Sympathy Cards

Sympathy cards can be hard to make, don't you think?  I try to keep a few on hand.  I lost a special friend last week and made these two cards for her her son and husband.   My friend, Sylvia, was a very special lady.  She never met a stranger and had wonderful stories and jokes.  She was the elementary school secretary when my kids were young and I got to know her and call her friend through my volunteering at the school.  A few years later, she was one of the charter members of our bunco group - oh, the stories we would tell at that bunco game.  Most of us worked for Coppell ISD at different schools and we could catch up on things going on at their school (or another name for it - gossip!!)  When my mom came to visit once, we went to a party for Sylvia's birthday and there was an Elvis impersonator there.  My mom and Sylvia both loved Elvis and just swooned over him!  Sylvia will be missed by a lot of people.

 

Retired stamp - Thoughts and Prayers

Woven Heirlooms - I used the background stamp, Drybrush on the Crumb Cake card.

Lovely As A Tree

This was Stamp Club week and I was taking requests - for a sympathy card, note cards and the technique using the Woodlands embossing folder.  Unfortunately, 2 of the gals who made the requests were unable to make it this week!!  Oh well, such is life.  This is such a busy time of year.

This sympathy card was so easy to make but was a big hit with everyone.  It uses everyone's favorite stamp set, Lovely As A Tree.  The sympathy sentiment is from Teeny Tiny Wishes.  First I stamped the trees on Smoky Slate with Basic Gray ink and punched out a hole using the 1 1/4" Circle Punch.  Stamp the tree on a scrap of Soft Saffron and line up the trees on the scrap behind the trees on the Smoky Slate piece.  Trim the scrap of Saffron so it doesn't peek out at the top, bottom or sides.  Mat the whole thing on a piece of Soft Saffron.  It gives the illusion that you have stamped those trees on the large piece of Saffron.  

The next card uses the Woodland embossing folder.  I rubbed Soft Sky ink all over the embossing folder (on the side that has "Sizzix" in the top corner).  Next I stamped the trees (Lovely As A Tree) with Chocolate Chip ink directly on the embossing folder.  I used a Q Tip to go over the birch trees and removed some of the ink off of them.  Next I inserted a piece of white card stock in the folder and ran it through theb Shot.  If you want your trees whiter, you can use a dauber and rub some White ink over them.  Use the Chocolate Chip marker to make the marks on the birch tree.  The sentiment on my card is from a previous Paper Pumpkin kit.

We also made a Note Card Portfolio with note cards and envelopes.  I'll be sharing those later.

Sympathy

Thought you'd enjoy this picture of Ashley and I at a Mexican restaurant in San Antonio.  Fun!

 This next picture was taken on Mother's Day.  I don't have many pictures of us 3 girls with mom.  Of course, I always tower over all of them!

 

I needed a sympathy card for a friend of Ashley's who lost her grandmother last week.  I love this white on white!  I used Botanical Blooms thinlets for the flower and leaves and added a bit of Marina Mist as a mat for the card.



 

 

This is the inside of the card.  I typed the sentiment and glued it inside.  I love the message.  When my dad died in 2001, Marianne sent me a card (we had different dads) with this message and I read it over and over.  It really helped me in that trying time.  Feel free to use it in your own sympathy cards.

 

Serene Silhouette Sympathy

For your information, here is the time line for ordering from the OLD and NEW catalogs:

Friday, May 31 – last day to order from the Spring Mini Catalog
Friday, May 31 – first day to order from the 2013-2014 Idea Book and Catalog
Monday, June 3 – last day to order from the 2012-2013 Idea Book and Catalog

What does this mean?  It means that Friday, May 31 is your day!  That’s the one day when all three catalogs are open for business.  On Saturday, Sunday and Monday, you can order from the two main catalogs, but the Spring Catalog is off the table.  Contact me with your order OR you can order on-line yourself and have the order shipped directly to you by using code #N4PTTCS7.

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Don't you hate it when you need a sympathy card?  I needed to send a card to a friend who lost her husband recently.  He had been sick for a while and in Kay's own words " I’m thankful that Bruce and I had this time during the past year or so while he’s been ill, to talk and cry and laugh and share feelings, to ask forgiveness of each other for past hurts and to grow closer as we walked this journey together. "  Isn't that what we all would ask for?  Just a chance to enjoy those final days together.

I haven't had this stamp set very long but I really like it.  I always seem to use Thoughts and Prayers for my sympathy cards but now I will have another "go to" set for sympathy cards.

The card is Island Indigo although it doesn't look like it in the picture and is embossed.  I stamped the tree with birds in Black StazOn ink on Shimmery White card stock.  Then I used my Aqua Painter and lightly brushed Summer Starfruit over the bottom and Island Indigo across the middle.  I matted the piece with black card stock, tied a black ribbon around the piece and stamped the sentiment from Thoughts and Prayers.  Very simple - took about 20 minutes from start to finish.

Birthday and Sympathy .... what a combo!

