With Deepest Sympathy

The mother of a friend of ours recently passed away, so I made this sympathy card to send. The photo for Inspiration Station's Challenge #52 served as my jumping-off point. In particular, I was drawn to the butterflies, wildflowers, & the colors and ethereal quality of the atmosphere.

I began by die cutting a piece of 140 lb. watercolor paper with one of the "Nested A2 Arches" dies from Scrapbook.com. I inked it with Salvaged Patina, Mustard Seed, & Shabby Shutters Distress inks. I spritzed water droplets onto the panel, let them sit for a minute or two, then picked the drops up with a towel. I wanted kind of a 2-tone effect, with some spots darker than others, so I inked over the Mustard Seed area with Squeezed Lemonade Distress ink & added another layer of Shabby Shutters at the bottom of the panel. (I didn't feel the Salvaged Patina area needed another layer of ink.) Then I spritzed more droplets on & soaked them up.

I die cut 3 of the Sizzix/Tim Holtz "Wildflowers" from white cardstock. I inked the flower portions with a Versamarker pen, and added a coat of Abandoned Coral Distress Embossing Glaze. I repeated the process once again to get a more solid coating. Then I did the same with Mowed Lawn Embossing Glaze for the stems & leaves. I glued them to my background, & trimmed off the overhanging bits. I then adhered my arch to a navy mat.

I stamped one of the Picket Fence Studios "Butterfly Beauties" butterflies onto a scrap of green cardstock with Lawn Fawn's Deep Sea ink. I die cut it with the coordinating die, & also die cut 2 more butterfly shapes from the same cardstock. Using a trick I learned from Jennifer McGuire, I folded each of the plain die cuts in half. I glued half of one behind the left half of the stamped butterfly, and the other behind the right half. Then I glued just the other halves of the folded butterfly die cuts to my card front, so the stamped one would pop up slightly.

I chose a greeting from Simon Says Stamps' "Sympathy Greetings Mix" stamp set (discontinued). I had initially planned to stamp the greeting on a strip of cardstock & adhere it to my card. But I was pleasantly surprised when I discovered that this particular greeting nestled perfectly along the curve of the arch with the flower under it. So I used Deep Sea ink to stamp it there. Talk about serendipity! Finally, I added my card front to a white A2 card base.

Rainbow Prayers

 

This card is for the Day 2 lesson from My Favorite Things' Summer School 2020. The lesson theme is "Rainbow." Because I wanted to make a sympathy card, I decided to go with a more pastel rainbow.

I used one of the brushstroke stamps from MFT's "Abstract Art" stamp set (discontinued) to stamp my rainbow. I lined it up on my card panel in my MISTI stamp positioning tool. I used Memento Angel Pink; Lawn Fawn Peach Fuzz; Altenew Vanilla Cream; and Memento New Sprout, Summer Sky, & Lulu Lavender inks. I started with the pink, and just moved my panel up in my MISTI for each subsequent stroke. I ended up cutting the panel down after I finished stamping, as I had extra space after the lavender, & didn't want to add any more colors.

I stamped the "prayers" from MFT's "Sending Prayers" set (discontinued) with Versafine Clair Morning Mist ink. I initially tried Hero Arts Soft Granite, but even a couple of impressions didn't cover the rainbow stripes adequately. The Morning Mist covered with only 1 stamping. I stamped the sub-greeting, from the same set, onto a strip of Bazzill Icy Mint cardstock, and adhered it below the prayers word.

I double-matted my panel with black & dark grey cardstocks, and finally adhered it to a white A2-size card base.

Floral Sympathy Card

The husband of one of my mom's friends recently passed away, so she asked me to make a sympathy card to send to her. My background was inspired by a tutorial by Lydia Fiedler on faux verdigris. I decided to try that for this card.

I stamped the "Wood Plank Background" from My Favorite Things onto a panel of 140 lb. watercolor paper with Lawn Fawn Doe ink. I used my MISTI stamp positioning tool so I could stamp in the same place again. Without removing the stamp or my paper, I cleaned the stamp & then inked it with Peacock Feathers Distress ink. I stamped that directly over the brown. I removed the panel from my MISTI, and used a wet paintbrush to wet the paper, which activated the Peacock Feathers and tinted the panel. I didn't feel it was quite dark enough, so I smooshed some more Peacock Feathers ink onto an acrylic block & then used my paintbrush to paint it over the whole panel. That deepened the teal without overpowering the wood image.

For the flowers and leaves, I used Altenew's "Vintage Flowers" & "Vintage Roses" stamp sets.I stamped all 3 base layers for the flowers with Memento Angel Pink ink. I used Lawn Fawn's Ballet Slippers & Wild Rose, and Hero Arts Bubble Gum & Pale Tomato inks for the remaining layers. I stamped the leaves with Hero Arts Lime Green & Moss inks, and Ranger Leaf Green Archival ink for the final layer. After I'd finished stamping, I die cut all the images with the coordinating dies.

