Not The Usual Sympathy Card

Once again I forgot to write the post after I uploaded the pictures! Thank goodness I'm able to go back and edit.

One type of card I don't make a lot of is sympathy cards. I think it is because I remember when my parents died we received cards and I read who sent it but never paid much attention to the card. They all seem to be the same, very monochromatic very neutral...just pretty much bland. If we are to rejoice a life then why are the colors so bland? For this card, which I did make 6 of because I needed 2 right away, I decided to go with brighter colors. I also made this card much larger than what I usually make and it was a bit of a challenge for me but I really liked how it turned out. I need to start making some larger cards because my friend Linda got me a deal on some A9 envelopes, which you use a full sheet of cardstock for one card.

The paper is American Craft Botanique. The following Stampin Up stamps were used: Simply Sketched sentiment, Petite Petals, Flower Shoppe, Mixed Blossom, along with their coordinating punches. I used the Stampin Up Bird punch for leaves and the oval frame was cut with my Pazzles.

I decided to get out my Janome Sew Mini and do a little sewing on the card and ended up sewing quite a bit. I always like how it seems to add interest to a card but most of the time I am too lazy to get it out *okie won't mention that the sewing machine is right under her desk where she works*.  It was a little tricky sewing around the oval but I still pleased with the overall effect. I really need to use that baby a little more often! I do highly recommend the Janome Sew Mini to anyone who likes to sew on their papercrafting projects.

I used some of the paper I have that is "Clear Translucent Sheets" to stamp the sentiment and overlay it on pink paper which was the back side of one of the other sheets. The same paper was used to stamp the small flowers on and then punched out. I got the paper at the bargain store here in town a few years ago and I absolutely love it. It was made by The Paper Company, which is out of business now. It is much like vellum but so much better! I am able to print on it with my printer and stamp on it with Memento Ink and it doesn't take forever to dry. Of course I am hoarding the few packages I have since I can't find the stuff anymore *okie is so regretting giving her friends pack of this awesome paper because she knows they won't use it*.

I'll try to remember to finish writing my posts after uploading the pictures but I can't make any promises...after all, y'all know I got a squirrel problem!

12 Card Kits - All Different But All The Same

I posted about never having too many supplies a few weeks ago in my I Am Able To Prove post and about how one of my clients wanted to make a sympathy card instead of a birthday card. I thought I should post a few pictures I got of the cards they made.

I am always amazed at the compassion my clients at the ICF/MR have for others, especially those who work with them and when someone they know feels pain they are the epitome of sympathetic emotion and compassion. While making the cards they did discuss their feelings about what happened but mostly the discussed how they wished they could help their beloved job coach during her time of grief.

They poured their love in each card they made and carefully chose each stamped image and gave reasons they wanted that particular image. They also were able to choose the sentiments I had printed for the inside of their cards. The lady holding the card she made told me "take my picture with my card" and I explained to her once again why I couldn't take her picture and she said "well here, I cover my face and it is okay". Don't ever let anyone tell ya that my clients don't know their way around confidentiality! I also promised to show her this post on the internet after I got it posted, which I will do in a few days.

Here is another close up picture, wish I would have gotten pics of all the cards but since they all basically looked the same you can see the basic idea with just a few. I took several Cuttlebug folders and they each used that on the mat of their cards.





Now a little side story about this card making event...
After all the cards were made I went to find the director of the workshop and couldn't find her. I went into the lunchroom to see if the lady that works in there could call and find out where she was as the cards were to go to the grieving mother that night. When I was showing the lunchroom lady the cards a dollar bill fell to the floor. I quickly looked to see whose card it was. The lunchroom lady said "you gotta put that back in there" and I told her "Well I wasn't going to keep the dang thing!" and we both laughed and then we discussed the compassion that was being shown. A few days later the lady whose card held the dollar bill came up to me and said "oh I put a dollar in my card. I wish I would have had a five, but that is all I had at the time". I inquired why she put the dollar in the card and she told me "I know she is going to have to be off work for awhile and she is going to need some money. I just wanted to help as much as I could". Talk about having to choke back tears, which seems to happen to me a lot out at the little place called McCalls Chapel School, I thought I wasn't going to make it down the hall before she saw tears running down my face. I went outside and composed myself and went and reported to the lunchroom lady what my client had said and guess what...she had to choke back a few tears herself!

Sympathy Card - Seashell theme

A dear friend of mine recently lost her mother and I wanted to make her a nice card. I was trying to find a good sentiment and found this one in the Hallmark Card software program that my friend Linda, aka LGuild, shared with me. I knew there had to be a nice cut on a cartridge of a seashell and I was able to find this one on Dreams Come True.


Supplies Used -
Disney Princess Dreams Come True
Stamp Up cardstock
Patterned Paper - various
1/2" circle punch
Signo Um 153 white gel pen
Cat Eye Inks
Microsoft Word
Perfect Layers

The card is an A6 size *okie always has a hard time remembering exactly what size that is* and I think that means it is 4.5" x 6.25". 

The sentiment reads "Seashells remind us that each passing life leaves something beautiful behind" and the inside says "May beauty live on in your memories and bring you peace".

I used Microsoft word to print the sentiment. For the front I cut close to the sentiment and then used Perfect Layers to get the mat shadow. I had a few scraps of the large mat from the front so I added a strip at the bottom of the card for the inside.

Since the theme was seashell and pearl I thought it was good to use a shimmery paper. I can't remember what the paper is, but it is some I got in a pack at Big Lots some time ago. I used Mica Stardream to punch out for the pearl and then just added a little highlight with the white gel pen.


I inked around the edges of the pink for some depth and plus, as you know, I can't NOT ink *okie still swears it is an addiction/disease at this point*. On the shell base I used the ink pad at an angle to get get the curved shadows to go up on the shell *okie re-reads that to see if that makes sense and decides it probably doesn't but isn't sure how to write it to make it more clear*.

I really like the simple elegance of this card. I find it hard to make sympathy cards because it's sometimes difficult to find a cut to go with a nice sentiment. I think this one just seemed to be perfect.