Whew .... we've had some bad weather here the past two nights.  Last night there were tornado warnings all over our area from about 7 - midnight.  There was a lot of destruction last night around Lincolnton which is where my sister works.  And, it looks like they are in the path again tonight.  Sonny was so mad because he couldn't watch his recorded programs on tv!!  May have the same problem tonight.  As I am typing this, I am listening to all the tornado warnings in our area.  The storm is supposed to be over Sherrills Ford and Mooresville in the next hour.  It has been hot and humid the past two days - great conditions for that bad weather.  I finally turned our A/C on today and closed my windows.  Hopefully, it will cool down again tomorrow.

I received a few more birthday cards that I want to share with you. 

from Brenda

from Joyce

This is actually Sonny's card - from Ashley

from Ashley



from Margaret - love that bow tying!!

 Tomorrow my Stamp Club gals are coming over.  They requested sympathy cards so I have a few for them to pick from.  We are going to do it a little different this time.  I have 4-5 cards made up and I am going to let them pick the ones they want to do - kind of like a smorgasboard.

 This one was CASE'd from one that was sent to me for my birthday.  I love the simplicity of it!  
• Run white card base (5 ½” x 8 ½”) through Big Shot with Finial Press folder.
• Stamp flower (in black) from Awash With Flowers twice onto white CS (4 ½” x 3”). Stamp stems.
• Color in leaves & flower centers with markers.
• Mat onto black cardstock (4 ¾” x 3 ¼”)


• On Glossy White paper, adhere 1 3/8" circle mask. Sponge Artichoke ink around the top and then sponge Mustard & Caramel as desired.
• Remove circle mask & stamp flowers so that the tallest flower is inside the white circle.
• Trim white card at bottom of flowers (about 3 ¾” square.) 
• Stamp “Thinking Of You”
• Mat onto Artichoke paper (4” x 4”)
• Trim about ½” off the front of the Dusty Durango CS. Use scallop punch to scallop the front of the orange card.
• Tie seam binding ribbon around the card.

 

• Crumb Cake is the base card – cut 5 ½” x 8 ½”

• Confetti White (5” x 3 ¾”) – stamp leaves all over in Crumb Cake, Pear Pizazz & Peach Parfait ink)
• Sponge edge of leaf stamped piece with Crumb Cake & dauber. Adhere to card.
• Stamp tree from Thoughts & Prayers w/Crumb Cake ink onto 3 ½” x 2 /3/4” Confetti White piece. Stamp sentiment in bottom corner.
• Color some of the leaves of the tree with markers (Pear Pizazz & Peach Parfait)
• Sponge edges of tree piece with Crumb Cake & adhere to Crumb Cake piece (3 ¾” x 3”)  Adhere to card.

Which will you pick?



We All Need a Little Sympathy

My club gals want to stock up on sympathy cards so that is what we will be making in October.  Unfortunately, sympathy cards are always needed .... especially at our age.  So, I played around today with a few of my stamp sets and made several sympathy cards.  I'm not sure which ones I'll have them do - I still want to make a few more and use Thoughts and Prayers.  But here's what I came up with today.  Some of them were CASE'd with me changing colors or stamp sets around.

This one uses the sentiment from Teeny Tiny Wishes - a must have stamp set!  The grass is from Inspired By Nature.  I did a new technique with this one.  I don't remember the name but what you do is this:

• Cut a piece of glossy white cardstock the size you want your design.
• Cut 2 pieces of acetate the same size as the glossy white.
• Punch out your moon & mask it where you want it using 1 1/4" circle punch.
• Rub an ink pad over one of the pieces of acetate (I used Marina Mist).  Then put it face down on your glossy paper and rub with your fingers.
• Rub another ink pad (used Blushing Bride) on the other piece of acetate and do the same thing.
• Remove your mask and stamp your image (used Basic Gray).

Another card using Inspired by Nature and the sentiment from Thoughts and Prayers.  The butterfly is a Sizzix Embosslet.

This card was so simple, but I just love the look of it.  I stamped the French background onto the Plum (retired) cardstock and layered it on black.  I stamped the floral image from Elements of Style onto white cardstock.  I always think I have to color the image in, but I really like the simplicity of leaving it white.  The sentiment is again from Teeny Tiny Wishes using the Oval Punch.

This is another favorite of mine!  I stamped the flower images from Just Believe onto the Baja Blue cardstock in Baja Blue, Craft White and Pacific Point (that I first stamped off).  The little white pearls I colored blue with my Copic marker!!  How cool is that .... they match perfectly!

I'm still "batching" it.  Sonny & Jack went to Charleston today and took the ferry over to Ft. Sumter.  They called about 4:00 and said they had decided to drive over to Myrtle Beach since Jack had never been there.  I bet they ate some good seafood tonight!!

Ashley sent out an e-mail today to all her friends chronicle-ing her deployment so far.  The title was "2 weeks down .... 50 to go."  Not that she's counting or anything!  They have 2 docs there, a physician's assistant (with one more to join in October), a dentist, physical therapist, and social worker/mental health provider. Their basic job is to provide day-to-day primary medical care for a battalion of about 400 people.  They will be doing "sick call" for acute problems every morning from 8-10 (including weekends) and will see "routine" appointments in the afternoons.  One provider will be the "duty doctor" every day.  Anything they can't handle will get transferred to the base across the street   where the Combat Support Hospital is located.