This morning I had a simple goal to create a sympathy card that was unfussy and elegant. I chose a palette of greys and one of the new Host stamp sets from the Annual Catalogue. I had a feeling this would be a quick project but even I was surprised by just how quickly this sympathy card came together.

WITH SYMPATHY

I began this project with a Basic Gray ink pad as I felt that black would be too harsh. Then on a layer of Whisper White Card I stamped the large “with sympathy” sentiment towards the bottom.

Next I used my Paper Trimmer to cut and score some Basic Gray Card. After folding it along the scored line, I sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder to make my card base.

Then using Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow) I mounted the Whisper White piece onto a layer of Smoky Slate Card. Finally I glued the assembled layers to the card front and set it aside.

TOUCHED MY HEART

Going back to the Touched My Heart Stamp Set I then used Basic Gray ink to stamp the wider leafy branch in the top left and bottom right corners. I then repeated this on the front of a Whisper White Medium Envelope.

Using a light Smoky Slate Stampin’ Blends alcohol marker I coloured in each of the leaves. I liked the effect as it added a touch of soft colour to these simple images. With the leaves coloured I used liquid glue to fix the Whisper White piece on the inside of the card base.

All I had left to do was the main panel for the front of my sympathy card. For this I went back to the Touched my Heart Stamp Set for the large leafy heart image. Using Basic Gray ink I stamped the image onto a small piece of Whisper White Card and then coloured the leaves as before.

Once that was done, I used liquid glue to mount the stamped piece to a layer of Smoky Slate Card before attaching it to a piece of Basic Gray Card.

Finally I fixed the assembled layers to the card front with Stampin’ Dimensionals and my project was complete.

Many people find sympathy cards difficult to make. For me I like to keep it simple, with muted colours and simple layers. What about you?

HOST STAMP SETS

For the uninitiated, ‘host’ stamp sets are sets that can only be purchased using ‘Stampin’ Rewards’. The ‘Host’ Stamp Sets are sold at below retail value and can be found on page 187 of the 2020/2021 Annual Catalogue.

Stampin’ Rewards are earned by hosting a workshop or party that generates at least $200 CAD in orders (before shipping and taxes). The amount of Stampin’ Rewards earned starts at 10% of the total orders, rising to 16% with higher order totals. Workshops or parties can be ‘in person’ or virtual, or it could even be a ‘party for one’, where a single customer orders $200 or more in products. Once earned, Stampin’ Rewards can be spent on anything from the current catalogue(s) or the online Clearance Rack.

Stampin’ Rewards can also be used towards a ‘Starter Kit” if you want to join Stampin’ Up! to get discounts and other perks (see my Join Stampin’ Up! page for more information).

For a project created using the Summer Days (Host) Stamp Set see my earlier blog post Summer days, lazy days.

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