I die cut the main part of the greeting with Avery Elle's "With Sympathy" die. I used a dark green cardstock first, but felt that got lost on the background. So I die cut another layer from white, and added that as a "shadow" layer. I glued all the flowers & leaves in place, tucking everything into an arrangement. I glued the "sympathy" down, overlapping the flower arrangement. I stamped the "with" from the coordinating Avery Elle "With Sympathy" set in Leaf Green ink onto white cardstock. I cut that into a label, & adhered it above the sympathy die cut. Finally, I adhered the whole panel to a white card base.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Dies R Us Challenge #128: "Nature"
Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Stamp It"
613 Avenue Create Challenge #225: "Anything Goes" (not playing the twist)

With Sympathy

The theme for the current challenge at Aud Sentiments is "Anything Goes, with a Sentiment." My mom had asked me if I had any sympathy cards she could use for a friend whose husband just passed away. I checked my stash, and was out of those, so I made this one for her. I used Sketch #SC607 from Splitcoaststampers.com as the basis of my design.

I pulled out an OLD 6x6" patterned paper pad from Prima, "Botanical." I have had this forever, and have almost all the papers in it still! I decided for this card I wanted to go for a vintage, kind of shabby-chic look, so that paper is perfect.

I chose 4 patterns from the pad for my card. I cut the burgundy one to 4.25x5.5", and adhered it to my A2-size white card base. I also cut the other papers to the sizes I'd measured out in the sketch. I inked the edges of all but the greeting panel with Vintage Photo Distress ink, mostly to help them stand out against each other, since the color values of each were pretty similar. I adhered the 3 panels to the background, and went to work on my greeting.

I used Avery Elle's "With Sympathy" die set for my greeting. The "sympathy" word is a bit longer than the panel measurement in the sketch, so I purposely cut that panel a little longer than I needed, figuring I could trim it down after I finished the greeting. I cut another scrap of the same pattern I used for the background of the greeting, and inked it with Vintage Photo. I intended to have some of the pattern show through the ink, but I guess I got a little too heavy-handed, because the ink covered basically everything. I backed the paper with Stick It adhesive, and die cut the greeting from that.

I positioned the greeting on the panel, and positioned the "with" so the tail of the "h" overlapped the swoosh from the "t" in "sympathy." I just felt that tied it together design-wise. I trimmed the panel down, and inked the edges with Vintage Photo. I adhered that in place, and then adhered the small burgundy strip below it. I hope this card will bring comfort to my mom's friend.

I am also entering this card in the following challenges:

Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"
613 Avenue Create Challenge #210: "Anything Goes" (not playing the twist)

Thoughts & Prayers

My Favorite Things has been celebrating the Olympic Games by having their own set of "games." This is my entry for the "Stamping Slalom" challenge, which is to use at least 3 MFT stamp sets to create a card. I used "Get Well Wishes," (discontinued) "Watercolor Flowers," (apparently also discontinued) & the "Romantic Script" background stamp. (I trust a background stamp counts as a "set"!) I also used the "Blueprints 20" die set (also discontinued).

To create my "patterned paper" background panel, I first die cut a piece of white cardstock with the stitched rectangle die from "Blueprints 20." I masked off the edges outside the stitching lines with blue painter's tape, to maintain a clean border while I stamped. I stamped several flowers, using "Watercolor Flowers," on my panel. For the yellow flowers, I used Memento Cantaloupe, Hero Arts Butter Bar, & Simon Says Stamp Sunshine inks. I chose Altenew Frosty Pink and Hero Arts Bubble Gum & Pale Tomato for the pink flowers. The purple inks are Memento Lulu Lavender, Lawn Fawn Fresh Lavender, & Hero Arts Orchid. I used Memento Danube Blue for the flower centers, and Altenew Frayed Leaf & Forest Glades with Hero Arts Moss ink for the leaves.

Detail of script stamping over/behind the flowers

After I had finished stamping the flowers & leaves, with the tape still in place, I inked up a portion of the "Romantic Script" background stamp with Memento Desert Sand ink. I didn't mount the stamp on a block, but just curved it to stamp partial impressions on my background. I wanted a subtle texture--nothing "in your face." Once I had finished that, I removed the tape from around the edges.

For the quilt-like panel, I first die cut the frame from lavender cardstock with the "Blueprints 20" die. I die cut 6 of the heart squares with the same die from a paler lilac cardstock; and finally cut hearts (again with the same die) from pink, green, & yellow cardstocks. I glued the frame to my background, then glued the squares (minus hearts) in place, and finally glued the hearts in the squares.

