Another Sympathy card needed & NBUS#88

 Hi,  Today I'm sharing another, Sympathy card that I had to make and get ready to send out.  It's always a hard thing to make but I hope that the recipient finds comfort in the words and knows that I cared about their loss.

Since this is my first time using this stamp and sentiment from the Unity Stamp Company (July 2024 KOM - it's all makin' sense) and also the patterned paper (Paper Studio) and my first time ever using the Misty Moonlight ink (SU) as well.  I'm going to share it with the NBUS blog#88

Here is my card:

I started with a card base that I can't quite place. - It's not Night of Navy or Misty Moonlight.  I'm thinking it might be a piece of Not Quite Navy but I can't be sure. (Sorry).

Normally I don't make square cards but the image I used is rather large so I ended up doing a 5x5 Square Card.

The image was stamped on Crumb Cake Card Stock with Misty Moonlight ink. I then rounded the corners with a Corner Punch, Splattered some white paint on it and added some Wink of Stella to the centers of the 5 main flowers.  I distressed the edges with the Misty Moonlight ink as well.

Next I cut a panel of the patterned paper, (Paper Studio) and glued it to my card base.  I embossed a strip of Vellum using the Misty Moonlight ink and the Cobalt Blue embossing powder.  I adhered it to the stamped image with Navy Brads and then used foam tape to mount the entire image onto the card.  I kept if fairly simple for mailing purposes.  

Again the inside was stamped with the same ink but stamped off once on the floral image. The sentiment was stamped normally. Also the sentiment is from (Stamp Simply) and I've used it several times.

Sympathy Cards

 Hi,  - Today I'm sharing a couple of, Sympathy cards that I recently needed. - Let's face while they are probably a crafter's least favorite card to make it's inevitable that they will at some point be needed.

Card #1:

For this card I used the other image from the July 2025 KOM

For my GIU week I had used the Dandelion image but I wanted to try using the other image as well. The sentiment is also from a Unity KOM (January 2023 Bloom and Evolve) The little splatters are from SU (Itty Bitty Backgrounds) a long since retired stamp set.

I started with a card base of Basic Beige (SU) which I might add is a color I really like now that I finally purchased some of it.

I had bought a piece of patterned paper at Hobby Lobby (Paper Studio line) that had a similar pattern on it so I based my color scheme off of that paper.

Dies used were: Unity Scallop/Rectangle.

I used Versa Mark ink and some Embossing Powder (Cobalt Tapestry) from PSE (Personal Stamp Exchange) which is sadly no longer in business to emboss the image.  I've only got a small amount left of this color and will miss it when it's gone.

Night of Navy ink was used to stamp the sentiment and it was fussy cut and glued to the image. Foam tape raised up the focal image.

This is the inside of the card.  I stamped the same image on a piece of scrap paper with Night of Navy ink and then stamped in down on a piece of Crumb Cake card stock which gave it a more muted look. The Sentiment if from Stamp Simply (Sympathy Sentiments Set 2) which I won on a blog hop a few years ago.  I love this sentiment and you will see it used on card 2 as well.

Card 2:

For this card I used a card base of Pecan Pie and a layer of Crumb Cake.  I stamped the deer image (Very old SU set, Noble Deer from 2004) I love this set so it's still in my stash.  I stamped the image with Early Espresso ink and colored it with pencils.  The pine cones are also part of that set and stamped and colored the same way then fussy cut. - The Sentiment is from the same Stamp Simple set that was used in Card #1.

I also used an old SU background stamp, (Sanded) with Versa Mark ink and stamped it down over my image trying to just get it only on the side areas and not the focal image.  You can see the faint impression it made if you enlarge the photo.  Foam tape was used to mount the sentiment.  Dies are from Unity stamps.

I kept both of these cards fairly CAS and did not add dimensional like gems or enamel dots so that they could be mailed more easily.

Thanks for stopping by. - Again if you don't receive a personal reply to your comment it's because I don't have your e-mail and blogger won't let me reply back unless I have that.

