Poppy Sympathy Card--#tgifc245

This week's TGIF Challenges color challenge is Blackberry Bliss, Rich Razzleberry and Very Vanilla.  It took a little thought for me to decide how to use these colors. It is kind of an elegant and subtle color combination to me, so I decided to create a sympathy card to have on hand.

The Peaceful Poppies Suite of stamps and dies was perfect for this card.  I chose to layer a Blackberry Bliss/Rich Razzleberry patterned paper from the Peaceful Poppies designer series paper pack (#151324) over the front of my Very Vanilla card base.  The polka dots on the paper were Whisper White, so I colored them in with the Rich Razzleberry Light Stampin' Blends (#144583).  

I stamped the sympathy greeting from the Peaceful Moments stamp set (#151595) in Blackberry Bliss on my very vanilla card stock layer.  I also stamped the large splatter image from the Painted Poppies stamp set (#151599) on the card stock layer.  I stamped it randomly in the left-hand corner using Rich Razzleberry ink, stamping it off twice before stamping on the card stock.

On a scrap Very Vanilla card stock, the poppy outline images from Painted Poppies were stamped in Blackberry Bliss, then the "filler" image was stamped over them using Rich Razzleberry ink, stamped off once for the smaller poppies.  These were die cut using the Painted Labels dies (#151605; bundled with Painted Poppies stamp set, #153827).  The poppies  were arranged on the card front with three Old Olive leaf images die cut with the Poppy Moments dies (#151594; bundled with the Peaceful Moments stamp set, #153824).

The Very Vanilla stamped layer was layered over a piece of Blackberry Bliss card stock and then adhered to the card base with Stampin' Dimensionals. 

For more projects created with this elegant color combination, head over to the TGIF Challenges blog here. 

So happy you stopped by today!  Happy New Year!

--Sara Nell

Creation Station January Blog Hop--Resolution Solution

Welcome to the Creation Station January Blog Hop!  I'm glad you've stopped by either via Kerstin's great post or by starting here.  This month our theme is Resolution Solution.  We hope to inspire you in this New Year (and new decade--where has the time gone!). Be sure to click on the "Next" button at the end of each post to see all the design team has created for you.

This year, I have changed up my resolution and intention setting strategy.  I have given myself two overriding goals from which everything else I hope to accomplish will flow.  The first is to grow in faith and knowledge of God and my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:3).  I read my Bible and devotions on a regular basis but find I am just reading and not thinking about the words.  To  "think on these things"  (Phil. 4:8) is my goal.  The second is to find joy in the everyday.  I've experienced lots of joy this past year when spending time with my new grandson and family, but I have also struggled a lot with stress and anxiety.  I want to turn that around by seeking joy in little things.  "As [s]he thinketh in h[er] heart, so is [s]he" --Proverbs 23:7. 

Writing in a journal has never been my "thing", but a journal is a great solution to help me with the resolutions I have made.  Lucky for me, Stamping Up! has created the Pressed Petals Journal (Item #149588).  It has great gratitude prompts and many blank but decorated pages on which to write my thoughts as I read and study.  I chose to decorate my journal with the Peaceful Poppies designer series paper (#151324) because it makes me smile--Poppy Parade is one of my all-time favorite colors.  I added a circle die cut out of Vellum card stock using a die in the Painted Labels dies (#151605); a pair of poppies die-cut from Peaceful Poppies Elements (#151327); sequins from Peaceful Poppies Sequins (#151325); Pearls Basic Jewels (#144219); and Poppy Parade 1/2" textured weave ribbon (#147813).   "Here's to always finding joy" is a part of a sentiment from the Path of Petals stamp set (#149383)--it says it all, doesn't it! 

My little joy banner is a reminder I'll hang on a shelf in my stamping room.  It will be the first thing I see in the morning when I bring my coffee in to start the day.  I die cut the letters in Basic Black card stock using the Hand-Lettered Prose dies (#149550), then I dipped them in VersaMark and heat embossed them with Clear Stampin' Emboss Powder (#109130).  I used the same paper and more labels from the Painted Labels dies for my banner.  The Basic Black twine is from the Country Club Twine Combo Pack (#151318).

Now click below to hop over and see Denita's resolution solution.

To Denita's Blog . . .

Here's to always finding Joy!

--Sara Nell