I used Lawn Fawn Yeti ink to stamp one of the greetings from "Get Well Wishes" on a banner I'd die cut with another "Blueprints 20" die, then heat embossed it with Recollections Snow embossing powder. I had heard the tip about using white pigment ink for white heat embossing--that it can give better results--from another card maker on YouTube. Unfortunately, I found my results were rather less-than-ideal. So, since I had used my MISTI, I just put the banner back in place, inked up the (clean) stamp with Versamark, stamped it, and heat embossed with the same powder. Much better results. I guess I'll be sticking with my old standby, Versamark! :)

Before I adhered my greeting, I die cut a scalloped rectangle (again, from a "Blueprints 20" die), and matted my background panel. I adhered that to a white A2 card base, and adhered my greeting banner. I like this particular greeting, because even though it comes from a "get well" set, it works equally well as a sympathy greeting.

I'm also entering this card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Add a Die Cut"
Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"
613 Avenue Create #206: "Anything Goes"

Butterfly Sympathy

I recently found out through a Facebook group I'm in that a lineman was killed in Victoria, TX, while working to restore power to the residents there after Hurricane Harvey went through. The group member who posted included his grandmother's name & address, so I made this sympathy card to send to her.

I began by cutting a panel of Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper to 4.25x5.5". I marked the vertical center of the panel, and adhered a mask that I'd die cut from a full-sticky Post It note using one of the "Flutter of Butterflies - Solid" dies from My Favorite Things. I also cut a piece of copy paper to the same size as my panel, and tore an oval shape from the area that corresponded with where the butterfly was on my panel. I used repositionable adhesive to stick that mask to my panel, and stamped through the opening with My Favorite Things' "Romantic Script Background" stamp, inked with Pumice Stone Distress ink. Before removing either mask, I also lightly inked inside the oval with Pumice Stone.

For the greeting, I pulled one from My Favorite Things' "Get Well Wishes" (discountinued). I stamped that with Hero Arts Wet Cement ink, centered on my panel below the butterfly area.

To give the panel a more finished look, I marked on the back 1/8" from each side at the corners. Then I used my scoring board & a stylus to score a frame 1/8" in, just to those marks at the corners. I also felt there was a bit of a disconnect between the image area & the greeting. So I colored various size dots with a Tombow marker, and covered each with Morning Dew Nuvo Crystal Drops. That gave the perfect finishing touch!

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

My Favorite Things' 2017 Card Design Superstar Contest: "Clean & Simple Genius" category
Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Clean and Simple"
613 Avenue Create #201: "Anything Goes"

Thoughts and Prayers

We were in need of another sympathy card. I created this one using Hero Arts' "Prayers" stamp set & Spellbinders' "Feathers" dies.

I began with the feathers. I had seen this card on Pinterest, and liked the verdigris look on the feathers, so I decided to recreate that with ink. After die cutting the feathers from 140 lb. watercolor paper, I embossed them with the same dies. I smooshed Peacock Feathers, Evergreen Bough, & Lucky Clover Distress inks onto my non-stick craft mat, and spritzed each with a little water. I dipped each feather in the pools of ink, letting the colors mix on the paper. I added some Delicata Golden Glitz pigment ink to my mat, spritzed it with water, & dipped my feathers in that after the green inks had mostly dried. Then I set them aside to dry completely.

For the background, I first determined how much space I needed for my greeting. I marked that with a pencil, and lightly spritzed my cardstock with water, to soften the fibers, so it wouldn't crack. I lined up the bottom edge of the "Woven" 3D embossing folder from Sizzix with my pencil line, & ran that through my die cutting machine.

I stamped my greeting in Versamark ink, & heat embossed with Ranger Super Fine Detail Gold embossing powder. Once that had cooled, I stretched 3 pieces of jute twine across my card panel, to hide the "line" where the embossing ended, and set off my greeting better. I taped the ends to the back of my panel, and knotted another piece of twine around them. I tied more twine around my feathers, and adhered them to my card front with glue dots at the top of the bunch, letting the bottom ends pop up a bit. Finally, I mounted my card front to a white A2 card base.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Stamp It"
613 Avenue Create #201: "Anything Goes"
Pile It On #134: "Feathers and/or Scales"

Comfort & Peace

The brother-in-law of a friend of my mom's was recently killed in a motorcycle accident. Mama asked me to make a sympathy card to send to her friend.

I used the sketch from the current Fusion Card Challenge for my design:

I began with my focal area and worked out. I die cut a doily from ivory cardstock using the larger of My Favorite Things' "Decorative Doily Duo" (discontinued). I also cut several flower pieces from blue & yellow cardstock using 2 of the Spellbinders "Blooms One" dies. I glued the flowers together--3 layers per bloom--applying liquid glue just to the centers.

For the background, I cut a piece of patterned paper from Graphic 45's "Trousseau" 6x6" pad for the left side, and adhered it to an A2-size panel of navy cardstock.

I stamped a greeting from Avery Elle's "With Sympathy" set onto a strip of tan cardstock with Versafine Onyx Black ink, and cut the right end at an angle. After adhering the doily to the card front, I glued down my greeting strip & flowers, tucking the left end of the strip under the larger flower. Finally, I mounted the card front to a white A2 card base.

