Stampin' With Michelle Pepper

I have heard it said that Sympathy Cards, for some, are hard to make when there is need for one, so the recommendation is to make them when there's no actual need for one.  This week I needed to make one :-( I found the design process actually quite a special time. As hard as it was to believe that life can slip away so suddenly, even when it wasn't unexpected, the reality is, we are confronted with the undeniable fact that now this life doesn't exist anymore in this world. While making this card, I found myself wrapped up in the thoughts of who this person was, the beauty within and without, and of all the many different ways she would be missed by all who knew her. These thoughts guided the design elements of the card. At one point I felt to use bright colours because when you saw Billie's smile, and she always smiled, you can't help but feel happiness and joy, that your day was brightened somehow. In the end I chose the muted pinks and yellows with...

Here finally is the card I made for the Stamp Nation Swap in February, which I mentioned here . Tip #1: Effective use of card stock that will be covered up See that bit of card stock underneath the Baja Breeze blue layer? It's not pretty under there, it has the "holes" left behind from the two butterfly punch outs and a mini circle punch out which was used in the Build a Brad (retired product that I have a stash of). The butterflies then became embellishments on the card to add interest. Tip #2: Tying in the project The butterflies aren't plain Daffodil Delight butterflies, they have the details from the Hello Doily (#128610 WM or #122847 CM) stamp image. As does the circle used in the Build a Brad. So these yellow embellishments "belong" to the card because they have the same detail as the subtle image on the background of the card. To complete this card, I also stamped the Hello Doily image on the inside of the card, which you can see peeking...

When the workshop for card making is over a lunch hour, you know that it will be a rush so the cards will need to be simple. Embossing Folders are the answer for quick and simple yet beautiful cards. TIP: see that row of pearls? It was placed there strategically - to hide a little stamping mistake I made when stamping that "journey" statement. End result is a beautiful card though, so I am pleased.

A good friend and customer suggested awhile ago that I make a card with the 2013-14 In Colours so that it would be handy to give to customers to see what these colours look like in card stock, not just from the catalogue pages. Time passes, there's always a growing list of things to do...you know how it goes... Then one day, since a lot of stamping tools were already out, and I remember a card I saw in the  blogworld that fellow SU! demo Emily Campbell had made, I set to work to cross this off the list. Well, I got one card made, so now I just have to make a bunch of these to give to customers.  Thanks for stopping by today. Bless you heaps. Now if you haven't already seen it on my Promotions page, this month Stampin' Up! has a special Butterfly Bundle offer that I'd like to bring your attention to:

In just a little under three years since I signed up as a Stampin' Up! demonstrator, I have managed to collect quite a few stamp sets. There are sets that I have hardly used, and you know, about all of them, I would say I haven't used as much as I would like to. It is a little hard as my stamping time is usually restricted to a start time of 10pm. Anyway, the point I want to make is this: I am making an effort to get as much mileage as I can from each stamp set that I own. So that could mean this blog might just be very boring, always showcasing the same stamp sets. Yet it could be inspiring and helpful perhaps to show the versatility of the stamps. On the right side of this blog, there is a section for Labels. It is sorted alphabetically so if you scroll down you'll see the list of Stamp sets and next to each name is a number, which indicates how many blog posts have been tagged with that stamp set. As I write now, I am pondering whether to make the goal quite specif...

Today's card is a fancy fold card known as a Never Ending Card. It is sooooo much fun to play with this card. The above shot is the front cover of the card. It opens up from the centre to reveal the next page/side as below: It's the purple page - the recipient of this card, my lovely niece's favourite colour. You then flip open the middle two square panels to reveal the third page/side as below: The reason for the occasion, and the card, was to celebrate her turning 16 years old, hence the 16 candles. I wanted it colourful, but would have trouble choosing the colours if it weren't for SU!'s In Colours range. SU! releases a new In-Colour range every year - there are 5 co-ordinating colours. This year's range, just released this month, are as yummy as they sound: Baked Brown Sugar Crisp Cantaloupe Pistachio Pudding Strawberry Slush Coastal Cabana Finally, you flip open from the centre to reveal the final page/side. Then you flip ...