Sympathy Flowers

Last week was a hard one. It seemed everywhere I turned I was in need of a sympathy card. I managed to find time to make two {almost} matching cards, and stuck them in the mail too.

I used the current Freshly Made Sketch, retired DP, and the colors all came from the DP. Apparently it is tricky for me to make a bouquet of flowers, but these work okay.

I even stamped on the inside of this one. You can hardly tell, but I used a good one from the Here For You stamp set. The picture I took of the inside came out really blurry, but here you at least see how I stamped inside.

Supplies:
Stamps: Jar of Love, Here For You
Ink: Soft Suede, Delightful Dijon, Rich Razzleberry, Mint Macaron, Cajun Craze
Paper: Petals and Paisleys DP, Soft Suede, Whisper White card stocks
Accessories: Big Shot, Brick Wall embossing folder, Dimensionals

Blog Hop: Simply Stepping It Up!

Hello again, and welcome to yet another month!! Our summer has been jam packed and yet flown by! Now summer is nearly over and school is starting soon!
And a new month means a new Blog Hop, so read on!

In this Blog Hop, we try to inspire you with ways to step up your paper creations. This time I started suuuper simple! For the layout, I used the latest from the Freshly Made Sketches blog. I wanted to try out the kite part of the Swirly Bird stamp set. And I promise there is a greeting on that card, but wow, Soft Sky is a very faint shade of blue, isn't it??

Supplies:
Stamps: Swirly Bird, Here For You
Ink: Peekaboo Peach, Soft Suede, Soft Sky
Paper: Whisper White

Then I added just a bit to step it up more. For one thing, I used an Aquapainter to color on a Soft Sky circle, to better follow the sketch and to anchor the kite in the sky, instead of just randomly thrown on the card. After it dried, I stamped the specks from the Swirly Bird set with Soft Sky ink, just onto the painted blob, to add a bit more dimension. Then I cut out the kite and popped it up on Dimensionals. This makes it qualify for last week's TGIF Challenge! I made the "Hang in there" a darker shade so you can see it, haha, and I added some Enamel Shapes to the kite string!

Supplies:
Stamps: Swirly Bird, Here For You
Ink: Peekaboo Peach, Soft Suede, Soft Sky
Paper: Whisper White
Accessories: Aquapainter, Enamel Shapes, Dimensionals

Still very simple, but definitely stepped up! And I think it turned out really cute!

Now hop on over to Cheryl's blog and see what she has to inspire you! Then hop on thru everyone else's and leave us your thoughts! We all love comments!!

Blog Hop: Step It Up with Swirls!

Happy July!!
July?? Yep, the year is officially half over and I don't know where it went! But a new month means a fun, new Blog Hop, so here we are!

Do I need to admit I have a problem? A small addiction to this stamp set and die? Well....here it is again! Of the eleven separate card designs I have made in June, six use this set... *ahem... But I really do love it!

This month I used the latest from Freshly Made Sketches. For my first sample I kept exactly to the sketch. I even used a flower shape! I kept it quite CAS with a little stamping and a quick greeting. Done and done!

Supplies:
Stamps: Swirly Bird, Here For You
Ink: Watermelon Wonder, Mint Macaron, Tip Top Taupe
Paper: Watermelon Wonder, Flirty Flamingo, Whisper White card stocks
Accessories: Swirly Scribbles dies, Big Shot

Then for my stepped up version, I added some ribbon (I really like this new striped ribbon! It is both pretty and soft!), changed up the stamps, and moved the greeting. I also popped the white panel up for dimension! Still quick and easy to make, but a little cuter and more effort! And I love these colors for summer, too!!

Supplies:

Stamps: Swirly Bird, Here For You

Ink: Watermelon Wonder, Mint Macaron, Flirty Flamingo, Tip Top Taupe
Paper: Watermelon Wonder, Flirty Flamingo, Whisper White card stocks
Accessories: Watermelon Wonder striped ribbon, Swirly Scribbles dies, Big Shot 

What do you think? Are you loving this set as much as I am? If not, what IS your favorite go-to product right now? 

Well, hop on over to Cheryl and see what she's created for you. Then hop on thru and leave us your thoughts!