ThePowerOfACard: Sympathy

Showing posts with label Sympathy. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 15, 2025

Builder Blossoms - An Unexpected Good Find

When I first looked at the Fall Mini Catalog, I skipped right over Builder Blossoms and it wasn't until I saw my upline (Dena Rekow) make some cards with it that I changed my mind! So when we had the stamp sale last month, I got it and started playing. While the samples in the catalog didn't grab my attention, I hope that the samples I show you inspire you to get this one. I think it's the sleeper set of the catalog!

Gather your supplies:

Cardstock: Darling Duckling 8-1/2" x 5-1/2"; Pecan Pie 4" x 5-1/4"; Basic White 3-3/4" x 5", 4" x 5-1/4", 1" x 2"
Stamps: Builder Blossoms, Peace on Earth
Inks: Pecan Pie, Darling Duckling
Embellishment: Cajun Craze & Gold Dots
Adhesive and Tools

I'm making a sympathy card today as it seems like I'm always needing them lately. Because Builder Blossoms has no sentiments, you can pair it with your favorites. Lately, that has been Peace on Earth, which is a fabulous set for Christmas, but also good for sympathy, retirement and encouragement too.

I've made this card in a bunch of colors and for this video, I'm keeping to a fall color scheme. Start by stamping one flower center in Pecan Pie near the top left corner of the 3-3/4" x 5" white panel. Then add the petals with the base of the petal just about touching the centermost circle of the flower center. You can do the petals one of two ways - for mine, I did six petals so there is more overlap. You could also do five and use the center shapes as a guide.

After completing the first flower, stamp the second and third ones as shown (near the lower right edge and in the lower left corner). Add the flower panel to the piece of Pecan Pie and add to your card base, which is Darling Duckling (8-1/2" x 5-1/2", folded in half). On the small piece of Basic White, stamp the sentiment in Pecan Pie, then trim at an angle. Add to the card front with Dimensionals. Complete the flowers by adding the Cajun Craze & Gold Dots.

For the inside of the card, stamp a flower in the lower right corner. Stamp "Heartfelt prayers" in Darling Duckling and "sending" in Pecan Pie. Add this panel to the inside. Finish by stamping one more flower in the corner of the envelope. I love how this is a simple card to make but so very pretty! There are so many sentiments that would work in place of sympathy, making this a very versatile layout.

This card uses the same flower center, but in a totally different way! I stamped just the center in Azure Afternoon (full strength and stamped off) on a panel of white. I then matted it with a piece of Two Tone Cardstock in Blueberry Bushel. For the sentiment, I used Layered Thoughts in Blueberry Bushel and trimmed it with a torn piece of the same Two Tone Cardstock. My bow is 1/4" White Ribbon (on the Last Chance List). To complete the card, I used a sentiment from Label me Grateful on the inside, along with a strip of more flower centers. By doing so, it almost looks like my paper is Designer Series Paper (DSP)!

For my next sample I used the die from the Label me Grateful bundle and stamped the larger flower center in Early Espresso. I then added the large petals stamped in Berry Burst. One thing to note is that there are two different stamps with the large sized petals - a group of three and a single. For my personal taste, I didn't like the gap left when using the threesome, so I added the single to fill in the gap. I then added stamped off Berry Burst "splatter" and the sentiment in Early Espresso. The DSP is the Neutrals 6" x 6" pack and the linen thread is from the Early Espresso & Old Olive pack.

Similar to my second sample, I decided to use the large flower center to decorate a panel of white - this time in two colors (Petunia Pop and Pretty in Pink) and only on the left side. Again, I used the Peace on Earth stamp set for my sentiment. Before adding this to my card base (Petunia Pop), I used the label die (also from Peace on Earth) to make a partial cut over my sentiment. Then I adhered the large piece to my base. Before popping up the label, I added a zig zag of Petunia Pop Bordered ribbon (retired). It's almost like an eclipse card, just with a label!

Next is another simple card using the Peace on Earth bundle for the assist. I stamped the small center in Daffodil Delight and the smallest petals in Strawberry Slush on the smaller label. The sentiment was stamped in Memento Black, then popped it up on the larger label of Strawberry Slush. I used the Strawberry Slush Faux Linen ribbon and the 2025-2027 In Color 6" x 6" DSP. I like how you get orange near the center where the petal and center colors overlap.

Similar to my very first card, I stamped a 4-1/2" x 3-1/2" panel with the small center and medium petals in Cherry Cobbler ink. Then I cut the panel into three 1-1/2" strips before popping them up on a 3-3/4" x 5" Cherry Cobbler panel. For my centers, I decided to use a center from the Impressions Abloom set (Last Chance) in Daffodil Delight. A simple center is one thing I wish was in the Builder Blossoms set. For the circle sentiment, I used my 1-3/4" circle punch and the Sunrise Sailing stamp set.

