A Sunday Cards & Coffee Live tutorial from Stampin’ Stuff with My Inky Paws Facebook Page.

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This card was actually created at the same time as Missing You at Home. As I was die cutting that card I was seeing this one come together in my head. That’s kind of a thing with me and it’s both a blessing and a curse. Oftentimes I look at a stamp set (or a die set) and a card pops into my head fully formed right down to the embellishments. That card has to get out of my head, aka become physically crafted, before I can move on to see other possibilities. Does this happen to you, too? I’d love to know it’s not just one of my (many) idiosyncrasies.

So….as did MYaH, this card started out with 3 successively smaller die cuts using Diorama contour nesting dies on 3 colors of card stock. I used Pacific Point card stock for the card base and did a front only embossing with the paint texture embossing folder. I like the paint texture as it lends itself to many different applications (and I could digress and expound on its virtues for a whole post…maybe I will, but not this one…)

The trees are punch art in two colors of card stock using the Evergreen Border punch. One of the stamps in the Evergreen Elegance Stamp Set is a small tree that is just the right size for adding some texture (I used Evening Evergreen ink) and giving it more of a tree-look rather than just plain cardstock paper-doll-type trees.

The why of this card (which maybe should have been the intro of this post) and the reason I couldn’t get it out of my head is this: I have a couple sisters, and we are ALL workaholics. We all have different careers (though 2 of us had the same for awhile) and we basically hand ourselves over completely to our careers. It’s how we’re wired. I was one of the 2 of us with same job and in a sudden moment of clarity, inhaled one day and looked around me and basically said “F this S, I’m going back to working for me,” and so here I am. I have always definitely liked my boss and working conditions better when I am self-employed but I’m no less a workaholic than when I am paychecking in my more traditional career path.

But back to my workaholic sisters. One in particular….she needs a break. She needs a real vacation. She’s not going to get it, and so when I cut out those cardstock diorama pieces I saw an island. With this card I created her an island surrounded by deep blue water with peaceful forests of trees to get caught up in. She can keep this on her desk and go there in her mind when she can’t physically get away from her work life.

As is my personal signature, the envelope and the inside of the card are stamped with a small grove of trees from this set. I never leave an envelope naked as I feel the joy of receiving a card should start the moment it touches the recipients hand with just a hint of what waits inside!

I hope this card inspires you to create and I’d love to see your cards and hear their stories, too!

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