Sharing Sympathy with Beauty of the Earth

Sympathy cards can be difficult to make if we wait until we need a card to make one. Feelings of sadness and concern can hamper the creative process and stifle the joy you normally feel when you craft. There are so many wonderful products that make it easy for us to make beautiful cards that share sympathy, so I suggest you make a handful with these gorgeous products before you are pressed to sit down and make them. Here’s the sympathy card I made:

Tips, Tricks and Reminders

• It’s All About the Papers. My card starts with two Designer Series Papers – a GORGEOUS piece of watercolored trees from the Beauty of the Earth Designer Series Paper and a supporting wood panel design from the In Good Taste Designer Series Paper. I couldn’t wait to showcase this beautiful panel of trees – it’s versatile to be used for so many occasions, but it felt calming like a sympathy card should feel. Here’s a look at the colors and patterns in the Beauty of the Earth Designer Series Paper (you can click on the photo below to flip through the pages in my online store): Even though this panel of trees takes center stage on this card, I added a panel of dark wood planks behind it to support the focal panel. It’s kinda like a before-and-after look at the trees. 🙂 Here’s a look at the colors and patterns in the In Good Taste Designer Series Paper (you can click on the photo below to flip through the pages in my online store): I’ll be sharing more about this soon, but Stampin’ Up! is kicking off a Designer Series Paper sale this week – select papers (including the two above) will be 15% off for the month of July. More information to come. ♥
• Faux Suede. I cropped my sentiment with the oh-so-versatile Tasteful Labels Dies – it’s almost like this die was made for this sentiment. To accent my sentiment panel, I added three strips of 1/4″ wide strips of Merry Merlot cardstock. Before adding the strips, though, I created a Faux Suede effect with the paper. Here’s a closer look:I pulled the strips through a bone folder and my finger over and over (like I was curling gift ribbons). After several pulls back and forth, the paper fibers start to break down. Once they are broken down, you can peal the front and back pieces apart. What you are seeing above is the INSIDE of the paper with a gorgeous, faux suede texture. It adds a rustic texture to the card without being flashy or taking away from the sentiment.
• Soothing Tones. I absolutely love the colors in this Beauty of the Earth Designer Series Paper – I pulled Early Espresso and Merry Merlot into the cardstock/ink on my card. Cinnamon Cider is so prevalent in the paper, and I love the combination of these three colors. If you like this mix of Cinnamon Cider, Merry Merlot and Early Espresso as much as I do, I hope you will save this for future reference:

Stamp Sets: Peaceful Moments  Papers: Beauty of the Earth, In Good Taste, Early Espresso, Merry Merlot, Thick Basic White  Inks: Merry Merlot  Accessories: Tasteful Labels Dies, Elegant Faceted Gems, Bone Folder, Stampin’ Dimensionals

Peaceful Moments Cling Stamp Set (En) – 151595

Price: $21.00

Tasteful Labels Dies – 152886

Price: $31.00

Beauty Of The Earth 12″ X 12″ (30.5 X 30.5 Cm) Designer Series Paper – 155841

Price: $11.50

In Good Taste Designer Series Paper – 152494

Price: $21.00

Elegant Faceted Gems – 152464

Price: $7.50

Early Espresso 8-1/2″ X 11″ Cardstock – 119686

Price: $8.75

Merry Merlot 8-1/2″ X 11″ Cardstock – 146979

Price: $8.75

Basic White 8-1/2″ X 11″ Thick Cardstock – 159229

Price: $8.25

Bone Folder – 102300

Price: $7.00

Stampin’ Dimensionals – 104430

Price: $4.00

I was so excited to work with this gorgeous paper, and I can’t wait to use it again. While I know it will make beautiful thank you, birthday and other cards, don’t you think it’s perfect for a sympathy card?

Thanks for stopping by today!

Brian

Last Chance Retiring List

Stampin’ Up! has released the list of products in its January – June 2021 Mini Catalog that are retiring on June 30 or when supplies run out. There are a lot of great products that will soon be unavailable – and MANY of them are offered at a great discount right now.To read more about the sale, CLICK HERE.

To shop the sale in my online store, CLICK HERE.

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