Like sympathy cards I find that my favourite ‘thinking of you’ cards are generally quite simple. It’s all about the message after all. So when I sat down to design today’s simple Sunday project I decided to use just stamps, ink and paper. Instead of flowers I opted for a more masculine / gender neutral leafy theme. And for the sentiment I pulled out the Many Mates Stamp Set which I don’t think I’ve used in a while.

SIMPLE LAYERS

I may have chosen leaves for my project but they actually come from the Flowers For Every Season 6″ x 6″ Designer Series Paper (DSP) pack.

I cut one piece of the leafy branch design at 2-1/4″ x 6″ and used Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) to attach it to the flap of a Whisper White Medium Envelope. Then with Paper Snips I trimmed off the excess using the edge of the flap as a guide.

Going back to the same DSP pattern I cut a piece 2-1/4″ x 3-1/4″ and set it aside. Then I found a coordinating Just Jade spotty sheet in the DSP pack for my final two strips, and cut them both at 3/4″ x 5-1/4″.

For my coordinating mat layers I chose Cinnamon Cider Card. I needed four pieces of this. Two were cut 7/8″ x 5-3/8″, one at 2-3/8″ x 3-3/8″ and the last one 1-5/8″ x 2-1/8″.

Using liquid glue I mounted the two long strips of spotty DSP onto the long strips of card. Then I mounted the leafy branch DSP onto the larger of the remaining two Cinnamon Cider Card pieces. With that I set everything aside to work on the sentiment.

MANY MATES

The Many Mates Stamp Set is a 19 piece sentiment only stamp set. As the name implies, the various sentiments can be mixed and matched and used for the outside or inside of cards. Today I chose the simple “just thinking of you” sentiment, and Cinnamon Cider ink to coordinate with the card mats.

After stamping the sentiment onto a 1-1/2″ x 2″ piece of Whisper White Card I was almost ready to start putting everything together. All I needed was a couple more white card pieces.

First, using my Paper Trimmer I cut and scored some Thick Whisper White Card. Next I folded it along the scored line and sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder to create a card base. Then, after cutting a 4″ x 5-1/4″ piece of Whisper White Card, I began assembling the project.

I started by using liquid glue to fix one of the long mounted strips close to the right-hand edge of the Whisper White layer. Then I glued the layer inside the card base.

Next I took the second layered strip and glued that onto the front of the card base about an inch from the fold. Over the top of that I used Stampin’ Dimensionals to add the large leafy branch panel. Then I topped that off with the sentiment fixed in place with Stampin’ Dimensionals. In no time at all today’s project was complete.

I love projects like these as they are so easy to replicate. But they’re also easy to adapt using different DSP patterns and coloured card layers underneath. I haven’t decided about a sentiment inside yet. I may hand write something, or I may use one of the other sentiments from the Many Mates Stamp Set. I’ll wait until I need to send it before make that choice.

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