Mr Cardmaker Ties It Up with a Ribbon for Picket Fence Studios

Today I have some more cards to share with you, using a stamp from the August 2020 release from Picket Fence Studios. I am guest designing for them this month, and I am so grateful for the opportunity.

Today, I am sharing cards made with the Hope Ribbons background stamp. This stamp measures about 3 1/4" square, but it's made so it's very easy to line up and connect the image to achieve a custom size, making it easy to create a card, a tag, or even a scrapbook page.

Using ribbons to show support for various causes is an everyday occurrence. Ribbons of every color of the rainbow catch our eye and remind us of ongoing struggles every day that people face, and those who work tirelessly to support them as science works to find cures.

As cardmakers, we do our part, in part, to support those in need with messages of paper and ink. Paper hugs, some like to call them.

Today, I have two such paper hugs to share.

First, I made this--

I think this is the first ribbon I recognized being worn on a large scale, to support those living with HIV.

I've learned that a diagnosis of any major health issue comes with myriad emotional trials--and as with all things, I work to slap a snarky face on just about all of them. This sentiment from the previously released Never Faked a Sarcasm stamp set seems perfect here to me. I leave it to you to figure out the meaning.

To create this card front, I stamped the image on both white and red cardstock, then trimmed both to fit together on the card front. Notice here how I was able to almost seamlessly pair up where the image ends and another starts. It's nice to work with a stamp that gives you a variety of uses and is so easy to expand for a larger background.

I did a small amount of ink blending on the edges to soften them, and I white heat embossed the oh-so-very snarky sentiment on the red section for the most impact. I felt that blinging this one up was unnecessary, so I trimmed and foam mounted my panel onto a white top-folding card base and stepped away.

I have uttered this sentiment in daily life a number of times. I will do so again when appropriate, too, I'm sure...

My second card supports a cause that has been a part of my family for many years.

I made this--

I love how you can connect the image so easily, but here I wanted to use it in a more disjointed way, like the way cancer can shatter lives so easily. My mom has been living with breast cancer and metastases for many years now, and while she has been in several remissions, there always seems to be another shoe ready to drop at any moment.

Here I felt freer to go more feminine, with scallops and gems, and pink-on-pink. I used one of the stamps from the It's Peopley Out There stamp set for the sentiment, and heat embossed it in gold. I love this sentiment. 

Fights with health issues are often long and hard. I think giving someone a smile in the midst of things is the very least we can do. Do it, early and often. 

Paper hugs, y'all. Paper hugs.

I have more to share over the next few days, using items from this August release from Picket Fence Studios. Be sure to stop by the website to see much more! 

Thanks so much for stopping by!

All Best--

Richard