Winners of my GIU Week and a Card

Hello & Welcome

Today's post is the announcement of the Winners from my GIU, (Growing In Unity) week. - Before I get to the names of the winners I want to say a HUGE, Thank You to everyone who left such wonderful comments on my cards last week.  

Now without further ado the winners are: Kelly Kramer Sikes and Kim Jones.  Congratulations ladies!

Since I didn't just want to post the winners I'm including a card.  It was an extra one I made for my Day 3 Post which featured these 2 cards:

I made another card because I wasn't sure that these 2 card showed enough of a difference in styles. - In the end I posted them anyway but you should see the other card I made so it's a (Bonus) card just for today.

This one used the Mushroom again from the (July 2025 KOM - Feelin' Fall the Things).  Again it was colored with pencils and blended with Gamsol.  I used the same paper pack, (Spore the Love) but chose the red dotted piece so that it would have a more, Love/Valentine/Anniversary feeling to it.  Added Very Vanilla card stock, Crumb Cake - Which was ran through an large dot embossing folder but turned over so that it was, (debossed) instead.  Added a couple of hearts made from dies and punches.  The Red heart has Wink of Stella on it.  Added some tiny gold gems to the center of the flowers and some cream colored enamel dots to complete the card.

Have a great week and Happy Crafting!

GIU Day 5 - The Final Day

Hard to believe it's Friday already and the final day of my stint as the featured GIU stamper. - I have had a lot of fun this week creating cards and sharing them with you.

Once again here is the KOM that I chose to use for my cards:

 

For my final 2 cards I used the mouse with the leaf image.

Card #1:

This was another fun but messy card to make. - I used the "Bubble" technique for this card.  So I took 3 shades of ink refills (More Mustard*, Only Orange* retired colors and Old Olive) dropped a few drops in some plastic cups and mixed in a little water.  Next I took a straw and blew bubbles up to the top of the cup.  Then I brushed them off with the straw and placed them in various places onto watercolor paper letting the bubbles pop and dry. It makes for some very interesting patterns. Again I tapped the Mica spray onto the dried piece to add some shimmer.  Then it was cut out with a rectangle die and the mouse image was stamped with Early Espresso Ink.

I stamped the sentiment with the Espresso ink and punched it out with a circle punch. The Tangerine Tango panel was stamped with the Woodgrain Whisper background stamp using Versa Mark clear ink.  All panels were mounted onto Mossy Meadow card stock. I added some small punched hearts and tiny gems.  I also used a tab die to create the More Mustard tab on the right side of the card.

Card #2:

For the final card in this series:

This one was fun but time consuming (mostly because I messed part of it up and had to start over).

I wanted to use this piece of patterned paper from Paper Studio and purchased at Hobby Lobby for the wonderful fall colors it has.

I didn't realize until I was finished with the card that I'd used the same card base color (Mossy Meadow) as the first card. - Oh well...

I used another die plate from Concord & 9th with little circles on it. I die cut a piece of Early Espresso card stock, cut down the designer paper to fit inside the die and glued it down. Then I ran it through the die cut machine to add the circles on the patterned paper.  A strip of Cajun craze was also embossed with the die plate.  The mouse was color with pencils and fussy cut.  I mounted it with foam tape along with the sentiment and added some cream colored brads, another tab punch and a heart.

I hope you have enjoyed seeing my card creations this week.

Don't forget to comment for a chance at a $20 Unity store credit.  If commenting (Anonymously) please leave your name in the comment so you can be identified if you want a change to win.

GIU Day 4 - June 29-July 3, 2026

Hi,  I've been having so much fun sharing these cards for my week as the featured GIU (Growing in Unity) stamper.  

 Once again today I will be featuring 2 cards from this KOM:

Today I'm featuring the sweet little bird image for my cards.

Card #1:  I loved another patterned paper pack (Daisy Day Dreams) and thought it would pair well with this bird image sitting on top of that little flower.

