Sympathy in kraft ....

.... Hi - I seem to have lost Monday!!  Actually, I spent the morning sorting out insurance information and arranging for repairs on Jonathan's car.  I found a local firm that, conveniently, has a car hire company next door.  Then I had to drive the car to the repair shop - it was horrid!!  I don't much like driving in the snow, but I did it and got home safely in the borrowed car.  It's nice too.  Then, as it was snowing, I settled down with a coffee and a book - only surfaced in time to get dinner for the family!! 

And today has been busy too.  I was out first thing shovelling the snow off the drive and paths - I've realised that this job is much, much easier so long as I don't allow the snow to build up too much.  Then it was on to more housey stuff!  But I've just managed to get an hour in my craft room and have made a card for a few challenges:

• Less is More - LIM105 where the team would like us to use Kraft and Kreme on our card
• The Paper Players - PP131 - where the theme is to make a sympathy card
• Clean & Simple Stamping - FTL226

Stamps: Stampin' Up! - Thoughts & Prayers
Inks: SU - Crumb Cake
Accessories: SU Card - Crumb Cake, Very Vanilla; SU Design Paper - Crumb Cake; SU - Paper Piercing Essentials

I decided to make a sympathy card because they are so hard to make when you actually need one and the challenge at The Paper Players is to make one to have it ready for the time when it's needed.  I used the sketch from Clean & Simple Stamping, but I played a bit with the actual layout.  I made the card base from Crumb Cake card.  The stamps worked better on a landscape layout, but I'm not too keen on folds at the top (I find they tend to slip), so I made the fold at the side.  I cut a mat from Crumb Cake design paper using the stripey side.  I cut a panel of Very Vanilla card and used my stamp-a-ma-jig to position the tree in the top left of the panel and the sentiment in the opposite corner.  I used the paper piercing guide to make the corner decoration. 

The inside is quite simple - a piece of Very Vanilla card onto which I stamped the leafy branch (using the second impression) and a simple sentiment.

Less is More is 2 years old - I've managed to play along with most of the challenges.  I'm working really hard to earn one of those coveted Showcased badges and I'm not sure whether this is clean and simple enough for Chrissie and Jen, but I'm submitting it anyway!  Here's hoping :)
 
Kathryn has just arrived home and I found a couple of boxes from Amazon on the doorstep!!!  My new Silhouette Cameo has arrived!  Off to unpack it and set it up - not sure when I'll be back :) :)  See you soon.