quick and easy – ConstantlyCreating.Me

“Be the Change” with World of Good Memories and More Card Pack

Hello there and thanks for stopping by my blog! I’m sorry I’ve been quiet lately; I’ve had too many projects and people to please recently. (You all knows how that goes, right? Maybe I’m not the only one? 😂)

I haven’t had a lot of time in the craft room this month but I did sneak in there a couple of evenings recently to try to finish a batch for my local gift shop/employer. I’ve done a few grad cards and some easy cards. Here’s an easy one you can duplicate if you have or can find the World of Good Memories and More Card Pack and the Flowers for Every Season Cards and Envelopes.

I used a piece of Misty Moonlight cardstock for my base (A6 size) first and then picked the large foil-globe card and the smaller 3×4 “Be the Change” card out of the card pack. I adhered the largest card with my preferred glue, and then I measured (yes, I actually measured!) and punched 3/16” holes in the corners for some 3/16” gold brads. Once I had the brads fastened, I popped up the card on foam dimensionals. And that was it! I used a Misty-Moonlight-lined envelope from the Flowers for Every Season Cards and Emvelopes and called it done. 😂 I guess simple and easy really is the best. (The next post about a fancy grad card I did this week will be the opposite!) Most of all, I liked the sentiment on this card. I think it could even be used as a grad card, a masculine card, or one of encouragement. Thanks again for visiting, and stay tuned for more when I get time!

Thinking of You Card in Blue Roses (Stampin’ Up Embellishments and Paper Pumpkin Sentiment)

Using up a favorite piece of paper with a favorite technique—and it’s so easy that anybody can do it!

Hi, everybody! I’ve had quite a good run on cardmaking lately. I need to be reorganizing my craft room too but can’t seem to stay away from the desk! I know my schedule will be changing soon with springtime, so I’m thankful the creativity is here while it’s here.

One of the challenges I have in my craft room (just a secondary bedroom) is the amount of stuff—consumables like paper, embellishments, and more—due to the number of years I’ve been crafting (paper crafting for about 30 years now; other types, longer). I do confess: I LOVE paper and embellishments. I love having just the right special little thing to add to a card or scrapbook layout to top it off and make it perfect (or as perfect as the receiver will believe it to be 😉). And don’t even get me started on all the beautiful patterns and color choices I have in paper.

Sadly, as my “collection” grows and I fight losing space within four walls, I find myself striving more earnestly to use up my consumables to gain space. I’m not sure this will really work, considering how little room a few pieces of paper and gems take 😆, but I’m going with that for now in an attempt to feel as if I’m progressing somewhere. But that theory is why I made the card I’m sharing today.

I don’t actually know the name of the company who made today’s beautiful background. Sometimes I get papers from other crafters in destashes or swaps or RAKs (Random Acts of [Craft] Kindness). I had only two pieces of this one and always thought them beautiful but I’d moved them around a few times—in and out of the “make these next” piles of card parts, different storage options, and the like. The day I made this card, they moved from “make this sometime” to “make this NOW.” The design was too pretty to put off any longer. But I wasn’t sure what I wanted to do with it (the very reason, I suspect, that I kept moving it around in the first place). I first made a card base out of Stampin’s Up’s Misty Moonlight cardstock (item #153081), which matched the roses perfectly, while I continued to think. I use their cardstock for 99% of my card bases; this color is the regular 80-lb weight.

I must have had 3D things still in my subconscious after making the bird/flower card from a UK magazine kit in a previous post, because I was suddenly willing to sacrifice BOTH pieces of this pretty paper. I latched onto an idea of popping up some of the roses from one sheet on foam dots to give them dimension and make them 3D on the actual card. I cut out the two trio bunches for this and used Stampin’ Up’s self-adhesive Dimensionals underneath (item #104430, current). And then I used my Wink of Stella White and Clear glitter pens on top of all the lightest blue roses, because it’s been my go-to thing lately. I recently opened a new Clear one (item #141897, current) and am loving the amount of glitter it puts out. So fast and easy with an “Ooh, pretty!” punch. 🙂 The White one gives a nice whitewashed look (I only used it on the centers), but I didn’t think it was dramatic enough since the roses were already sketched with white too. It just softened the middles a little.

