Fall Sympathy card

Well, folks, here it is Sunday and I actually had time to finish helping yesterday with the pancake feed and get home to work on this post. We served over 1,800 pancake and sausage  breakfasts. Though the tent was still up, things were pretty much torn down when I left. With what remained to be done, I figured I would be more in the way than I would be help. I think all us Kiwanians were tired to the bone, but the day was a success.

This is the second iteration of this card. The first one had REAL twigs framing the oak tree. I really liked it and thought I was being pretty smart in thinking of that. Then, I thought, “that isn’t so smart. How will that fit in an envelope, never mind get through the mail without being ruined. ” So, I opted for the twigs from the Seasonal Layers thinlits, cut from Early Espresso card stock. However, the first one will be saved to use on a gift package for someone, or whatever use I can find for it.

I started with a piece of Sahara Sand and ran it through the Big Shot with the Pinewood Planks dynamic embossing folder. From this I cut a rectangle, using the Layering Squares framelits. To cut a rectangle with a square die, all you need to do is cut one square at one end of your panel, slide it toward the other end, keeping the die lined up, and cut the other end of your rectangle.

Then, cutting a piece of Sahara Sand slightly smaller than the embossed piece, I stamped this with the oak tree from Lovely As A Tree in Early Espresso. These two panels were liquid glued together.

The card base is Early Espresso, and the next two layers are Sahara Sand and a panel from the Painted Autumn Designer Paper Series. The mat and DSP panel are liquid glued together.

Four branches from the Seasonal Layers thinlits in Early Espresso form the frame around the rectangle. Seasonal Layers and Colorful Seasons form a bundle that saves you 10% over purchasing them separately.

Since I was not using real twigs, I decided to cut four more out of fun foam to lift them off the page and give some dimension. After gluing them together with their card stock counterpart, I dry arranged them on the card front. I didn’t want four look-alike branches, so each was trimmed in a different way and liquid glued to the art panel. This, in turn, was added to the DSP panel with Stampin’ Dimensionals.

At this point in the construction, I decided a little fall color would be good, so I stamped the oak leaf cluster from Lovely As A Tree, and the one with the acorns from Count My Blessings, both in Early Espresso. I already had my heat gun and tub of Clear Emboss Powder ready. As soon as I stamped, I dipped it in the emboss powder, shook it off and heat embossed those leaves. I only did one cluster at a time, as the Early Espresso dries much more quickly than the Versamark.

Since the embossing acts as a resist, it was a simple matter to use a small piece of sponge and sponge the leaves with Cajun Craze, Crushed Curry and Pumpkin Pie, first masking off the acorns. I then masked off the leaves with a piece of Post-it-Note and sponged the acorns in Soft Suede.

Both leaf clusters were fussy cut, then adhered to the corners of the branch frame with Stampin’ Dimensionals. This art panel was then adhered with Stampin’ Dimensionals to the DSP panel.

Sometimes I don’t know when to quit. I wrapped a piece of fine, lightweight jute twine I had in my craft room (you could use Linen Thread) around the panel 3 times, securing it on the back with tape. Glue Dots hold the 3 strands together as though they are tied, and a bow is Glue Dotted over this. The bow is made by wrapping the twine around 3 fingers 5 times (or as many times as you want) and tied in the middle.

Now all that remains is the sentiment. I wanted it to look like an old board. The sentiment, in Early Espresso, was stamped from the Teeny Tiny Wishes stamp set on a scrap of the embossed Sahara Sand (made when I cut the rectangle). This was fussy cut to, perhaps, look like an old board. The mat for this was another scrap, this time from the Wood Textures DSP, with notches cut unevenly in both ends with my Paper Snips. Mini-Stampin’ Dimensionals attach the sign to the mat, and Stampin’ Dimensionals were used for the mat to the front panel. After it was too late to do so, I wondered if this card would have been improved had I very lightly distressed the embossed wood, perhaps by sponging some ink over it. However, I didn’t, so maybe that technique will get a chance on another card.

More Stampin’ Dimensionals (Wow! Wish I had stock in the company that makes these!) adhered the finished panel to the card base and the card front is done.

The inside boasts a mat of Sahara Sand with a panel of the same Autumn Harvest DSP liquid glued to it.

I cut a much smaller mat of Sahara Sand, and stamped the branches from Colorful Seasons around it as a frame in Early Espresso. The Oak Cluster from Count My Blessings was stamped in the corner in Soft Suede, and colored in using the stamp pad lid and Blender Pen. In the closed position, squeeze the stamp pad to get some of the ink on the lid, then use that as your palette with your Blender Pen to paint the leaves and acorns. I again used Cajun Craze, Crushed Curry and Pumpkin Pie for the leaves, and Soft Suede for the acorns.

The sentiment, in Early Espresso, is from the Thoughts and Prayers stamp set. This panel was liquid glued on the DSP and into the card base.

To coordinate the envelope with the card, I stamped several of the oak/acorn cluster along the bottom of the front, and adhered a final piece of the DSP to the flap.

I hope you enjoy this card. I think it is lovely and sure to lift anyone’s spirits. To me, the oak is symbolic of longevity. We all know that longevity on this earth is not forever, but the spirit lives on, making the oak appropriate for a sympathy card.

HOST CODE for September 16-30 is NB7HX2ST

If you apply that Host Code to your online orders under $150, you’ll get a free gift from me. If your order is over $150, please don’t apply the hostess code (you’ll miss out on your own Stampin’ Rewards/Hostess $$ if you use it), but you’ll still get the free gift, too!

Wild Wing Creations Bird Egg Rewards:

Qualify to earn FREE Stampin’ Up! product from ANY current Stampin’ Up! catalog or promotion!  The Wild Wing Creations Bird Eggs Rewards Program is my way of personally saying “thank you” to my returning customers.

For details on both rewards, and the free tutorials, click here.

September Card Class Tutorials

With a $50 order placed through my online store in September, you get my Painted Harvest Class Tutorials. You also earn Bird Egg Reward Points (see the information below) and if you apply the Host Code or have an order of over $150, you get the free thank you gift too!!

Card Cuts: Early Espresso: card base 7″ x 10″ scored at 5″, branches 2 pieces 1-1/2″ x 8-1/2″; Sahara Sand: inside mat and outside mat (2) 4-3/4″ x 6-3/4″, embossed panel 3-3/4″ x 5-3/4″, oak tree panel 3-1/2″ c 5-1/4″, inside panel 3-1/2″ x 5″, sentiment ‘sign’ scrap from inside rectangle of embossed piece, for oak leaves 4″ x 4″; Autumn Harvest Designer Series Paper: front panel and inside mat (2) 4-1/2″ x 6-1/2″; Wood Textures Designer Series Paper: mat for sentiment 1″ x 2-1/2″

Non Stampin’ Up! products used in this project: Fun Foam, thin jute twine, Kraft 5-1/4″ x 7-1/4″ envelope

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