Sympathy for a Friend

Here's another one of those "difficult" cards to make, but this time it's not a masculine card. It such a struggle to make a sympathy card because of the emotion involved - there's just no way to turn a few pieces of cardstock and some ink into an expression of what I'm feeling. I can only hope the recipients receive a small measure of comfort that I was thinking of them, and keeping them in my prayers.

This is a variation of a tri-fold card. It was inspired by this card by Chris Smith. I moved the flap down a bit, and thought the greeting would be perfect just below the flap. The deep black of the satin ribbon belly band marks the solemnity of the occasion. It slips off so the bow doesn't need to be retied.

Stamps: Thoughts & Prayers, Loving Thoughts
Cardstock: Very Vanilla, Basic Black
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: Big Shot, Edgelits Dies, Basic Black 5/8" Satin Ribbon, Black Rhinestone Jewels (retired)

Tea Party

Did you ever play tea party when you were little? I know I did, probably under the same tree where I played house at my great-grandmother's. Which, I've since learned, was not a willow, but a weeping mulberry. Interest in botany didn't come until much later, lol.

But when I grew up, coffee became my hot beverage of choice. Guess I needed the extra caffeine kick.  Anyhoo, the stamps in the new Tea Shoppe set remind me so much of tea sets I played with as a child. And the Attic Boutique Designer Series Paper is a perfect match. The combination transports me back to a more innocent, genteel time.

Stamps: Tea Shoppe
Cardstock: Baja Breeze, Very Vanilla, Attic Boutique DSP
Ink: Soft Suede Classic
Accessories: Big Shot, Adorning Accents Edgelits Dies, Adorning Accents embossing folders, Baja Breeze 1/2" Seam Binding Ribbon, Pearls Basic Jewels, Scallop Oval Punch, Stampin' Dimensionals

SNEAK PEEK - WAHOOOO!

Mr. Brown brought my 2012 Occasions Mini catalog and 2012 Sale-A-Bration preorder last night, and even though I should have been doing other things, I couldn't resist trying out some of the new goodies (yes, I am weak....I admit it), and using as many as I could on this card without letting it totally out of hand.

*Crickets chirping*

Well okay, maybe I could have toned it down a little bit, but I really wanted to show as much as I could on this one card! We Stampin' Up! demonstrators aren't allowed to post the products themselves ahead of time, but we CAN make something with 'em, and share that. (Have I mentioned lately how much I love being a demo? Getting to preorder new things and create with them, before everybody else, is one of the MANY great perks of being a SU demonstrator!)

So, on this one little card, you will see five items from the Occasions Mini and two items from the SAB catalogs. The first thing you may have noticed are all the die-cuts. Yep, Stampin' Up! is coming out with Framelits - something akin to Nestabilities, only they're even better because you can see exactly where the die will cut, making image framing a piece o' cake!  We will also have Edgelits dies to cut fancy edges AND there are embossing folders for the edges to match!  And you might have noticed the two little embossed hearts. That's from the new Fashionable Hearts Embosslit - it's just like the Beautiful Butterflies Embosslit, only hearts! I {heart} hearts.


Stamps: Bordering on Romance, Sweetheart
Cardstock: Whisper White, Everyday Enchantment Designer Series Paper (FREE SAB item)
Ink: Calypso Coral, Blushing Bride, and Poppy Parade Classic
Accessories: Big Shot, Edgelits Adorning Accents, Framelits Hearts Collection, Embosslits Fashionable Hearts,  Large (8 mm) Pearl Basic Jewels, Pearl Basic Jewels, Calypso Coral Everyday Enchantment 1/8" Organdy Ribbon (FREE SAB item)

In 2012 Occasions Mini catalog, starts 1/4 
In 2012 Sale-A-Bration catalog, starts 1/24