I was arbitrarily chatting while making this card (“Attempted Multitasking” is often my middle name), so I wasn’t feeling like complicating things further by sorting through my stamp sets, finding a sentiment that fit, hoping to ink and stamp the thing properly in between the dimensional roses—I needed more fast and easy. And then my eyes fell on some recent Paper Pumpkin sets I have stacked nearby. (Yes, Connie should make an effort to use these up more quickly—it will save space! 😂) I hadn’t even opened February 2021’s “Bouquet of Hope” kit yet but I thought there was something in there (consumable) that I could use, from what I was remembering from the promo pictures. Sure enough, sentiments in three languages, in die-cut sticker form. Perfect. And the English one even fit. No mess, no fuss, and I could nestle it into place without worrying about accidentally inking up 3D roses.

I decided to cut apart the “of” and “you” words because I didn’t like how close to the edge the “you” was falling, right where a right-handed person would hang onto the card. But what to do to make everything fit? Well, I ended up sticking the “of” to the top of the bottom dimensional roses and thinly chopping up Dimensional pads to fit under the part of the “f” that hung over the flower. That was tricky, yes. But it’s possible.

Then, time for embellishments! Stampin’ Up to the rescue again (and more gems used up!). I have previously hesitated on adding the Matte Black Dots (item #154284, current) to the top layers of my projects because they’re about 1/8” thick and I often “card” in layers, stacking things even higher. But here I could use them on the bottom layer without fear because the top layer would be against the envelope. 😁 I also scribbled some fake black dots onto the topmost rose trio since I didn’t want to chance them poking through the envelope when mailing. I used my black glitter brush from Art-C for that (very similar to Wink of Stella). I also added three champagne-colored gems from the Elegant Faceted Gems pack (item #152464, current) to the bottom layer to pick up the yellow/gold tones of the smaller flowers in the background. And that took care of the outside of the card.

I kept the inside even simpler. I have several ongoing card orders to fill all the time these days, and one is for a lady who likes a simpler style. (That’s hard for me, but she’s helping me learn it!) I did think of her while making both the outside and the inside of the card, wondering whether she would want it, so I deliberately left the inside blank with just a strip of leftover background paper at the edge of miscellaneous white writing space (a substitute would be Basic White cardstock, item #159276, current).

And now I’ve used up all that pretty paper. But it was worth it. 😍

Here are the links for what I’ve used in today’s post:

Product List

Misty Moonlight 8-1/2″ X 11″ Cardstock [153081]	Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush [141897]	Matte Black Dots [154284]	Elegant Faceted Gems [152464]
Stampin’ Dimensionals [104430]	Basic White 8 1/2″ X 11″ Cardstock [159276]	Paper Trimmer [152392]	Basic White Medium Envelopes [159236]

If you’d like to own any of these Stampin’ Up products yourself, you can go to my online store and shop with me at http://www.stampinup.com?demoid=2202334. The retiring list for the current Annual catalog hits this Wednesday!! Lots of good stuff coming! (But the Mini is still active until May 3. 😉) Contact me if you’d like paper catalogs instead. 🙂 You can also use Host Code WMW62ECS during checkout and receive a free gift! Orders totaling $50 before tax and shipping can choose a free gift from me up to $8 retail value; I’ll ship it separately to your preferred address after the order is placed. You’ll also earn 1 reward point toward a total of 8, which will get you a free $40 order from me. (And once you hit 8 points, the counter starts over!)

If you’d like to join a Stampin’ Up team and become a demonstrator yourself, I’d love to have you! I’m working on achieving some “leveling up” requirements and would be thrilled to have someone new! No pressure about sales amounts from me, ever. I know what it’s like to lead and juggle a busy life around many priorities. If you’re interested, contact me any time or check out my joining link at http://www.stampinup.com/join?demoid=2202334.