I'm also entering my card in the following challenges:

Dies R Us #80: "Die Cut Handmade Flowers"
Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Stamp It"
613 Avenue Create: "Anything Goes"

Floral Sympathy Card

I recently learned that the mother of an old friend of mine had passed away. So I created this card for my friend & her husband, just to let them know I'm thinking of them. I based my design on the sketch for the current Fusion challenge. I rotated the sketch to be a landscape format & flipped the 2 panels to put the greeting on the smaller one.

I cut a piece of Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper to 5.5x3" for my image panel. I stamped the main flower from Essentials by Ellen's "Mondo Hydrangea" set multiple times. I heat embossed as I went with Ranger Liquid Platinum embossing powder, and masked after each embossing to stamp the next cluster. I did make sure to turn the stamp with each new impression, so I didn't build up any pattern. I finally ended up with a panel full of hydrangea blossoms.

To color the flowers, I used 2 Zig Clean Color Real Brush markers--a violet and a blue--and a water brush to blend/lighten the colors. I added a light yellow-green for the stems and flower centers. I started by coloring the fullest blooms, that you can see all 4 petals on, because they were the easiest to see what petals went together. As I colored more and more blossoms, it got easier to see how the flowers were turned. I didn't worry about a light source or shading; I just wanted a panel full of subtly-colored blooms. After I had finished coloring, I set that panel aside to dry.

I cut another strip from light blue cardstock, and die cut the top edge with a Lawn Fawn "Stitched Hillside Borders" die. After positioning the "sympathy" from Avery Elle's "With Sympathy" stamp set, using my MISTI to help me get it straight & positioned right, I added the small "with" from the same set. I stamped them on my blue cardstock with Versamark ink, and heat embossed with Liquid Platinum. I adhered the image panel even with the top edge of a white A2 landscape card base, and then adhered my greeting panel below it.

I'm also entering this card in the August Ellen Hutson "Mix It Up Challenge."

Prayers to You and Your Family

I decided to make one more card for a2z Scrapbooking's May Challenge: "Sentiment Focus." I got my inspiration from a lesson in an older Online Card Classes' class, "Stretch Your Dies."

To create my background layer, I first watercolored several scraps of 140 lb. watercolor paper with blue, green, & yellow Winsor & Newton Cotman watercolors. After they dried, I die cut leaves from those pieces using Lawn Fawn's "Stitched Leaves" dies. I arranged several of my die cuts close together on my work surface, and stuck a piece of Glad Press 'n Seal to the front of them. I taped the largest of Lawn Fawn's "Small Stitched Oval" dies over the whole thing, and ran it through my die cutting machine. To be honest, I wasn't sure it would stay together & not get overly stuck with the Press 'n Seal, but it came out perfectly! I added pieces of foam tape to the back of each leaf, and set that aside.

I chose Hero Arts' "Prayers" stamp and cut set for my greeting. Using my MISTI, I stamped the "prayers" onto a strip of Essentials by Ellen 40 lb. vellum with Versafine Onyx Black ink. I removed that stamp and, with the vellum in the same place in my MISTI, I placed my 2 smaller greeting stamps below the main word. I picked those up with the door of my MISTI, and stamped them in Versafine as well. Finally, I sprinkled Recollections Clear Detail embossing powder over the ink, and melted it with my heat gun. I cut the vellum strip shorter, and created a V-notch in each end.

After I peeled the backing papers from my foam tape pieces, with the leaves still stuck to the Press 'n Seal, I flipped the whole piece over onto a 4x5.25" panel of ivory cardstock. I got it as centered as possible, and pressed down to adhere my leaves to the panel. Finally, I oh-so-carefully removed the Press 'n Seal--which, I'm happy to say, did NOT rip any of my leaves! I applied bits of Perfect Paper Adhesive to the back of my vellum banner, hiding the glue behind the thicker lines in "prayers," and adhered that on top of my leaves. I placed 2 acrylic blocks over the banner, just to hold it down until the glue dried.

I inked around the front of a white A2 card base with Stormy Sky & Bundled Sage Distress inks. I felt these colors complemented the colors in the leaves. I rounded the corners of both my ivory panel & card base with the 1/2" side of my Corner Chomper. Once the Distress inks had dried, I used my ATG to adhere the ivory panel to the card base.

I'm also entering my card in Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday "Anything Goes" challenge.

Floral Prayers

A Blog Named Hero is having an "Anything Goes" challenge this month. My mom needed a sympathy card, so I created this one using the "Color Layering Orchid in a Pot" & "Prayers" stamp sets, both by Hero Arts.

For my background, I masked off the bottom portion of a piece of Canson XL Mixed Media paper with Frog Tape. I inked the upper part with Broken China & Peacock Feathers Distress inks to create an ombre effect. Then I spritzed the panel with water using a Distress Sprayer, let the water sit for several seconds, and blotted it up with a dry cloth, to create a mottled look. I let that dry, then masked off above the line I'd made with the Frog Tape, and inked the bottom part of the panel with Gathered Twigs Distress ink, to give a place for my orchid pot to "sit."