I love this next one! I used the large center and a sponge dauber to add Pecan Pie in the center and Early Espresso on the outside. The petals were stamped in Daffodil Delight to make a very large sunflower. I fussy cut that out and adhered it to a belly band of Old Olive. The gatefold card was made in Pecan Pie with panels cut from Gathering Together Specialty DSP. My sentiments are from Beautiful Pumpkins and I can't wait to send this to a good friend!

For my last two cards, my initial thought was to make a bunch of small flowers in bright and happy colors and make a colorful card for birthday or get well. After stamping the petals, I fussy cut them out. I decided to use the small flower center but fussy cut (again!) only part of it to pop up on the flowers. I used the Low Profile Dots to complete the flower. The problem I had was they were bigger than I expected and really looked too crowded on one card. My solution - make two cards! For the first one, I used the Nested Essentials dies, Simply Said and Linen Thread to make my label. For the other card, I took advantage of my exclusive dies available to Paper Pumpkin Subscribers to make a fabulous retirement or moving on to another home/job card.

Now that you've seen some more ideas using the Builder Blossoms, what do you think? Isn't it way better than you thought when you first saw this set? You're welcome!

Karen

ThePowerOfACard@gmail.com

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Product List

Builder Blossoms Photopolymer Stamp Set

[165835]

$18.00

Peace On Earth Photopolymer Stamp Set (English)

[165918]

$19.00

Darling Duckling 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[165622]

$14.00

Pecan Pie 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[161717]

$14.00

Basic White 8 1/2" X 11" Cardstock

[166780]

$14.00

Pecan Pie Classic Stampin' Pad

[161665]

$9.00

Darling Duckling Classic Stampin' Pad

[165277]

$9.00

Cajun Craze & Gold Dots

[165984]

$9.00

Multipurpose Liquid Glue

[110755]

$6.00

Stampin' Dimensionals

[104430]

$4.25

Paper Trimmer

[152392]

$28.00

Tuesday, May 2, 2023

No Brush Watercolor "DSP"

I recently participated in a watercolor stamp camp, the second one put together by my very talented upline, Dena Rekow. This one was even better than the first and I had a blast! So with all the excitement of doing the camp, I decided to feature a watercolor technique in my video this week. You don't need watercolors or a brush, but you will need watercolor paper! I show you how to color the entire sheet of Fluid 100 Watercolor paper and then how to cut it up so that you use every bit of it to make four cards.

In the camp, we did a lot of taping our paper to a board and then applying the paint/color. As long as you have a waterproof surface (a silicon baking sheet works great), you can apply water to your paper, turn it over and it will stick to the mat and not move as you add color. That is where we begin.

Gather your supplies:

Cardstock: Fluid 100 Watercolor Paper
Ink: Parakeet Party, Tahitian Tide, Blueberry Bushel
Small Block
Spritzer
Paper Towel
Stamp sets/dies and tools to make four cards as shown

Once you have your paper "stuck" to the waterproof surface, spritz more water all over the top. You want it fairly wet. Then with a small block, pick up color from the Parakeet Party ink pad and add it to your watercolor paper. Because the paper is quite wet, the color will spread easily. You don't want to color the entire surface - just get a good smattering of color. Each time you need to add more color, wipe off the block on a paper towel before touching it back on the ink pad. Repeat this process with Tahitian Tide and Blueberry Bushel until you get the amount of color blending you desire, adding more water with the spritzer as your paper dries out a bit. As you see in my video, feel free to add more Parakeet Party after you have all three colors because the other colors can dominate. One note of caution - select colors that will blend well together. I chose analogous colors (those next to each other on the color wheel).

Now comes the hard part - letting it dry completely! I prefer to let it dry naturally but you can speed up the process by using your heat tool on low setting. I find it helps to lift the paper off your surface and set it on top of a cup or glass so air will get to both sides for faster drying.

Time to cut up the sheet! Here is a cutting diagram to assist you. This is like a One Sheet Wonder, just with a 5" x 7" piece of paper. When you are done, you'll have pieces for four different cards and your watercolor paper will look like this. A general tip when adding these pieces to your cards - use lots of adhesive! Watercolor paper is thicker and doesn't lie very flat unless you have adhered the edges down completely.

I used a variety of stamp sets/bundles to make my cards (all of which are listed below), with matching cardstock as the base. The basic designs are versatile, so feel free to switch up the stamp sets and dies from something in your collection. Which one is your favorite? (I love the last one and just might make another sheet of watercolor "DSP" for this design only!)

Make sure you check out the new catalog! It was just released on May 2nd and has so many new colors (the color refresh is outstanding!) and fun new stamps. And if you want to make some cards with the new colors, come to my next Monthly Card class on May 16th at 6:30 pm.

Karen

ThePowerOfACard@gmail.com

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https://karensliwinski.stampinup.net

https://ThePowerOfACard.blogspot.com

Images Copyright Stampin’ Up!®

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Product List