Check back on Wednesday for the 2020-2021 Annual retiring list! And thanks for stopping by. 🥰

Masculine/Unisex Card with Stampin’ Up’s Come Sail Away Memories and More Card Pack for Stamp with Amy K’s Tuesday Blog Hop

Hello, and welcome back for my post joining Amy’s Inkin’ Krew Tuesday Blog Hop for May! This time we’re focusing on cards for the men or boys. I intended to make mine a masculine card (and it has been approved as such), but I’ve also been told by three women that it is “pretty.” So I guess it’s up to you as to how you feel about it. Feel free to leave a comment and let me know. 🙂 Maybe I’ve finally achieved a perfect unisex card! 🙂

I first got the idea by thumbing through the remaining double-sided cards in my Come Sail Away Memories and More Card Pack (#149552), which has been put on the retiring list (first come, first serve, and they won’t last long!). I really love this card pack and am sorry to see it go. Since I fulfill orders for a gift shop (with a second shop upcoming, after things finally return to some normalcy), I’m always looking for quick and easy cards I can make. Even though I love fussy details and spending agonizing amounts of time on card masterpieces 🙂 I do have to create some that are just simple and fast. So when I saw this 3″ x 4″ “Any Day with You Is the Best” Project Life–style card, it just worked. I quickly found a matching 4″ x 6″ background piece that matched it, and then it was just a matter of finishing with details.

I have three sets of retired or almost-retired “Cards and Envelopes” pack that are card bases and matching envelopes that I keep dipping into. For this card, because the shades in it are grey and black, a white card base and envelope from the retired Whisper White Large Memories and More Cards and Envelopes pack looked the best.

To add a layer before gluing everything together, I considered using Stampin’ Up’s retired Corrugated Cardstock between the two paper pieces, but it just didn’t look right, with stripes going both ways. I chose some lightweight mulberry paper I had in my stash, instead, tearing it to leave a border around the smaller card. And then I found my roll of retired Halloween Night Baker’s Twine, which is entwined Basic Grey and Basic Black colors, so I looped it around vertically twice and tied a bow. There still weren’t enough details to suit me and just a little more white space to play with, so I used my last remaining large adhesive heart sticker from the retiring Heart Epoxy Droplets (#148583) under the words on the front piece and then added four frosted gems from the Frosted & Clear Epoxy Droplets (#147801), which is carrying over to the new catalog (hooray!).

I haven’t decided what to put on the inside of this card yet, so it’s still blank for now. I’m open to suggestions if you have a fit of brilliance. 😉

Somehow I did manage to use both retiring and current products in my card, which is the theme of month for our team on our private Facebook page. 🙂 But this is a good example of why I keep or buy up retired products too, when I can get them. I literally use them for years on all kinds of projects. (And yes, the floor may fall through my craft room soon, as my husband fears. But then my craft room would be bigger! 😉 )

If you love a good sale like I do, please feel free to take advantage of the lower prices of the limited retiring stock (or carryover goodies) on Stampin’ Up’s website by shopping through my personal link at https://www.stampinup.com/ecweb/default.aspx. Supplies really are limited and things are already selling out. Use host code 6EFSC3TZ and get a free gift. (If your order is over $50 before tax and shipping, you can choose an item of up to $8 and I’ll ship it to you as my thanks, and you’ll earn one reward point toward a free $40 order. If your order is over $150 before tax and shipping, do not put in the host code because you’ll earn your own rewards before you confirm your order.)

And because my team is so awesomely creative, you’ll want to “hop” through the rest of the list to see what they’ve made for men or boys this month. (If you want to join my team and become a Independent Stampin’ Up Demonstrator like us, go here: https://ida.stampinup.com/en/?demoid=2202334.) Thanks for joining us today!

Press the Previous button to view Karen Finkle’s project or the Next button to see what Akiko created for us!