I stamped the orchid parts onto a scrap of white cardstock. I used Lawn Fawn Fresh Lavender, Memento Sweet Plum, & Hero Arts Grape Juice inks for the flowers; Memento Bamboo Leaves (double stamped), and Hero Arts Moss & Forever Green for the leaves; Hero Arts Cup o' Joe ink for the dirt; Lawn Fawn Wild Rose for the pot; and Ranger Archival Coffee ink for the stems. After stamping all the parts, I die cut them with the coordinating dies.

For the greeting, I die cut the "prayers" from white cardstock. I placed the die cut back into the negative piece and put them in my MISTI. I lined up the coordinating "prayers" stamp, picked it up with the door of my MISTI, and stamped it with Hero Arts Black ink. I had to do a little "touch-up" with a black felt-tip pen, since I didn't get the stamp lined up absolutely perfectly. But I don't think it shows that much in the end!

I glued the pot & orchid parts onto my background panel with Perfect Paper Adhesive, and put that into my MISTI. I placed the "prayers" die cut temporarily, to help me position the rest of my greeting (also from the "Prayers" stamp set). I stamped that in black ink, and glued my "prayers" word in place. Finally, I adhered my card front to a white A2 card base.

I'm also entering this card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Work It Wednesday: "April Showers Bring May Flowers"
613 Avenue Create #196: Anything Goes w/Optional Twist (Anything Spring)

Simple Sympathy Card

The other day, my mom asked me for a sympathy card. The husband of a friend of hers just passed away, after 59 years of marriage. I went looking on my Pinterest board of sympathy cards for design ideas, and found this one. The popped-up "frame" inspired me.

I cut a piece of 140 lb. Canson XL watercolor paper to 5.5x4.25". After planning out where my die cut "frame" would be, I used Hero Arts Soft Granite ink to stamp the "Bird" image from Our Daily Bread Designs towards the lower left corner. I felt the upper portion of the card was a bit bare, and I knew I wouldn't be adding a greeting. So I masked off the bird part of the stamp, inked up just the one grouping of flowers in Soft Granite, & stamped it in the upper right corner. I like the way it looks like the bird is looking at those flowers.

The bird & flowers are kind of generic, so you can color them to be almost anything. It being spring here in Texas, I decided to color the bird like a mockingbird, & the flowers like dogwoods. So I used my Inktense pencils to do that, applying the color with a damp paintbrush, and using photos I got via Google as a coloring guide. I didn't like the way the branch just kind of ended at the right side, though. I suppose the stamp was designed to be used on a smaller panel. So I just picked up color from the pencil I used for the branch & painted on an extension. I don't know if it's technically "correct" from an arboreal standpoint, but I prefer the way it fills the space anyway.

After I colored the bird & flowers, I stamped the image onto a piece of masking paper, and again (just for the flowers) on a full-sticky Post It note. (I laminated the larger mask with packing tape before cutting it out, and am keeping it with that stamp. The flower mask I didn't need again, so I just recycled it.) I cut out my masks, and masked off the images on my panel. I left the branch unmasked, since I figured it was dark enough to stand on its own when I inked. Then I inked the background with Tumbled Glass Distress ink and a foam blending tool. After I removed my masks, I spritzed the panel with water droplets from a Distress Sprayer, let that sit for several seconds, and then blotted up the water with a paper towel. Since the Inktense color is (basically) permanent when dry, the towel only picked up color from the background.

I let the background dry, then taped one of the "Frame in Frame" dies from Taylored Expressions centered on the panel. I ran that through my die cutting machine. I also die cut the frame from white craft foam, and used Perfect Paper Adhesive to glue the watercolor frame to that. Then all that was left was to adhere all 3 pieces to a white A2 card base.

I'm entering this card in the following challenges:

Our Daily Bread Designs "Anything Goes with ODBD Stamps"
Simon Says Stamp's Monday Challenge: "Things with Wings"
Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Anything Goes"

Cardinal Sympathy Card

My mom came to me the other day & said, "I need a sympathy card." The mother-in-law of a friend of hers had died, and so she wanted a card to send. I found this card by Shari Carroll using the Hero Arts "Color Layering Cardinal" stamp set on Pinterest, and decided to CASE it for this.

To create the background, I used The Crafter's Workshop's "Aspen Trees" 6x6" stencil & a panel of watercolor paper I cut to 3.75x5". I had sprayed the back of the stencil with repositionable adhesive, so I could ink blend over it without catching on the little pieces. I positioned the stencil over my paper, and lightly inked through it with Stormy Sky Distress ink & a foam blending tool, to create a subtle background that still had some interest. Then I removed my stencil & set my panel aside.

