March 5, 2011: Praying for You

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Another tough card...closely akin to the dreaded sympathy card, the praying for you card is always a difficult one. Trying to strike the right note is so important, yet seems elusive. I'm usually on the fence when I finish one, but I think I like this one better than most.

Pals Paper Arts challenge #83 was the colors Baja Breeze, Crumb Cake and Sahara Sand which I thought was perfect for this card. I also used the sketch from Stamping 411 #193 for this card, so I am entering it in both challenges. There were extra elements in the sketch, but I like to keep my sympathy and thinking of you cards very clean so I streamlined the sketch.

I used Stampin' Up!'s Tulip Frame embossing folder to just emboss the corners of this oversized card, along with Baja Breeze seam binding. The center stamp is from Thoughts and Prayers, and I used the tiny single Hydrangea from Because I Care, one of the current Level 1 Hostess sets.

You can't see it in the picture, but I triple matted the central square and put dimensionals between the bottom layer (Sahara Sand) and the middle layer (Baja Breeze). I love the look; it seems more special than just putting the dimensionals on the bottom of all three layers, and makes the ribbon lay better. I debated a Sahara Sand or Baja Breeze card base, but ultimately chose Very Vanilla. I think it lightens up the whole card - what do you think??