Mary Deatherage – https://wp.me/p5snyt-cPT
Karen Ksenzakovic – https://wp.me/paaNf4-2ap
Sue Prather – https://wp.me/p5yitZ-1Ua
Jaimie Babarczy – https://wp.me/p79UhD-3Rf
Leslie Larkin – https://leslielarkin.com/friend-like-you-bundle
Karen Finkle – https://karenscardkorner.blogspot.com/2020/05/stampin-up-tropical-oasis-masculine.html
Connie Troyer – You are here!
Akiko Sudano – https://wp.me/paOv8E-1bb
Julie Johnston – https://wp.me/p8SzmQ-2kc
Terry Lynn Bright – https://wp.me/p8fxPh-tt
Amy Koenders – https://wp.me/p2SFwf-juR

Birthday/Celebration and Thinking of You Cards with the Sale-a-Bration Kerchief Card Kit for Stamp with Amy K’s Sunday Blog Hop

Birthday and Thinking of You cards made with the Kerchief Card Kit available for free only during Sale-a-Bration with Stampin’ Up!

Thanks for joining me on my blog today! I have to start off with an apology and a correction; this blog post is for Amy’s Tuesday Blog Hop, not Sunday’s. I was thinking of the day I had to post the link! And now I can’t change it…. More proof that I’m not perfect, I suppose. 🙂

So, for the Tuesday Blog Hop, which is going with a birthday theme this month, I decided to make up the Kerchief Card Kit, which is available as a Sale-a-Bration reward for spending $50 before tax and shipping. It had been backordered, but I got it in on Saturday and sat right down to put them together. I’m still making cards for sale for my local gift shop in Amish Country, so this set is perfect to do up for them. I plan on ordering a second kit and selling them in sets of five and some singles, using our Acetate Boxes and some card jackets.

I decided to go with this kit for the birthday blog hop because of the included “Celebrate Today” sentiments, planned for the Coastal Cabana rose cards. (The Poppy Parade kerchief cards have “Thinking of You” sentiments.) I adore the blue cards (and its gold foil-dotted vellum!) because of the colors and style, and the red cards were simple and fun to put together as well (also with vellum, but plain). I also really liked the thicker twine included in the kit, and I hope I see more of it in the future. I was pleasantly surprised and pleased to note that there is no stamp or ink spot in the set; the sentiments are already printed and included as die-cuts, ready to be added to the cards. It made the work go much faster—and yet still allows me creativity to add whichever sentiments I see fit for the insides of the cards.

The picture above only shows four of the eight cards in the A2-sized kit because I made two of each of the cards shown. On the blue Coastal Cabana cards, I popped up the rose and sentiment on two of them and left the other two roses flat; I also put two bows up and away at the right and two at the lower left bottom, for variation.

I changed the placement of the gold leaves on the Poppy Parade cards, two being centered and two being placed at a diagonal the way the kit shows. I also changed the location of the bow, not placing them under the tag as in the instructions. I actually even put the bow on top of one of the tags, which is not reflected here.

I finished the cards by adding sequins from the retired Love Blossoms Kit, as I thought the gold, white, and Blushing Bride colors matched well.

When I considered sentiments for the insides of the cards and looked through my current stamp sets, I found four that will work nicely for wedding or anniversary, general celebrations, or celebrating a special person or a special day that may or may not be love relate. Though they’re not stamped on the cards yet, I plan on using “Be strong, be happy, be you” from Rooted in Nature; “Wishing you the best on your special day” from the Perennial Birthday set; “Hoping you experience love and joy today, tomorrow, and always” from the Last a Lifetime set in the Mini catalog; and “Here’s to always finding joy in one another’s laughter, warmth in one another’s embrace, and love in one another’s lives” from Path of Petals. I think the “celebrate today” cards could also be used as graduation, retirement or promotion, even the birth of a baby or baby shower, and more occasions as well, if you didn’t feel the need to use the standard icons of the event. They would work fine as blank cards too—celebrating life or spring or no reason whatsoever!

