SIMON SAYS STAMP THIS IS THE LIFE | With Sympathy Card (Nichol Spohr LLC)

Sympathy cards are never my favorite to create but at the same time it's so much better when I already have one on hand and don't have to make it when it's needed. Flowers are always a great choice for sympathy cards and the beautiful florals in the Simon Says Stamp Friendly Flowers Stamp Set are perfect for not only sympathy cards but so many kinds of cards and projects!

I started my card by stamping one of the flowers from the Simon Says Stamp Friendly Flowers Stamp Set on some smooth white cardstock using lighter versions of three colors of ink (Hero Arts Soft Vanilla Ink, Hero Arts Soft Apricot Ink and Hero Arts Pale Tomato Ink). To give the flowers some "dimension" I then inked up the same flower stamp again using a darker ink in the same color family (Hero Arts Butter Bar Ink, Simon Says Stamp Burnt Orange Ink and Simon Says Stamp Lipstick Red Ink) dabbing off some of the ink with a dry paper towel before stamping over the first stamped image. This gives the flowers the two-tone look. I used the same technique with the leaves and stems using Hero Arts Soft Olive Ink and Simon Says Stamp Olive Ink.

I die cut the word "sympathy" using the SSS With Sympathy Craft Die from the design, using post-it tape to hold the die in place. I kept all the small "inside" negative pieces to put the inlay design back together once all the die cutting was finished. I cut the word from SSS Smoke Cardstock as well. I die cut the entire design using the scallop frame from the SSS Frames Craft Dies, keeping the inside rounded rectangle piece.I cut the design again using the skinny rectangle frame die from the same die collection. Then I cut the same skinny frame from SSS Lipstick Red Cardstock.

Once all the pieces are die cut it's time to put the inlay design together. Starting with another rounded rectangle piece, adhere the outer rounded rectangle "frame" to the solid piece. Adhere the skinny red rectangle frame and finish with the stamped flower background. Replace the word sympathy in the design using the gray die cut word. Replace the negative pieces and finish by stamping the word "with" from the SSS Pawprints On Our Hearts Stamp Set using SSS Smoke Ink.

I added my favorite foam adhesive to the back of the entire piece and adhered it to a white card base. A little Wink of Stella Clear Glitter Pen to the flower for some subtle glitz.

(Click SSS = to purchase from Simon Says Stamp, EH = to purchase from Ellen Hutson, MFT = to purchase from My Favorite Things, SB.COM = to purchase from scrapbook.com, AZ = to purchase from Amazon)