To stamp the cardinal, I used all Memento dye inks. I stamped the solid layer first with Tangelo, and then with Lady Bug, to give me a nice red-orange base. I stamped the second layer with Rhubarb Stalk, and the detail layer with London Fog. Finally, I used Tuxedo Black to stamp the face/eye detail. I accentuated the catchlight with a white gel pen. Finally, I cut it out with the coordinating die.

I used 2 different stamp sets for the greeting: Hero Arts "Prayers" & Simon Says Stamp's "Jumbo Stripes." From the "Prayers" set I used "Our thoughts and," "to you," & "and your family." I wanted a larger size for the actual "prayers" word, but the scripty one in that set was too large. So I pulled the "prayers" from "Jumbo Stripes." I stamped the greeting with Versamark onto a piece of watercolor paper, and heat embossed it with Ranger Liquid Platinum embossing powder. I cut it into a banner, and adhered it to my background panel. I glued my cardinal in place then.

I die cut a panel from Canson XL Mixed Media paper with the largest of Lawn Fawn's "Large Cross-stitched Rectangle" dies. I inked it up with Stormy Sky, applying a darker coat than I had with the stenciled panel. After I let the ink dry for several hours, I adhered my main panel to that, and mounted the whole thing to a white A2 card base.

I'm entering my card in the following challenges:

a2z Scrapbooking's February challenge: "Any Shade of Red"
A Blog Named Hero's February challenge: "CAS"
Die Cut Divas February challenge: "A Month for Using Red or Pink"

Thoughts and Prayers

My mom recently learned that a member of her writers group passed away. So she asked me to make a sympathy card that the other members could sign to send to his widow.

I decided to do a white-on-white card. I cut a piece of white cardstock, and embossed it with a Cuttlebug embossing folder. (Sorry, but it's not labeled & I don't know the name.) I then machine stitched around the perimeter with white thread.

For my greeting, I stamped the prayers & 2 coordinating greetings from Hero Arts' "Prayers" stamp & cut set onto vellum, using Versamark ink. I then heat embossed it with Ranger Silver embossing powder. I trimmed the vellum into a strip, and adhered the ends to the back of my dry-embossed panel.

I cut another piece of white cardstock to slightly smaller than A9 size. I used a Prima stencil (name unknown) and Golden Light Molding Paste to create a pattern at the top right & lower left corners. I let the paste layer kind of fade out, by leaving the edges ragged. After that had dried thoroughly, I adhered my focal panel to the center, and mounted the whole thing on a white card base.

I'm entering my card in the following challenges:

a2z Scrapbooking's October Challenge: "Layer It"
Die Cut Divas: "Time to Emboss"
Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"

Sending You Prayers

Our Daily Bread Designs' current challenge theme is "Dots or Dashes." A woman I know has a sister who is under hospice care. So I decided to go ahead and create a sympathy card to send to her whenever her sister finally passes.

I cut a tag from 140 lb. watercolor paper, and rounded the upper 2 corners with my 1/2" Corner Chomper. I also created a hole reinforcer from the same paper with 1/4" & 1/2" punches. I backed the tag with Scor-Tape adhesive sheet, and ran it through my die cutting machine with the inside die from ODBD's "Fancy Fritillary." Because the paper & Scor-Tape were so thick, the die did not cut completely through, which was exactly what I wanted. I stamped my greeting, from Hero Arts' "Prayers" stamp set, in Versafine Onyx Black ink, and heat embossed it with Recollections Clear Detail embossing powder. Finally, I added some fibers from my stash through the hole.

To color my tag, I used Fossilized Amber, Crushed Olive, & Broken China Distress inks. I applied areas of each color with a fingertip sponge dauber, and then spritzed the panel generously with water. I dried that with my heat tool, being careful not to "overcook" it, and applied another layer of the same colors. I spritzed the tag again to get some slight "texture," and dried it.

For my background, I cut another piece of watercolor paper to 4.25x5.5", and inked it thoroughly with Black Soot Distress ink. After I had covered the panel, I spritzed it lightly with my Distress Sprayer bottle, so I would get large water drops. I let that set for several seconds, then blotted it with a paper towel, to lift some of the ink. I just felt, since quite a bit of the background shows, this would give it a bit more interest, while still not detracting from the tag.

I removed the release paper from the Scor-Tape pieces I'd put on the back of my tag. I adhered it to the background at a slight angle, and used a black pen to add some faux stitching lines around the tag. After mounting my card front to a white A2 card base, I used some Ranger Multi Medium Matte to glue down some black Doodlebug Designs sequins.

I'm also entering this card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Anything Goes"
Simon Says Stamp's Monday Challenge: "Powder Power"
Incy Wincy Designs: "Things That Fly"

Sending You Prayers

Day 4 of My Favorite Things Camp Create challenge series is "Magnificent Masking." I had seen a technique demonstrated by Nichol Magouirk, where she inked a panel with Distress ink, and then inked over it again (with the same color) through a stencil to create a tone-on-tone background. I decided to try that with MFT's "Petal Circles" stencil (apparently discontinued).

