Welcome to my crafty blog. I wanted to share a card I’ve made for a colleague who was very helpful to me whilst I was trying to get my pension sorted out so I could retire. This design would work for any occasion, though. I was inspired by this week’s design over at Freshly Made Sketches https://freshlymadesketches.blogspot.com/

I started by masking off a panel on a piece of white card, and then brushed Adirondack ink in ‘juniper’ along it, just to help define the background for the design. It’s a very light colour as I only wanted a hint of shade.

I then stamped the leaves from the Stampin Up ‘Lovely You’ set in Adirondack ‘bottle’, randomly along the panel. At this point I decided to take the masking tape off, so that I could get leaves fanning out from the side, rather than having a straight line.

I then added the leaf spray from the set along the panel, using Adirondack ‘denim’, and then the small flowers in Adirondack ‘raspberry’. I do like the way these colours look together

Rather than use a square topper as in the design sketch, I decided to use the ‘lovely labels’ pick a punch from Stampin Up. This is a very useful punch (if a bit fiddly), which will edge labels in three widths, so you can layer them up. I thought it looked nicer on the card than a straight square or circle. I stamped the sentiment from the ‘flourishing phrases’ set

I finished the card by mounting the white panel onto a 5×7 card base, and then added the topper using foam pads. I do enjoy making cards to thank people for acts of kindness or support – and so many people have gone the extra mile to help others during the last few months.