Free with your purchase, the kit is a good investment. Quick to make up and easy to have a few cards on hand or to give as gifts, it’s one that will appeal to many (if for convenience’s sake if nothing else!), and the cards are lovely to boot. They’re also very easy to adapt to other styles or make into alternate designs. The envelopes are all lined with either Balmy Blue or Petal Pink and make a nice “wow” moment when they’re opened as well.

I’ll leave you with a close-up of my favorite card in the stack. 🙂 Please be sure to scroll down and “hop” through the rest of our list of participants so you can see the special birthday cards they created. We have a fantastic, creative team! If you are needing Stampin’ Up supplies, catalogs, or a consultant, I’m happy to help you out with any. You can use host code WAA2PGYR until February 16 when you check out. Thanks again for stopping by!

Jaimie Babarczy – https://wp.me/p79UhD-3B4
Connie Troyer – You are here!
Akiko Sudano – https://wp.me/paOv8E-Qx
Mary Deatherage – https://wp.me/p5snyt-btg
Karen Ksenzakovic – https://wp.me/paaNf4-1DA
Leslie Larkin – https://leslielarkin.com/birthday-with-the-peaceful-moments-bundle/
Sue Prather – https://wp.me/p5yitZ-1KD
Julie Johnston – https://wp.me/p8SzmQ-2hu
Karen Finkle – https://karenscardkorner.blogspot.com/2020/02/stampin-up-young-at-heart-for-amys.html
Amy Koenders – https://wp.me/p2SFwf-iuS

Happy Birthday, Magnolia Lane

Happy Birthday, Magnolia Lane—two quick cards using the Magnolia Lane Memories and More Card Pack from Stampin’ Up.

Hello again! It’s time for another Stamp with Amy K Blog Hop! Our focus is on birthday cards this time. I’ve had some busy, busy weeks here. Hope yours has been quieter. It’s time for another handmade-card delivery to my local gift shop, so I took a few hours last weekend to churn through some cards and prepare them. Stampin’ Up’s gorgeous Magnolia Lane Memories and More Card Pack and the complementing Magnolia Lane Large Specialty Memories and More Cards and Envelope Pack made it very easy to have two cards done in record time.

I was really just looking through the Magnolia Lane card pack to see what there was to work with, and, as often happens to me, I began “seeing” cards in my head as different combinations of pieces flashed in front of my eyes. So even though I had intended to only create one card, I liked the final front combination and the 3×4 card I used on the inside so well that I decided my mom needed a birthday card too, no matter how long I had to wait to give it to her. 🙂

The cards in the Magnolia Lane card pack are just so pretty, and there are quite a few with sentiments on them. The “Happy Birthday” one is elegant and classy in its design and font without being over-the-top. Although I could have die-cut the sentiment out of the card, I liked it just the way it was (which was faster anyway).

After choosing a large striped “Project Life”-style card for the background and two flowery smaller background ones to match the “Happy Birthday” card, I then adhered the leafy envelope liner into the kraft envelope and creased the flap. Then I glued the background card I’d chosen onto one of the kraft card bases from the Large Cards and Envelope pack.

My first card, shown in the clear jacket it will be sold with.

I played around with the placement of the Petal Pink 5/8″ Striped Organdy ribbon on the coordinating 3×4 “background” card, decided where I wanted it, and put adhesive on the back before wrapping the length there tightly, since the ribbon would show the adhesive through it. Then I just staggered the two smaller cards on top of the larger striped card and glued them.

I accented the top and bottom of the ribbon with the Frosted Flower Embellishments and then added gold Metallic Pearls in the little divots of the flowers. And then the corners of the sentiment piece looked just a bit bare to me, so I added the pearls there too. 😁

On the inside, I used the “You Are Loved” 3×4 card, some white paper for a message, and a few of the stickers from the sticker sheets included in the Memories and More pack. Easy-peasy!

The inside of both cards (this one is shown inside a protective jacket).

Thanks for stopping by to see my creations. These are great products not only for scrapbooking but for cardmaking too. With everything matching, creating is a breeze! To see what the rest of my teammates have made this month, you can follow the list or “Previous” and “Next” buttons to “hop” from one blog to the next.