I cut a piece of white cardstock to 4x5.25" for my panel. I then inked it in Cracked Pistachio, Peacock Feathers, and Shaded Lilac Distress inks. I really like the green/purple color combination, and added the Peacock Feathers to prevent the Cracked Pistachio & Shaded Lilac from making mud where they would overlap.

When I was inking, to get a smooth blend, I added a lot of ink to the cardstock. After I'd gotten the green & blue rather dark, I happened to think that I might be ruining my panel by going too dark, too fast. But I decided to press on and finish inking. I figured, if I had ruined it, all I would waste by proceeding was a bit more ink and some time. So I finished inking, and then taped the stencil over the panel. I inked through the stencil with the same colors. When I'd finished, I lifted one corner of the stencil to take a peek and see if the color value difference was great enough. And it had worked! I had the two-tone effect I'd been going for. Whew! I did add a little more Shaded Lilac over that area to deepen the design color, and removed the stencil.

For the greeting, I stamped the "Sending you" & "prayers" from Hero Arts' "Prayers" set onto a scrap of mint cardstock with Versamark ink. I heat embossed it with Ranger Liquid Platinum embossing powder, and cut it into a strip. I rounded both right corners with my 1/4" Corner Chomper, and adhered it to my background panel.

I decided my card needed a little something extra, so I stamped one of the butterflies from Our Daily Bread Designs' "Trois Jolies Papillons" set onto vellum with Versamark, and heat embossed that with Liquid Platinum as well. I die cut it with the coordinating die, and used a little Perfect Paper Adhesive on the body to glue it in place, overlapping the greeting strip. Finally, I matted the panel with a piece of cream cardstock, and adhered it to a white A2 card base.

I'm also entering this card in the following challenges:

a2z Scrapbooking's July Challenge: "Anything Goes"
Pile It On Challenge #112: "Use Your Favorite Colors"
Virginia's View Challenge #22: "All About Colors"

In Our Hearts

My mom came into the craft room where I was working the other day, and said she needs a sympathy card. The assistant principal at the school where my mom teaches had lost her brother suddenly. I know sympathy cards can tend to be rather subdued, but I feel that there is nothing wrong with adding some bright pops of color. The occasion is somber enough as it is. Bright colors might just help provide a lift the card recipient needs.

The inspiration for my card came from this card I found through Pinterest. I used both the "Hummingbird" & "Fuchsia 2" stamps from Our Daily Bread Designs. I stamped them on 2 scraps of Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper, using Delicata Golden Glitz ink. I actually stamped the bird first in Versafine Onyx Black, but the image is relatively solid, and with all that black, it just looked a bit "heavy." I decided to go for a cloisonne look, hence the gold ink. After stamping, I heat embossed both images with Recollections Clear Detail embossing powder. I die cut the hummingbird with its coordinating die, and used a Spellbinders "Floral Ovals" die to cut the fuchsia panel. I then colored both images with my Zig Clean Color pens.

I used a Cuttlebug embossing folder (sorry, but it's not labeled, and I don't know the name) to emboss a panel of mint cardstock. I cut off a 3/8" strip from the bottom, and then cut off another 3/4" strip. I kept the narrower strip, and just recycled the second one.

For the greeting, I sized one from Doodle Pantry's "Sweet Sympathy Sentiments" to fit in a 3/4"-high space, with a bit of room above & below. I positioned it on a blank A2-size "canvas" in Photoshop, and printed it directly onto the front of a white card base. I used Scor-tape to adhere pieces of craft foam to the backs of my embossed panel & strip, and then adhered them to my card base, above and below the greeting. I used Perfect Paper Adhesive to glue my oval to the card front, and foam tape to pop up the hummingbird.

I'm entering my card in the following challenges:

Our Daily Bread Designs: "Anything that Grows...with ODBD"
Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"
Craft Your Passion Challenges: "Anything Goes"
Virginia's View Challenge #22: "All About Colors"

Floral Sympathy Card

A friend of mine recently lost her husband, quite suddenly & unexpectedly. So I made this sympathy card to send to her. My inspiration came from this card that I found on Pinterest.

I started by stamping one of the "Sweet William" flowers (apparently discontinued) by Our Daily Bread Designs several times on white cardstock. I used Memento dye inks in Angel Pink & Lulu Lavender for some, and second-generation stamping with Hero Arts Soft Lilac for the rest. I fussy cut them out, and set those aside while I worked on the rest of the card.

For the background, I cut a piece of green cardstock to 4x5.25". I embossed it with a Cuttlebug embossing folder (sorry, but I don't know the name). I thought the swirls in this particular folder looked like vines--perfect for my floral theme!

I used a greeting from Doodle Pantry's "Sweet Sympathy Sentiments" set, and printed it on a banner I'd cut from pink parchment paper.

