Here for You

I'm on a forced 10 day staycation so it's the perfect time to play along with some challenges! For today's card I am playing along with the fun sketch challenge over at The Paper Players.

One of my coworkers lost her brother the other day so I was asked to make a card that everyone could sign and give to her. I decided to use the SU set Color and Contour. I pulled out the SU DSP Pattern Party and decided to make Pool Party my dominant color with some yellow tossed in and just a tad of green.

Thanks for stopping by!

Here For You

I never like making sympathy cards but this one was especially difficult. This card was made for a dear friend of mine who just lost her son to suicide this past Friday. I've known her and her family for a long time and it just breaks my heart to see her going through this. I wanted to let her know that I'm here for her no matter what she needs.

I knew I wanted to use the Daffodils stamp set from Power Poppy but after that I was a bit lost. Thankfully The Paper Players have a Tic-Tac-Toe challenge this week and after looking at the board I knew what I wanted to do...flowers, purple and sympathy.

I've got blueish-purple for the purple hyacinths in the bouquet, and then the crackle background, stitched rectangle and card base are all purple also, along with the sentiment stamped on the rectangle.

Thanks for stopping by, and hug those that are important to you. Life changes so quickly....

With Sympathy

Today's card was made for the Power Poppy challenge, I used the second sketch this time.

The woman I consider my stepmom lost her mother recently and so I needed a sympathy card to send to her. I love the new hyacinth digital image and decided to use that for my card. I resized the image, printed it out and then used my Scan N Cut to cut out the image. Instead of using a notebook edge on one of the layers like in the sketch I used a die from SugarPea Designs. I really liked the hearts for this card. The gray layer was embossed with a CB Argyle embossing folder. It's hard to see in the photos but I did use my silver Gelly Roll pen for a little sparkle on the hyacinths.

Stamps: Hyacinth Bulb in Glass (Power Poppy), Teeny Tiny Wishes (SU)

Paper: Smoky Slate (SU), Elegant Eggplant (SU), Neenah Solar White, MFT Tranquil Textures

Ink: Printer Ink, Elegant Eggplant (SU)

Copics

Accessories: Cuttlebug, SPD Notched Heart Journal Card, MFT Blueprints 20, CB Argyle EF, SU Round Corner Punch, Dimensionals

Sharing in your Sorrow

One of the best things about being military was moving to new bases and meeting all kinds of people. In 1998 I was so excited because we had spent the last 3 yrs stationed in the CA Mojave Desert and were about to transfer to Groton CT. I grew up an hour and a half away from Groton, in Springfield MA, so going to CT was like going home for me.

We did have some reservations though because as a surface Navy family we were headed to a submarine base and that was something we hadn't yet experienced, and I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Little did I know I was about to meet some of the best people that I'd ever meet throughout our various moves.

Sadly, last week one of those outstanding people passed away. Julie was such a wonderful person and we shared a love for the Boston Bruins. She has 3 beautiful grandsons and I lived vicariously through her as she posted pictures of them growing up on her FB page. Julie was only 53 yrs old and her passing was such a shock. She leaves behind her husband, 2 sons, their wives and the 3 grandsons, plus sisters, other relatives and so many friends.One of their grandson's has Down Syndrome so in lieu of flowers they're asking folks to donate to the Down Syndrome Association, which I will be doing this week.

I used the current sketch at Freshly Made Sketches to create a card to send to Julie's husband and boys. I realized after I finished the card that I forgot to put a shape in the corner of the card but hopefully that's ok. I tried to keep the card a bit on the feminine side but also a bit subdued.

Hug your loved ones, life is just too short and can change so quickly.

Sympathy Silhouette for Friday Mashup

This week at The Friday Mashup Tara is our hostess and she wants us to create an ombre look, and also use an embellishment cluster. I've never tried the whole ombre thing so this was my first time, be gentle with me :)

My husband grew up in the Bay Area of CA and has a close knit circle of friends from his junior high and high school days. They all live in different parts of the US now but Facebook keeps them connected and hubby found out that 3 brothers in his circle lost their dad to a heart attack the other day. Hubby has always told me how nice this dad was and hearing about his passing really got to hubby. He asked me if I could make a sympathy card to send to the mom and of course I said yes.

For the ombre look I sponged 3 colors...Tangerine Tango, Pumpkin Pie and Calypso Coral. After I got the shades I wanted with the sponging I then took an image from the Serene Silhouettes set and stamped that over the colors with Memento Tuxedo Black. I didn't want to overdo the embellishments since it's a sympathy card so I added 3 sequins.

For some reason I ordered 2 packs of Calypso Coral when I didn't even need more of that color so I decided to use that as my card base. I then took a panel of Whisper White and embossed that with the Fancy Fan TIEF. The image panel was then popped up with dimensionals on the WW panel. The sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes and I stamped that in black ink on WW and made a small banner.