Jaimie Babarczy: https://wp.me/p79UhD-2SZ
Karen Finkle: https://karenscardkorner.blogspot.com/2019/06/stampin-up-heartland-birthday-card-for.html
Karen Ksenzakovic: https://wp.me/paaNf4-Gn
Shirley Gentry: https://stampinwithshirleyg.com/?p=5794
Connie Troyer: You are here!
Mary Deatherage: https://wp.me/p5snyt-8nX
Sue Prather: https://wp.me/p5yitZ-1hJ
Akiko Sudano: https://stampininthemeadows.com/?p=593
Amy Koenders: https://wp.me/p2SFwf-fPE

If you don’t have a Stampin’ Up demonstrator yet and want to order or receive a catalog, please feel free to contact me for help. If you want to order, use code DWFPUKPH and I’ll happily send my thanks and a free gift! Make it a great week!

Connie

Two Kinds of Simple, Stitched Thanks Cards (Notes of Kindness, Hanging Garden, Very Vintage)

Hello again… I thought I’d pop on while multitasking and detail a couple of simple cards I made recently. I got distracted last week before my husband and I went to Florida for his job (Florida in January from Ohio – huge perk, right? Well, if one stays healthy, yes. 🙂 ). When I should have been packing or finishing a card order, I ended up pulling things together for a card I didn’t anticipate making. Then last night I made another one since the first was so easy and I had a second stitched piece yet to use. 🙂

Since I’ve started selling cards and making custom items, I’ve been looking for ways to make more cards faster to keep more customers happier. I’m not really a “fast” card creator; I spend too much time in the details that I love. Creating keepsakes is really my thing, but most customers don’t need that much hoopla or focus on cards they’re just sending to be thoughtful. So I have started reserving that “type” of card for specialty or specific occasion ones, cards that the recipients will love and treasure.

Through this process, I’ve figured out that card kits, though not my first love, are rather useful for making lots of cards with limited supplies and time, and when the kits come with a stamp set too, all the better. Today’s cards were not from a kit but rather from a DCWV pad of paper that was made up of various stitched designs, so it’s a similar idea. I bought the pad when I was first starting out in cardmaking and thought then that it would be a cheap way to have several nice card fronts right there at my fingertips. I’m happy to report that my hunch was correct and I only have four left to use up, which feels great. 🙂 I love the look of stitchery, being a “soft crafter” myself. These cards are the same flowered design on kraft but they look totally different because of the papers and colors I chose.

The original green, yellow, and blue card has a green Mossy Meadow card base from Stampin’ Up. I paired the base and flower panel with some Designer Series Paper (DSP) from Stampin’ Up’s retired “Going Places” pack. I still have lots of useful papers in it, and one of its colors is Mossy Meadow. I don’t have much of that shade, so when I also found a Mossy Meadow grid paper in the same pack and they coordinated perfectly, as Stampin’ Up does, I stopped overthinking and put them together. It felt like it was headed toward a masculine or gender-neutral kind of card, which I don’t make as often as I should.

My detailed self, however, needed some kind of embellishment near the stem of the flower to accent where I was going to place the sentiment, so next I picked up what little remains of my Copper Twine and wrapped it around the DSP/flower panel a couple of times before gluing the panel–off-center–onto the card base, to leave room for the large “Thanks.” I just love that twine and wish I had more of it, but it was from the Notes of Kindness kit from Stampin’ Up. (Mental note: must order refill to get more!)

In keeping with the contemporary, simplistic, somewhat masculine style of the card, I needed the sentiment to be brief and obvious. The “Thanks” stamp also from the Notes of Kindness card kit was just the right thing. I used my Mossy Meadow Stampin’ Spot inch-sized ink pad and stamping platform and had it done in a jiffy. For the inside, I laid down a white paper to write on (just eyeballed a measurement for borders I liked and cut it to size with my trimmer), before using a Spellbinders die for the sentiment spot on the inside and going around the edges of it with my Mossy Meadow marker before gluing it. I used Stampin’ Up’s current Very Vintage (host only) stamp set for the “You’re a blessing” wording and accented it with three dark rhinestones from Recollections in my stash. And I added a strip of the Mossy Meadow grid paper to the bottom of the white piece for some color and continuity and a piece of matching DSP to the envelope flap to dress it up a bit. That’s it!

