Strength & Prayers for PPA305

Pool Party and Island Indigo – the names of these two gorgeous aqua blues sound perfect for summertime, right?  Who doesn’t love a refreshing swim in the pool or a relaxing getaway to the islands?  Truth is…these colors are amazing together all year long and for almost any occasion.  Perhaps that’s why Windy Ellard picked them for this week’s Pals Paper Arts color challenge – she’s a smart one.  Here’s my card that features Pool Party, Island Indigo and Whisper White:

Strength & Prayers, Better Together, Stampin' Up!, Brian King, PPA305

And here’s the banner for the challenge that inspired my card:

PPA305Tips, Tricks and Reminders

  • Sympathy in Blues.  My card is about as far away from summer festivities as you can get.  The calming feel of these colors together gave me the perfect opportunity to showcase Strength & Prayers, a new sympathy set in Stampin’ Up!’s 2016 Annual Catalog.  How gorgeous is this thick-sketched dove?  There are so many ways to dress him up and make him shine – I only had to add a little color to get him right where I wanted him.  This dove is perfect for sympathy, thinking of you and Christmas cards.

    Strength & Prayers, Stampin' Up!

    Strength & Prayers, Stampin’ Up!

  • Splitting the Sweet Sentiment.  Better Together is a great, new stamp set in Stampin’ Up!’s 2016 Annual Catalog with wonderful all-occasion sentiments for the front and inside of your cards.  Not only do I love the font of this sympathy sentiment from Better Together, but I also love the beautiful saying.  I used both of these gorgeous sentiments from Better Together on the front of my card.  I split the “with” and “sympathy” on the card front because I wanted to balance out the beautiful dove on the cardfront.  You can see my video about MASKING TECHNIQUE here.
  • Stamp, Stamp, Emboss, Paint, Smile.  This dove looks deceivingly simple.  There were several steps I took to create him, though.  While I could have stamped him in Island Indigo and painted him with Pool Party, the colors would have harshly run together, so…here are the steps I took:
    • I used my MISTI (stamp positioning tool) to stamp the dove in Island Indigo.
    • I cleaned my stamp without removing it from the MISTI.
    • I stamped the dove in VersaMark right on top of the Island Indigo.
    • I sprinkled it with Clear Embossing Powder and heat set it with my heat tool.  Look how shiny it is:Strength & Prayers, Better Together, Stampin' Up!, Brian King, PPA305
    • I lightly watercolored the inside of the dove with Pool Party and my AquaPainter.
    • I sat back and smiled.
    • I shared it with you.

Stamp Sets:  Strength & Prayers, Better Together  Papers:  Island Indigo, Pool Party, Whisper White  Inks:  Island Indigo, Pool Party, VersaMark  Accessories:  AquaPainter, Clear Embossing Powder, Heat Tool, Stampin’ Dimensionals

Strength & Prayers, Better Together, Stampin' Up!, Brian King, PPA305

I hope you’ll pop over to the Pals Paper Arts site to see the cards by the design team members and to play along with Windy’s challenge.

Thanks for stopping by today!

Brian

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Trying to Narrow Down Your Wish List?  I’ve shared two days of My Favorite Things from Stampin’ Up!’s 2016 Annual Catalog.  Perhaps my lists can help you narrow down your choices?  You can check them out here and here.

Do you like free stamps?  You’ll earn two from stamp sets when you buy Stampin’ Up!’s Starter Kit in June.  What a great way to check off your wish list of the items you already want!  Click on the picture below to read more about this awesome promotion.   

recruiting_header_newdemo_may2416_engEarn $35 Additional Stampin’ Rewards in June.  Yippee!  With qualifying orders of $35o or more, you can earn an additional $35 of Stampin’ Rewards to spend on whatever you want.  Click on the picture below to read more about this great promotion.

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24 Comments

  1. What a stunning card, Brian. I just love that you’ve brought a sense of peace to your card for the recipient, not only through the inclusion of the dove but through the colours and the way you have used them. You’ve nailed it…again!!

  2. Wow! Gorgeous.

  3. Yes, I agree, these colors together are Gorgeous, Brian! Your card is Stunning, and that is an unusual thing to say for a sympathy card, but it is true! I Love the simplicity and the framing!
    I want to add that your tip about when placing paper over another layer on the same edge, use your cutting tool to line them up perfectly has worked like a charm for me several times! I want to thank you so much for sharing things like this with us! I hope I don’t owe you a nickel every time I do this because I’d owe you quite a lot by now~ Have a wonderful day!

  4. Love this ! Let`s say this is a card for Orlando !
    Absolutely unbelievable what has gone on there in the past few days !
    Beautiful card !!

  5. Your beautiful card is very peaceful and I love both the dove and the sentiment. You’ve used a great color combination. I agree with Sonny about how unbelievable and sad the situation in Orlando is. It could happen anywhere. You’re right about how versatile the pretty dove can be.

  6. Wonderful sympathy card, Brian. I have not purchased this set yet, but you just put it on the top of my next order! Already pinned to remember your sweet example!!

  7. Simply beautiful Brian! Love your stamp choices, colors and your layering.

  8. Love the method used on the dove! Beautiful card!

  9. Oh Brian – the thing that struck me most about this card is the color combination. The blues remind me somewhat of sadness but when put against the starkness of a white background it brings the brightness of hope out. I just love it. That dove is one of the most beautiful stamps I have ever seen and your use of it, as always, is jut amazing. Thanks for sharing.

  10. This is part of your evil and astonishingly effective method for making me buy sentiments I don’t have! LOVE this card – and NOT because it’s all blue, which was a brilliant choice. MISTI overstamping the dove – gorgeous.

    So pretty.

  11. Simply elegant!

  12. Such a beautiful sympathy, Brian!

  13. First, thanks for thinking I am smart! Made my day! This card is beautiful but these colors make is so soft and peaceful! I will probably get this sooner than I planned! Thanks for the inspiration!

  14. Such a beautiful card Brian! ??

  15. Brian, What a stunner of a card! You used the colors beautifully and allowed that gorgeous dove to take center stage.

  16. Brian, this is so beautiful. Love the tips you shared as well. I’ve been using a tool for years from Fiskars for positioning clear stamps. They’re life savers!

  17. Pingback: A Little Kindness in the World – STAMP WITH BRIAN

  18. Remarkable creativity! I’m confident you convinced many to purchase this stamp set.

  19. Brian, this card is wonderful. It’s the first time I’ve seen the dove used and it is spectacular~and you’ve made it really shine! This will encourage anyone who receives it!

  20. What a card! I wasn’t a big fan of that dove stamp set before, but your card has convinced me otherwise. So much potential that set has! Thanks for sharing, Brian.

  21. A simple and elegant sympathy card. The colors add to its peaceful nature. It would bring the recipient the much comfort. Beautifully done Brian.

  22. So happy I already have the set. Thanks for the inspiration!

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