Make sure to head over to The Friday Mashup blog to see what the rest of the DT did and then play along with us!

• Create a project using an ombre effect
• Create a project with an embellishment cluster
• Mash it Up! and create with project with an ombre effect that has an embellishment cluster

Stamps: Serene Silhouettes, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Paper: Calypso Coral, Whisper White

Ink: Tangerine Tango, Pumpkin Pie, Calypso Coral, Memento Tuxedo Black

Accessories: Big Shot, Fancy Fan TIEF, Sequins from Pretty Pink Posh, sponges, dimensionals

Sweet Sympathy for Friday Mashup

Welcome to another Friday Mashup! This week Heidi is our host and she brings us a sad, but important, challenge. October is National Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month. Each year, approximately 870,000 families experience the loss of a baby during pregnancy or shortly after birth. To support these families she would like us to create a thinking of you or condolence card, and if you are inclined, donate the card to a local infant loss charity or support group. You can also send your donation card(s) to  Heidi (contact her at runningwscissors@earthlink.net for mailing address), and she will collect and donate them to her local H.A.N.D.S. charity.

For my card I went with greens and pinks and a tree from the Lovely As a Tree set. This is one of my favorite sets to go too for a sympathy card, as the images are very poignant yet not overwhelming, and IMO nature is a wonderful way to try and soothe the soul in difficult times.

We'd love to see you over at The Friday Mashup!

1. Create a "Thinking of you or condolence card."
2. Create a card/cards and "Donate it to a Charity or Organization of your choice."
3. Or Mash it Up and create a "Thinking of you/Condolence Card and donate it to H.A.N.D.S via Heidi."

 

A,B,C and 1,2,3 for Friday Mashup

Who else is ready for the weekend? I know I am! Here in the States we're headed into a long holiday weekend, Labor Day. My family and I are going to check out the Alaska State Fair, always a fun time! Before I disappear for the weekend though I've got this weeks Friday Mashup to share with everyone.

Amy is bringing the challenge to us this week and its all about a recipe, specifically the A-B-C 1-2-3 one. Not sure what that is? For the letters you use elements that start with A-B-C...it can be colors, the stamp sets or dies you use, get creative! For the 1-2-3 portion you use 1 embellishment, 2 stamp sets and 3 colors.

This is how I chose to use the recipe:

A: Apothecary stamp set
B: Baked Brown Sugar cardstock
C: Cherry Cobbler cardstock

1: Cherry Cobbler ribbon
2: Apothecary Art and Loving Thoughts
3: Baked Brown Sugar, Cherry Cobbler, Garden Green

As you can see I repeated a few elements but I got everything covered!

Make sure you head over to The Friday Mashup to see all the great projects from the other DT members! I always love seeing how everyone interprets the challenges!

1. Create a project with using "A-B-C (use elements on your projects starting with the letters A, B, C). "
2. Create a project using a "1-2-3 card recipe (1 embellishment, 2 Stamp Sets, 3 Colors) ."
3. Or Mash it Up and create a project "A-B-C & a 1,2,3 card recipe. "

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Apothecary Art, Loving Thoughts

Paper: Baked Brown Sugar, Cherry Cobbler, Cherry Cobbler DSP, Garden Green DSP, Whisper White

Ink: Black StazOn, Cherry Cobbler, Garden Green

Accessories: Big Shot, Framelits Labels, Paper Piercing Tool, Cherry Cobbler Ribbon, dimensionals, sponge

 

Celebrating 100 FM Challenges!

Wow, it's our 100th challenge over at The Friday Mashup blog! How awesome is that? To celebrate this milestone this weeks challenge is to go back and pick your favorite out of the previous Mashup's and do that challenge again! And to thank YOU, the folks that play along with the Mashup, one lucky person is going to win a $25.00 gift certificate to Stampin'Up as a way to say thank you!

I decided to go back to challenge #51, quilted cards and using something forgotten from your stash. I pulled out a sympathy set that I haven't used in a while because sadly, one of mine and Holly's friends lost her dad a few days ago.

Make sure you head over to The Friday Mashup and play along for your 100th Mashup Challenge!

So here is the "Mashup" Challenge:

1. Make a project using "Your Favorite Challenge 1-99".

2. or Tell us what you like about the Challenge You picked!
3. or Link up for a Chance to win a "$25 Stampin' Up! Gift Certificate".

Rules for Giveaway* You must Link up with an original project created for this challenge. Please provide a Link back to the Mashup in your Post. One entry per person in drawing for GC.

Sympathy for Sunday Stamps

This week it was up to me to come up with the color challenge for Sunday Stamps and so I chose 3 of my favorite SU colors.....Daffodil Delight, Old Olive and Pacific Point. I just love these colors (and remember, you don't have to use SU colors, you can use anything close to these ones!), they are so pretty.

