My first card!

YAY!! So although I had not received my much anticipated Gazelle (die-cutting machine) yet, a friend of mine's father passed away over the weekend so in addition to attending the visitation, I wanted to send a card. I was afraid that I wouldn't know where to start or how to make it look as good as I expect of myself....but I went forward anyway. I will include pictures and a list of the products that I used and even link to the site/store from where I purchased each product. The pictures were taken on my iPhone so they aren't the best quality and the card looks better in person, but I wanted to share it with you as I'm so proud of myself for pulling it off!!

Above is the front of the card. I used brown "Kraft" card and envelope purchased at Hobby Lobby.
The paper used on the front of the card is a beautiful floral from Paper Studio "Linen Door." I also used two buttons and self-adhesive gems (two gems and two pearls). I cut yellow paper into an oval and stamped "With Sympathy" using a brown ink pad. I also used the brown ink to distress the entire card edges (inside and out) as well as the floral and yellow paper edges. This really made a difference from a "colder" card to a "warmer" card (if that makes sense). I used a punch to round the edges of all four sides of the card as well as the floral cardstock.

 

Above is a photo of the inside of the card. Again, the photo isn't great as I used my iPhone to take the picture and my new computer doesn't have photo enhancement software on it yet. I used the same yellow paper that I utilized on the front for the inside. I also rounded and used the brown ink on the edges as I did on the front of the card. I stamped the inside with "Thinking of you during this difficult time" and a lily from the same pack as the "With Sympathy". I used the brown ink for the sentiment and used both green and orange for the flower.

 

The back of the card is also stamped with my initial. I used Martha Stewart's Custom Stamp Setting Kit but I hope to get a more personalized stamp, either with my name or with a sweet sentiment that fits me. But for now, this works. I used the brown ink around the edges of the back as I did the rest of the card.

Above is the back of the Kraft Note Card envelope. I used the brown ink pad around all edges including the flap. Because this card was a sympathy card for a friend, I wanted to stamp a simple, "Thinking of you" on the back of the envelope. This stamp was just too big to place on the front as it would look too busy and crowded.

 

 

Above are two pictures of the finished product, both the card and envelope.

Products used for this card:

5"x7" Kraft Note Card Value Pack
Floral Paper
Yellow Paper
With Sympathy Stamp
Buttons
Self-Adhesive Gemstones/Pearls
Brown Ink Pad
Green Ink Pad
Orange Ink Pad
Martha Stewart Custom Stamp Setting Kit
Thinking of You Stamp