I realised just recently that I had not yet used the Leaf Collection background stamp that was released with the 24-25 Annual Catalogue. This stamp set is fantastic for so many different techniques and card styles. When I saw this month’s Be Inspired blog hop theme of ‘foliage themed cards’ (foliage: collection of greenery or leaves) I knew that I wanted to use this stamp for this sympathy card that I wanted to make. I got to fussy cutting and some beautiful variegated stamping techniques for these beautiful leaves.

Be sure to check out the end of this post for links to all the beautiful Be Inspired team blogs in this hop. There are lots of stunning foliage inspired ideas!

the finished foliage inspired sympathy card

Here is a look at my finished sympathy card made with the Leaf Collection background stamp. I gathered a collection of products that I wanted to use with my card.

As I knew that I wanted to create a sympathy card I knew that I needed to find a sentiment and the new Everyday Greetings stamp is perfect and features a very heart felt sentiment, “Where there is heartache, let there be healing”. One thing that Stampin’ Up! is great at is providing so many beautiful & meaningful sentiment stamps for your card making.

I focused at first on a fun variegated stamping technique with the Leaf Collection Stamp which I did by using my Misti Stamping Tool and Blending Brushes to create these background leaves stamped in both Lemon Lime Twist and Shaded Spruce. To get a speckled gold look, I simply carefully sprinkled some gold embossing powder sporadically over the background before heating from the back.

the colour combination

Lemon Lime Twist

Pretty Peacock

Shaded Spruce

Basic Beige

The colour combination featured on my card included some beautiful and calming greens. I associated this colours as being beautiful for a sympathy card due to their calming but beautiful presence.

a close up of the detail and variegated leaves

To create a detailed but subtle background I used another stamp from the Online Exclusives range called the Textured Timber stamp. Stamped tone on tone on my Pretty Peacock background allowed me to add some beautiful texture to this background without over powering the beautiful leaves which are the main focus of this card.

I have chosen to accent the card with some stunning Basic Beige die cut flowers using the Flowers of Beauty Dies. To add some texture and dimension to the flowers, I lightly added some soft blending to the edges with some Basic Beige ink before curling up the edges from the centre. These flowers look adorable with a simple Pretty Peacock Foiled Gem.

a peek at the inside

Of course there are no nudie insides with some light blending, stamping and a sentiment as well as some die cut flowers to finish off this beautiful foliage inspired sympathy card.

I had so much fun creating this card and I would love to share the next blog along the hop, the talented Maheswari Rajaguru. Be sure to hop along and check out all this magnificent work.

To check out the full Be Inspired team’s blog posts for this hop, check out the list below…

A full list of the Be Inspired Team’s blog posts

1. Maheswari Rajaguru
2. Janneke Dijkstra de Jong
3. Brian King
4. Emma Goddard
5. Angela Meiritz-Reid

a different colour variation

Whilst creating my card above, I knew that I needed another sympathy card so I decided to make the same card but in another colour variation. I had a load of fun adding some Soft Sea Foam into this mix as it is a colour that I rarely use! It’s actually an adorable green and looks stunning mixed with some of the deeper and richer colours.

the alternate colour combo

Granny Apple Green

Shaded Spruce

Soft Sea Foam

Basic Beige

I hope that you got some inspiration from today’s craft share & had fun checking out all the other amazing posts along the hop.
See you soon for another crafty share. xx

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supply list

Leaf Collection Cling Stamp Set [163610] $35.00	Flowers Of Beauty Dies [163375] $65.00	Textured Timber Cling Stamp Set [163656] $44.00	Petal Pink & Pretty Peacock Foiled Gems [162587] $14.00	Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush [141897] $15.75
Everyday Greetings Photopolymer Stamp Set (English) [165084] $37.00	Neutrals Adhesive Backed Sequins [161627] $13.25	Linen Thread [104199] $8.75	Versamark Pad [102283] $16.75	Metallics Wow! Embossing Powder [165678] $37.00
Basics Wow! Embossing Powder [165679] $37.00	Lemon Lime Twist Classic Stampin' Pad [147145] $15.75	Shaded Spruce Classic Stampin' Pad [147088] $15.75	Basic Beige Classic Stampin Pad [163806] $15.75	Pretty Peacock Classic Stampin’ Pad [150083] $15.75
Regals Stampin' Write Markers [161699] $62.50	Tuxedo Black Memento Ink Pad [132708] $14.00	Basic Beige A4 Cardstock [164512] $20.25	Pretty Peacock A4 Cardstock [150886] $20.25	Basic White A4 Thick Cardstock [159230] $19.75
Basic Black A4 Card Stock [121688] $20.25	Small Blending Brushes [160518] $25.00	Paper Snips [103579] $21.00	Stampin' Dimensionals [104430] $7.50	Mini Glue Dots [103683] $12.75