It was so simple that I made another card last night with the remaining flower panel. Since I had used up the grid paper with the last card, I had to go a different direction for the new one. I have a photo box full of cut-and-scored A2 card bases, and when I remember that I have them, I pick one of those out of the box rather than take time to cut and score a new one or two from my loose cardstock sheets. I thought a retired Tip Top Taupe card base from the photo box matched the kraft piece well enough. Then I had to find papers to match. I started riffling through my loose stack of random 6×6 papers just because they were behind my chair and I really should use them up. They come from swaps or generous RAK-givers or are leftovers that would get lost in my patterned paper drawer because of their size.

Included in that stack were three coordinating 3×6 sheets someone had once sent me in the mail. And one of those was the houndstooth pattern I decided to use for the new card. I’m not sure what is different about the sizing between the two cards, but it seemed like it wasn’t working to fit a second piece of patterned paper and sentiment with the houndstooth the way it had with the marbled and grid papers on the first card. Losing a layer bothered me at first, but I made myself continue and (again) stop thinking and just go with it.

(One way to faster cards is to stop looking for the “perfect” thing and use what I know matches and will work. Yes, there are probably lots of options in my craft room, but how much time do I really want to waste, sifting through papers and getting paper cuts in the process? This is a battle I wage constantly with myself. No one will really know the difference anyway, whether it should have been THIS paper over THAT paper. One paper is likely about as good as the other, unless they’re just hideous choices. 🙂 Even saying that makes me feel like I care less than I should, which I do not like. But it comes down to time, always.)

So. Since one paper worked just fine and didn’t really require another paper with it, I stopped frowning and cut a couple of strips to attach to the sides of the flowered panel. Then I did the same kind of wrapping with baker’s twine–white this time, because I really didn’t want to use up the rest of the copper–and pulled out the Mossy Meadow sentiment I’d created in duplication when I stamped the first one last week. 🙂 I’ve started keeping a drawer full of blank tags and another of sentiments as a way to speed things up, and so far that’s working! I added three of SU’s Metallic Pearls (current item–love them) to the kraft around the flower for some pizzazz.

I sold the first card already, but this one was going to a special person as a thank-you for a very thoughtful Christmas gift she’d sent me (yes, I know, it’s February). So I had a certain sentiment for the inside in my mind, but I couldn’t find it on my shelves. It’s probably in the ones I stacked aside that are baby-, wedding-, or general-themed, for my upcoming gift shop cards. I’m really going to need to separate those. I keep missing particular stamp sets. I searched my shelves for similar options and came up with one from a current SU set called Hanging Garden. It’s the second time I’ve used it, but I think it’s going to be a favorite: “To one of the loveliest people I know.” And when I use it, I mean it. (That’s one of the nicer things about stamping these days–designers are doing a wonderful job with creating sentiments from the heart for all kinds of situations. I feel like we have more options these days than we used to.)

I stamped the Hanging Garden sentiment in Mossy Meadow on a sheet of white to match the sentiment on the outside and then cut another strip of houndstooth paper to accent the edge. Nice and simple, good for male or female. I’m happy to report that it has already been mailed and is winging its way to Missouri (higher postage notwithstanding).

I feel rather eager to continue using those stitched panels, so you may see more from me in this vein. There’s a certain feather floating around in my mind, and I keep mentally sifting through sentiments that would go with it. But for now I must focus on a fox card and two birthday cards this weekend. The lemons are done (blogs to come), and so are J’s wedding and sympathy cards (though two more Thinking of You are also on the list). And the Etsy sale is on (10% off!) and the order to S is wrapping up, so things are moving along. Life feels good right now. 🙂 Thanks for coming along for the ride.