if we shift our perspective and take the time to see.


I've noticed lots of pumpkin patches popping up in and around town, and while they're filled to the brim with the usual orange pumpkins, there are also a few of the pale white-green ones that are sometimes a little "warty."  I find them quite lovely and a bit fascinating, warts and all!  Since these papers have a pop of that pretty, soft teal color, I decided to color one of my pumpkins in that hue.   That soft color really makes the adjacent orange really pop! 


While the outside of the card uses stamps from the Fall/Winter Seasonal Wreaths set, the sentiment on the inside is from the Spring/Summer version.  

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Thursday, September 28, 2023

Black and White with a Pop of Krafty Christmas Color


Our Stamp Simply design team has been having fun with black and white cards with just a pop of color.  Mine was inspired by some KaiserCraft designer paper which also included little hints of Kraft and I added a pop of red to that.  I thought it was kinda fun how all those tiny triangles echo the shape of this tree from our stamp set "O Christmas Tree."  ðŸŽµ  And those houses!  "I'll be home for Christmas..." 🎶  


A Kraft bow with red accents frames the stamped sentiment.  The tiny tag suspended from the ribbon was cut with a Tim Holtz Tags Collection die.  "Believe" is cut from one of the designer prints from the paper pad.  


Here's a peek at the inside which is stamped with a sentiment from the same stamp set.  


This larger tag on the inside of the card is one that is a punch-out from a sheet of tags that is part of the designer paper pad.  I added a house colored and fussy-cut from the designer paper to carry the theme from the front to the inside.

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Thursday, September 21, 2023

With Gratitude


The autumnal equinox of 2023 will arrive on September 23, according to the Farmer's Almanac, marking the official start of Fall in the Northern Hemisphere.  This week our Stamp Simply team has been highlighting cards that herald Fall's arrival with the images and colors of the season.  Of course, Florida is always fashionably late to the party and this box fold card pays tribute to that in its use of Retro Summer designer paper for the background.  


This card folds flat and fits into a standard envelope for mailing, but the box portion at the bottom helps to support the card in an upright position for display.  I deliberately kept the layout uncluttered to let those beautiful Fall colors shine all on their own.

It helps to use sturdy card stock for the card base...the stuff I used here was the perfect color but proved to be a bit flimsy when all was said and done, even with the extra layers!  It was more like the thickness of designer paper than card stock and really works better as a layer for a mat than for a base layer but with this designer paper it was the perfect color.  (I need to order more Kraft card stock...and other colors too!)


I used two of our gorgeous Fall stamp sets for this project.  The leaf and acorn are from Give Thanks, and the sentiments are both from Falling Leaves.  That GRATITUDE sentiment was a perfect fit stamped directly onto the box portion at the bottom, and the My Friend stamp fit just right into the tag from Tim Holtz Tag Collection dies as well.  


It's very hard to catch on camera, but if you look very closely just maybe you can see the shimmer of the leaves border stamped onto the box portion of the card with Delicata ink.  The leaf and acorn were both colored with Copics and then given a tap with the Delicata ink pad to add some shimmer there too.

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