With Heartfelt Sympathy

It’s never easy when you have to make a sympathy card, but Stampin’ Up! has such beautiful stamp sets and paper that it’s easy to make a classy looking card that conveys the right message, whatever the occasion.

I needed to make a sympathy card today and I immediately turned to the “Simply Sketched” stamp set because I knew it contained just the right sentiment.  I also knew I wanted the card to be in shades of browns, so I pulled out the stash of my all-time favorite Designer Series Paper – Morning Mocha.  While this paper is now retired (I stocked up while it was available because I LOVED it so much), your favorite papers & stamp sets never truly retire when you get them in their virtual counterpart:  MDS!.  So if you missed out on this gorgeous paper while it was available, you can get it in MDS and use it forever!  How cool is that?

Want Morning Mocha DSP?  Click here and download the virtual paper!

This card started with a Very Vanilla card base.  A strip of Morning Mocha designer paper & a piece of Soft Suede cardstock make a neutral backdrop for the sentiment.  I used a piece of Early Espresso cardstock to layer behind the Very Vanilla.  I feel that layers add a classy touch, as well as a pop of color.

I used the leaf image stamped in Soft Suede ink.  I stamped it once, then again – without re-inking – to create a softer image.  The sentiment was stamped on top of this in Early Espresso.  This layer works great because I am picking up the same color I used to create the matt behind this layer.

By far, I think the star of show is the gorgeous double bow!  Stampin’ Up!’s  Seam Binding Ribbon in Crumb Cake is the perfect ribbon for this bow.  It falls so gently and has just the right amount sheen.

I also added a few Basic Jewels Pearls to draw your eye upward once it has taken in all the gorgeous-ness of this bow!  That may not be a real word, but I think it perfectly describes this bow so I’m going to use it!

I’ve made a few of these double bows in the last few days and I think I’m finally starting to get the hang of it!  They are not hard to make but, practice does make perfect!  So keep your eyes open;  I’ll be posting more cards with this bow on it in the next few days.

Have you made a double bow before?    Do you know how to make a double bow?  Would you like to learn?  Leave me a comment and tell me your thoughts.

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Thanks for stopping by My Stampin’ Space.

Happy Stampin’,

Nancy