To assemble the card, I arranged the flowers on the background panel, without gluing any down. I used a piece of Press 'n Seal to pick them up as a group, and applied glue to the backs of most of them. I flipped the Press 'n Seal over, and laid the still-stuck flowers on my background. I let that set for a couple of seconds, then CAREFULLY peeled up the Press 'n Seal, leaving the flowers glued to the panel. I took 3 flowers, and popped them up on foam tape. I then cut away the green cardstock where it peeked out behind the flowers in the corner.

After rounding the upper right corner with my 1/2" Corner Chomper, I adhered my panel to a piece of lavender cardstock, cut to 4.25x5.5". After popping my greeting banner on foam tape, I mounted my card front to a white A2 card base, and rounded the top right corner. I fussy cut the bottom left corner, following the flowers, just for a different look. I also cut off the overhanging portions of the flowers on the left & bottom edges. Finally, I added dots of White Opal Liquid Pearls to the centers of the flowers.

I'm entering my card in the following challenges:

Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday Challenge: "Anything Goes"
Through the Craft Room Door: "Anything Goes"
Craft Your Passion: "Anything Goes"
Our Daily Bread Designs: "Add Dimension or Pop It Up"

Thinking of You

I recently found out that the sister of a woman I know passed away. I decided to make her and her other sister a sympathy card. I saw this post by Jennifer McGuire on floating die cuts, and thought it would be a neat technique to try for my CAS card.

I began by cutting an A2 card base from heavyweight black cardstock. I marked the top & bottom line for where I wanted my die cutting to be. I chose the "Fancy Fritillary" die from Our Daily Bread Designs, using only the inner portion. I taped it in place on my card base, and positioned my cutting plates to die cut only the middle part, as Jennifer had demonstrated. I repeated this to cut another butterfly. When I'd finished the die cutting, I used my craft knife and a metal ruler to cut along the lines I'd drawn between & to either side of the butterflies.

To reinforce the die cut area, I cut a piece of acetate to 4.25" by a little taller than the opening. I ran some ATG adhesive on the inside of my card above & below the die cut area, added a bit of Ranger Multi Medium Matte to the backs of the butterflies so they would not flop around, and placed my acetate. To hide the seams, I cut 2 more pieces of black cardstock, and adhered them to the nside of the card above & below the opening.

For the greeting, I stamped one from Hero Arts' "Prayers" set on a piece of blue cardstock, using Versafine Onyx Black ink. I trimmed that into a banner, and adhered it to my card front. I used the same blue cardstock to create an inner card, which I adhered to the inside of my card base. This both helps the butterflies pop and gives me a place inside to write my message. I added some clear acrylic gems to the front with some PPA matte glue, and that finished this card. I'd say the die cutting was the hardest part, but even so, the card came together pretty quickly. Hopefully this will bring the recipients a bit of comfort.

I'm entering this card in Simon Says Stamp's Wednesday "Animal Magic" challenge.

Sending Hugs and Prayers

a2z Scrapbooking's challenge this month is "To Die For": use a Hero Arts die somewhere on your project. I admittedly do not have many Hero Arts dies, but I used two on this card.

I decided to CASE this card, that I found on Pinterest. I really liked the circular element, and the bird on the edge (though I substituted a butterfly). I stamped one of the images from Sweet 'n Sassy Stamps' "Serene Silhouettes" onto a piece of Strathmore Smooth Bristol paper, in Versafine Onyx Black ink. Then I clear heat embossed it, and die cut it with a Spellbinders "Standard Circles SM" die. I inked the panel with Stormy Sky, Faded Jeans, and Chipped Sapphire Distress inks to create a bit of an ombre look. I also cut a mat for the circle with a "Standard Circles LG" die from black cardstock. I adhered the focal image to the mat, and set that aside.

For my basic design, I used Sketch #219 from Operation Write Home. I cut a piece of brown gingham paper from My Mind's Eye's "Unforgettable" 6x6" pad, and another panel of butterfly paper from the Authentique "Latest & Greatest" 6x6" pad. For the background, I inked a piece of white cardstock with the same inks I'd used on the circle. After the ink had dried, I adhered my patterned papers to that, with a black strip in between.

I stamped one of the butterflies from Hero Arts' "Butterflies #3" set (discontinued) onto a piece of bristol, again using Versafine & clear heat embossing. I colored it with 2 Zig Clean Color pens, and die cut it with the coordinating die.

I used one of the greetings from the "Prayers" stamp set by Hero Arts & Simon Says Stamp. I stamped the large "prayers" word onto some white cardstock with Versafine, and clear heat embossed it. Then I cut it out with the coordinating die. I stamped the first part of the greeting on the black strip with Versamark, and heat embossed it with Ranger Super Fine Detail White embossing powder.

To finish the card, I adhered my focal panel to the card front, and glued the butterfly in place. I glued the "prayers" down, and mounted the completed card front to a white A2 card base. I will be sending this for the Lasting Hearts card drive, for parents who have lost a child to miscarriage.

I'm also entering this card in Die Cut Divas: "Anything Goes" challenge.