I chose the Purple pattern for this card.  My card base is,  Gorgeous Grape.  Then I layered a piece of the patterned paper.  I stamped the image with colored pencils (Prisma) and again blended with stumps using Gamsol.  The image was cut out with an oval die (MFT stamps*retired). I mounted it onto another oval cut with Blueberry Bushel card stock.  I added some yellow glitter to the center of the flower and used a white splatter pen to add the dots that mimic the ones on the patterned paper.  The sentiment was stamped with Memento Tuxedo ink and punched with old SU punches on Gorgeous Grape, Highland Heater and Basic White cs. - I also cut a strip of the patterned paper in the polka dot and another in Highland Heather and mounted them to the card.  The image was raised with foam tape.  Some light lavender glossy dots were also added to complete the card.

Card #2 - This one took a totally different turn when I started deciding how I wanted it to look. 

  The card base is Calypso Coral.  Then I used a piece of patterned paper (Jubilant Tapestry)  I added a strip of Washi Tape over the bottom portion of the patterned paper and glue it down to the card base.  I started with a small strip of Vellum card stock and embossed the bird with Vanilla embossing powder from a company that is no longer in business.  After I embossed it I turned it over and colored the back of the images with various Permanent Markers (Shuttle Art) that I received as a Christmas gift. I used some micro glue dots to adhere the vellum to a piece of white card stock.  When you turn it over and glue it down it softens the colors and gave this a lovely pastel look.  I added small photo corners in petal pink card stock which helped cover up the glue dots.  Some die cut embossed leaves in a retired SU color (Sage Shadow) were added along with 3 white pearls and some light peach colored enamel dots to complete the card.

Please make sure to leave a comment for your chance at a $20 Unity store credit at the end of my week. - If commenting anonymously please leave your name in the comment to be eligible for the drawing.

Come back tomorrow for my final 2 cards from this KOM that I've used this week.

Day 3 - GIU Week (June 29-July 3 2026)

Hello and Welcome.  We are midway through my week as the GIU featured stamper. - By now you realize I'm featuring 2 cards each day using the same stamped image.  I'm using the July 2025 KOM - Took me an entire year to get this set out and actually use it!  It has some great images/sentiments so I don't know why it took me so long to use it.

Card #1:

I fell in love with the adorable mushroom image in this set.  Then I realized I had forgotten to purchase the Designer Paper that coordinates with that image so beautifully.  Guess what?  I just had to buy it.  

Details on this card:  Card Base: Cajun Craze. Also used: More Mustard cs* retired.  I so miss a lot of the old SU colors but thankfully still have some of them in my card stock stash.  The patterned paper is from Unity (Spore the Love). My image was stamped with Versa Fine Clair Nocturne ink and colored with various Copic markers.  I did not write down which ones I used.  I've had Copics for several years but struggle to use them.  I'm trying to improve my skills so hopefully this isn't too bad. The mustard piece of card stock was embossed with a Swiss Dot embossing folder.  I rounded the corners with a corner punch. (KW-triO 3-Way) which was gifted to me by a good friend. The sentiment and focal image were mounted with foam tape and some sequins were added to complete the card.  Showing some of the details below:

Card #2:  The first card has a more (Fall) feel to it. - This one I tried to give a more summer like feel by changing up the colors.

Card Base: Real Red cs (SU) Then I cut out a rectangle of the patterned paper (Spore the Love) that had some brighter tones to it.

The image was stamped with Memento Tuxedo black ink and colored with pencils (Prisma Color) and blended with Gamsol/Blending Stumps.  I added some shimmer to the mushroom dots with a Wink of Stella pen. Hearts were left over from the first day's "Bear" card. I Stapled them onto another piece of the patterned paper.  Added some enamel dots and mounted the image with foam tape.  A couple of little gold gems add some extra sparkle.

Again you can see that I did one card in Landscape and one card in Portrait.  - Click to enlarge photos for better detail.

Don't forget to leave a comment to be eligible for a $20 store credit with Unity at the end of my week.  If commenting anonymously please leave your name in your comment so you can be identified if your comment is chosen. 

See you again tomorrow for image #4 from this Kit.