Unfortunately I've needed a lot of sympathy cards lately so I decided to make another one as a 'just in case' card. I like CAS cards to begin with but when it comes to sympathy cards I especially like them plain so I didn't do a whole lot in terms of embellishment other than the ribbon. The strip of Pacific Point is embossed and the edges of all layers(other than the main image panel) are sponged with their respective colors.

I sure hope that you'll head over to the Sunday Stamps blog and check out all the great inspiration from the rest of the design team! We'd also love to have you play along with us!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise stated):

Stamps: Apothecary Art, Loving Thoughts

Paper: Old Olive, Pacific Point, Whisper White, Polka Dot Parade DSP

Ink: Black StazOn, Old Olive, Daffodil Delight, Pacific Point

Accessories: Big Shot, Framelits Labels, Cuttlebug Swiss Dots EF, Old Olive ribbon (retired)

Crumb Artichoke Lovely Tree

I hope all my friends in the US had a great 4th of July today! Hubby had to work today so we BBQ'd when he got home and then we just hung out with the kids. We have 22 hrs of daylight right now so fireworks really aren't impressive this time of year...we save that fun for New Years Eve!

Thanks to the holiday I did get a paid day off from work and that enabled me to get some stamping done. For this card I combined 2 challenges...Dynamic Duos and Freshly Made Sketches. This is my 3rd card using this weeks Dynamic Duos challenge, so you can tell I like it! I did switch it up though and instead of a red color I used Always Artichoke. :)

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Lovely as a Tree, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Paper: Crumb Cake, To The Nines Specialty DSP(retired), Watercolor Paper, Very Vanilla(inside card)

Ink: Crumb Cake, Always Artichoke

Accessories: Big Shot, Square Lattice EF, Small Oval Punch, sponge, dimensionals

Thinking of You for Paper Players

A friend of the family lost her mother to cancer over the weekend so I wanted to let her know that we are thinking of her. This week marks 17 months since I lost my dad to cancer so I know the pain she is feeling and I know how much notes from my friends meant to me after he passed.

I played along with The Paper Players, as they have a great sketch this week from LeAnne. I didnt want my card to be too busy, and since our friend loves cats I decided to use the kitty from the Touch of Kindness set. I did move the sentiment to the middle of the card, as it just worked better with what I had going on.

Make sure you head over to The Paper Players blog to check out the great cards from the design team and all the great projects that have been submitted by folks!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Touch of Kindness, Teeny Tiny Wishes

Paper: Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight, Whisper White, Daffodil Delight DSP

Ink: Black StazOn, Early Espresso, Cherry Cobbler, Daffodil Delight

Accessories: Small Oval Punch, Cherry Cobbler Ribbon, sponge, dimensionals

Simple Sympathy for Freshly Made

I went with this very simple sympathy card when playing along with this weeks sketch over at Freshly Made Sketches. I don't like busy cards to begin with and when someone experiences a loss I like to keep the card pretty plain..... I guess a muted, right to the point kind of thing.

Check out the challenge and all the great cards by the design team, they are simply stunning!

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Thanks For Caring

Paper: Crumb Cake, Not Quite Navy, Naturals White, Bella Bleu DSP

Ink: Crumb Cake, Not Quite Navy

Accessories: Decorative Label Punch, Not Quite Navy Ribbon, dimensionals, sponge

Sharing Sorrow

I hate cancer. I lost my dad to it in 2010, I have several friends, plus my stepmom, who went through a horrible time while battling breast cancer and now my stempm has lost yet another loved one to the horrible disease, this time her beloved aunt. I made this card for my stepmom and her mom, to let them know my thoughts are with them as the family deals with the loss. The sentiment is a little crooked but thats ok.

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Thoughts and Prayers

Paper: Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla, Bella Bleu DSP

Ink: Crumb Cake, Not Quite Navy

Accessories: Top Note Die, Big Shot, Not Quite Navy ribbon, sponge

Pendant Park Sympathy

99.9% of the time I love making cards. I love to brighten someones day just a little bit.


Today, that was not the case. I dreaded making this card. On Weds my friends husband died after a 2 yr battle with lung cancer. Even though we knew the end was soon and I'm happy that he is not suffering anymore, I hate that I have to make a sympathy card for a widow and her 4 children.


I went with the Color Throwdown Challenge for this week(my first time playing along with this blog I believe!) and the Sketch Challenge from Splitcoast.

These are the colors for the Throwdown blog:

And the sketch:

And the card I came up with:                                                                                                                                                                                                            

Supplies used(all supplies SU unless otherwise noted):

Stamps: Pendant Park, Warmest Regards

Paper: Chocolate Chip, Mellow Moss, Blush Blossom, Whisper White,  To The Nines Specialty DSP, Patterns Pack II

Ink: Chocolate Chip, Old Olive, Mellow Moss, Versamark

Accessories: Brads, Dimensionals