Cardinal with Red Flowers

Bright red bird and flowers with crisp black details, a bright green leafy vine, and a textured gray background.  Simple but eye catching.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) stormy sea (gray), pure poppy (red), and green parakeet.
• Embossing folder is Stampin' Up subtle.
• Dies are from PTI winter woods, PTI garden garland (leaves), and the smallest flower from Memory Box fancy blossoms (retired).
• The cardinal's markings are from PTI winter woods, and the flower centers are from Hero Arts everyday sayings, stamped with PTI true black ink.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Leaves on Light Gray with Muted Teal Stripes

When I made this card design last year, I stamped a handful of extra die cuts.  Today's card made good use of them.  The light gray gives a restful space for the busy arrangement of leaves and stripes. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Neenah solar white and Papertrey Ink (PTI) spring moss (light green), simply chartreuse (medium green), ripe avocado (dark green), and soft stone (light gray). 
• Patterned paper is from PTI ocean tides (muted teal) pattern pack (tone-on-tone prints - retired).
• Dies are from PTI leave it be (retiring).
• The solid and detail leaf stamps are from PTI leave it be (retired), stamped with PTI spring moss, simply chartreuse, ripe avocado, and cocoa bean (brown) inks.
• The sentiment "thinking of you" is from Heffy Doodle down the line sentiments, stamped with PTI ocean tides ink.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Green, Gray, and Blue Pattern with Notched Border

The gray, green, and deep blue colors in today's card, as well as the notched shapes of the green border and the sentiment label, were suggested by this handsome patterned paper.  I tried a few different grays and dark blues for my card base, and I chose the very dark gray for its contrast and drama.  The narrow blue edging, echoing the blue of the print, makes a big impact to ground the label.

Card details:

• Card stock is Paper Source jade (medium green - retired) and Papertrey Ink (PTI) smokey shadow (dark gray) and stamper's select white.
• Patterned paper is from Reverse Confetti paper bliss 6 x 6" pad.
• Dies are from My Favorite Things notched border (retired) and layered labels (retired).
• I edged the white label shape with Copic marker B39.
• The sentiment "thank you" is from Sunny Studio everyday greetings, stamped with PTI vintage jadeite (bright medium green) and spring rain (light blue) inks.  The combined color works well with the green of the patterned paper and card stock.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Hexagons with Teal, Tan, and Cream

Today's card began with the patterned paper, which gave me the color scheme and the hexagon theme.  The sentiment fits nicely on my hexagon die cut, and I like the wide teal borders to set off the shape.

Card details:

• Card stock is Paper Source peacock (teal) and Papertrey Ink (PTI) fine linen (tan) and rustic cream.
• Patterned paper is from Basic Grey fact (retired) 6 x 6" pad.
• Embossing folder is Darice honeycomb.
• Die is from PTI two toned.
• The sentiment "sending sincere thanks" is from PTI thank you kindly (retired), stamped with PTI blueberry sky (medium blue) and tropical teal inks to match the bluer teal of the peacock card stock.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Frame with Diagonal Stripes - Teal and Dark Navy

Trying out a new stripey background, I stamped a very imperfect A2 with two ink colors.  (Imperfect because of my stamping - just wanting to get the idea of it - not a problem with the stamp!)  The worst of it was around the edges, so I trimmed it down to see if I could use it for something, and here is my result.  I like it a lot!  The teal frame (left over from another project) is nicely anchored by four small punched dots, and its square window works well with the blocky script "hello" word.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) dark indigo (dark navy), tropical teal, and stamper's select white.
• Dies are PTI noted (hello) and monthly moments: slide frame. 
• I used an EK Success 3/16" circle punch for my corner dots.
• The stripes are from Concord & 9th pinstripe background, stamped with PTI enchanted evening (dark blue) and tropical teal inks. 

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

(1147)

Red, White, and Blue with "Thanks" Text Print

I've been wishing for a text print paper with a "thanks" theme, so I created it in a Word document.  It will be easy to print in different colors as needed, and I also did a version with a script font.  The words are: "Thank you - With gratitude - Sincere thanks - So thankful - You are appreciated - Many thanks - Grateful for all you do - Thank you very much - Sending my thanks - So much thanks"  Perfect for today's simple red, white, and blue design. 

Note: in my image, the patterned paper looks a bit pink, but in real life, it's red on white.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) enchanted evening (dark blue) and pure poppy (red).
• Patterned paper is computer-printed on Neenah 65 lb bright white with red ink, using American Typewriter 8 point font.
• Dies are Elizabeth Craft thanks and My Favorite Things jumbo squiggle (retired).

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Stenciled Blue and Green with Light Gray

A bit of two-toned stenciling with some deeper card stock colors for contrast.  I like the mix of circles and straight lines.  The light gray card base keeps the focus on the blue and green panel.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) new leaf (deep green), enchanted evening (dark blue), soft stone (light gray), and stamper's select white.
• Stencil is from PTI modern backgrounds, sponged with PTI vintage jadeite (medium green) and blueberry sky (medium blue) inks, using the round Ranger ink blending tool to apply the ink.
• Dies are from My Favorite Things mini double dot border, Spellbinders standard circles small (green circle - die # 3 of 7), and Spellbinders standard circles large (white circle - die #2 of 7).
• The sentiment "thank you" is from Fiskars so much thanks (retired), stamped with PTI blueberry sky ink. 
• I added a center dot with Copic 0.5 cobalt (dark blue) multiliner.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

(1145)

Red, White, and Blue with Kraft - Thank You

When I made this earlier card, I saved my cutout letters and a template (the negative cut "thank you" word) to use as shown above.  The template made it quick and easy to place my letters.  I like the contrast of kraft with dark blue for my sentiment panel, and the embossed stars add a nice texture to the background.

 Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) enchanted evening (dark blue), pure poppy (red), and classic kraft.
• I made the red-and-blue striped paper in PowerPoint and computer-printed it on Neenah solar white.
• Embossing folder is The Paper Studio tiny stars.
• Dies are from PTI headline alphabet.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

(1144)

Large Thank You Banner with Kraft, Blue, and Brown

I recently bought a pack of the Sizzix sticky grid sheets and tried them for the first time with this card.  Using a sheet with my Big Shot made it much easier to place my letters to cut a "thank you" opening in the large kraft banner.  I'll be enjoying my alphabet dies more with this technique!

My image looks a bit faded on screen, but in real life, the blue and orange colors are nice and bright.

Card details:

• Card stock is Hero Arts cerulean (blue) and Papertrey Ink (PTI) dark chocolate (brown) and classic kraft.
• Patterned paper is from Pink & Main pumpkin spice 6 x 6" pad.
• Dies are from PTI notched star banner and headline alphabet.
• The star is cut with Fiskars 1/4" star punch.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Teal Stripes with Red Rickrack

A very clean and simple card with some stamped stripes and die cut rickrack.  I like the graphic feeling of the rickrack and stripes together.  Their curves and straight lines are echoed in the fonts of the sentiment.

Note: the gray border is background, not part of the card.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) pure poppy (red) and vintage cream.
• Die is PTI XL rickrack border.
• The stripes are two stamps from PTI background basics: super stripes (retiring), and the sentiment "just a note to say thanks" is from PTI sentiment staples: just a note, stamped with PTI pure poppy and tropical teal inks.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Red, White, and Blue Circles Print with Tan Stripes

Two patterned papers with some bright red and a strand of twine.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) pure poppy (red).
• Patterned papers are from PTI fine linen (tan) pattern pack (tone-on-tone prints - retired) and Bo Bunny firecracker 6 x 6" pad (retired).
• Twine is Hemptique natural hemp cord, shared by a fellow card maker (thank you, Theresa!)
• Die is PTI wonderful words: thank you.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Dotted Triangle Banners on Gray

I wanted to try a never-used dotted triangle die, so I cut a few dotted and matching solid shapes from bright card stock colors.  Then wrestled with how to use them.  The eyelet lace die gave me the idea to place them as banners.  I'm happy with the end result, with some neutral grays to show off the layered triangles.

Card details:

• Card stock is Papertrey Ink (PTI) bright buttercup (yellow), pure poppy (red), Hawaiian shores (turquoise), and smokey shadow (dark gray).
• Patterned paper is from PTI soft stone (light gray) pattern pack (tone-on-tone prints - retired).
• Dies are Altenew trigonometry, PTI eyelet lace, and PTI big basics: thanks.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Scene on Kraft with Truck, Dog, and Cat

I've always enjoyed making scene cards, including today's with a truck, dog, and cat.  Embossed texture adds a nice touch to the fence and tree, and I was glad to find a good shape for the truck's load.  The scene makes me smile, and I hope it brings a smile to the recipient, too.

Card details:

• Card stock is Neenah desert storm (light kraft), Essentials by Ellen white woodgrain, and Papertrey Ink (PTI) new leaf (green), dark chocolate (brown), canyon clay (orangey brown), scarlet jewel (burgundy), and smokey shadow (dark gray). 
• Embossing folder for the tree is Sizzix chevrons (retired).
• Dies are from WPlus9 pretty patches: tree (retired), Poppystamps patient pup, PTI picket fence, Impression Obsession (IO) classic truck (truck body and tires), PTI eyelet lace (a short piece cut lengthwise for the truck's load), and IO cat set.
• I added details to the dog and cat with black Micron pen.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Crimped Stripes - Kraft and Rustic Red

I enjoyed trying a layered stripe effect, swapping my kraft and rustic red colors between wide and narrow stripes for two different results.  Crimping adds some nice texture in real life, though it's hard to see in my images.  I like both of the cards, but I chose the version at left to make a few extras.  

Note: the gray border is background, not part of the card.

Card details:

• Card stock is Neenah desert storm (light kraft) and Papertrey Ink (PTI) cocoa bean (brown) and rustic white.
• The stripes are from PTI background basics: random stripe (retired).  I layered the narrow stripes onto the wide stripes, using PTI Americana (rustic red) and classic kraft inks.
• After stamping my stripes onto the rustic white card stock, I used a Fiskars paper crimper to add texture.
• The sentiment "thank you" is from PTI splits: thank you, stamped with PTI cocoa bean ink.

Created for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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Blue Shimmer Butterfly with Blue Print

A graceful shimmery butterfly with a leafy blue print.  In real life, the colors mix beautifully together. 

Card details:

• Card stock is Paper Source frost luxe (textured light blue-ish gray) and Papertrey Ink (PTI) sky shimmer (medium blue) and sapphire shimmer (dark blue).
• Patterned paper is Kaisercraft indigo skies windswept (retired) 12 x 12" print.
• Dies are from PTI life is beautiful (retired).  I trimmed off the antennae for this card.  The solid and detailed dies layer perfectly, but I like them a bit offset sometimes.
• The sentiment "with sympathy" is from PTI botanical silhouettes, stamped with a combination of PTI amethyst allure (purple) and blueberry sky (blue) inks.

In addition to the sympathy card, I made a few "just a note" (from the same stamp set) for Operation: Quiet Comfort.

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