Good Morning! I’m kinda liking this not blogging as often as I think my creative juices are flowing! (just sayin’  😆 ) Good old  “Pinkie” was traded in for a “newer model”…I now have “Green Bean” on my arm. It’s actually the kind of green of lemon lime twist – that’s why I’m calling it Green Bean! 

I have a super clean card for you that uses the Paper Pumpkin Kit from this month and the Heartfelt Sympathy Photopolymer Stamp.

I know that it is hard to make sympathy cards but the reality of it is….we need them. I unfortunately had to go to a funeral for one of the sweetest men I’ve ever known.Do you remember when you were a child and you had a neighbor that always made you smile?

Well…That’s what this man was to me.It was a beautiful service and my head was flooding with fabulous memories of my childhood. Interestingly enough,  the gentleman who officiated the service had a wonderful message…He shared that our world needs more kindness.

He shared that one thing that we all could do was to remember this gentleman’s wife (of 58 years)…his adult children…his grandchildren – not only now but remember them three months from now… six months from now… a year from now….just because! I think that is a message we all can live by. He suggested to reach out with a simple card… something with your own handwriting… It was interesting – that was his challenge.

When you stop and think about it– something so simple and something that we all love to do is so powerful in so many ways. Never under estimate the power of a card. It doesn’t have to be complex… It just has to come from your heart.

Okay… Enough– let’s get going with this great card!

The overall size of this card is a 4 1/4″ square card.You can easily use this size of a card with one of our regular envelopes but you know me… I adore Square cards and I adore making my own envelopes!

It was funny… When I showed John this card –  he loved it and said “By any chance could you make me up about six of them to have at the office”…I have to admit, John is my biggest fan and John also is so wonderful and sending his clients personal cards when they are in need.

Soft suede is the color for the day… And the DSP I chose was the Painted Autumn.This is a spectacular set of paper that has a flair for “Autumn” but several of the flip side’s to this will take you all year around, I cut the DSP to a 4″ square.I did this on purpose so I would be able to get 9 cards out of one sheet of paper.

You know that my style is very clean and simple… And I understand that there’re many of you that find clean and simple difficult. I encourage you to take this layout and just try to work with what you have and then stand back and look at it.

When you design clean and simple cards the key words are “stand back and look at it”.I think one thing that we all tend to do (and something I am totally guilty of)  is looking at something and always thinking it needs more.

Do you ever make a project and feel guilty it didn’t take you hardly anytime?I’m in that camp many times and when you really stop and think about it it’s silly…It’s totally okay to do something that does not take a long time….and a ton of products.

Let your DSP and your stamp set be the shining elements. Remember… Sometimes, less is best!

As a shared in the opening I used the elements of the leaves from the paper pumpkin kit from September. I’ve blogged about that on Monday and you can click here to see that post. When I was typing this post or should I say “dictating this post” last evening I saw that the refill kit was still available but remember…they are while supplies last.

I am just giddy over this kit and I know…I know –  we have many die-cuts that would cut out small leaves etc… like this but there’s nothing like having them ready…to adhere right without thinking!  I have stocked up on this kit refill because I see the potential for so many cards and projects.

I am asking you… How can you go wrong with a simple card like this? It covers all the bases and you would be super proud to send this card out. This stamp set, Heartfelt Sympathy has been carried over – I actually think we’ve had it for probably two years? (you should see mine, it is WELL LOVED)

One thing I adore about this stamp is the fact that it is a photopolymer stamps set. I admit – that is by far my stamp of choice and actually I really think long and hard to purchase a stamp if it is not a photopolymer but guess a girl can’t have her way all the time!!! 😯 Also, the font is FAB-O and you know how I love a great font.

The sizing of this stamp to me just screamed a square card… but I am sure you could use a regular A-2  card size if you’re more comfortable with that. You also could add embellishments such as pearls  – that would be great!

Again, in my blog posts today you can see that I made a custom Square Envelope but please remember that you can use one of our regular envelopes and it will mail with a regular stamp.

I hope that you found this post inspiring…It was truly something that just came together like peanut butter and jelly! Don’t we all love it when that just seems to happen 😀

We finally have some beautiful fall weather on the East Coast but unfortunately today I am stuck in a board meeting all day. It’s okay as the forecast is supposed to be spectacular for the next several days.

I challenge you to sit down and send a card to somebody…. just because…You and I both know … you will feel great and the recipient will feel great as well! Many thanks for your time….This little thing that we do in making cards…does make a difference!

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