WOYWW #235 - From Christmas Cards to Sympathy Card

Hi, guys! Hope all is well in your neck of the woods!  Since today is Wednesday, that means I am sharing what is on my work desk with you.  Thank you to Julia for this desk-hopping fun!

My desk this week is very disjointed. This weekend I was in full Christmas card making mode and you will see I had to stop and push the stuff aside to begin a sympathy card for my husband's co-worker who lost her parent.   I am currently working to finish it for tomorrow for him to take to the office.  From happy card making to sad.  But I know they are important and bring some sense of comfort.

This weekend I was able to finish a dozen Christmas cards for a co-worker.  I hope to share them throughout the week.  They were a hoot to make and he was so excited to receive them today!

I hope to visit with a bunch of you today and see what you are up to.  Thanks for visiting!

Distress Stain Sympathy Card

Hi, guys! Today I am sharing a sympathy card I was asked to make.  A coworker needed a card for her child's teacher who lost her husband suddenly.  When I hear stories like that it makes my heart ache.  I was told my coworker really didn't know the teacher well yet, so kept it simple and went with nature as I was not sure of their faith or beliefs.    I did decide to make it more bright in color than I normally do, because I thought it may lift her spirits a bit (especially coming from a young student).  I did the background with various shades of Distress Stains and black heat embossed the image and sentiment.

You will notice that I used my Lovely as a Tree Stampin' Up set for the main image.  I find it is perfect for so many occasions.  I used watercolor paper for the panel, as I love the way it works with Distress Stains and water, and there is a lot of color play and little warping.

I am submitting this card to the following challenge: http://wordartwednesday.blogspot.com

Wishing you a good day ahead!  Until next time!

Distress Stain Cards (Sympathy & Thank You)

Hi, guys! Hope all is well!  Today I thought I would share a pair of cards I made using my Distress Stains.  I made two similar backgrounds and used the same stamp set by Tim Holtz/Stampers Anonymous.  The paper I used is watercolor paper as I find it works great with stains as they are a wet medium.

After they dried, I used the lighter (softer) background to turn into a sympathy card for a friend who lost his mom.  I think nature themes work very well for sympathy cards.

I then used the second panel to make a thank you card for a friend who hosted us for this Labor Day weekend.  Barbara is someone who ALWAYS makes me laugh and smile.  I used the brighter background and went with a more whimsical way to display the sentiment. The sentiment I used is from Paper Smooches.

Isn't it great that you can create two cards easily using the same backgrounds and stamps but change them a bit for two special people in your life?  I know when I take out my stains, or paints, it is very rare that I only make one card.  It saves me time and cleanup and I enjoy stretching my imagination.

Until next time!

Fluttering Sympathy Cards

Hi, guys! Hope all is well.  Today I am going to share a pair of sympathy cards I made this weekend.  I needed to make three of them as we had three losses in various families at the office.  I decided to make them using nature stamps by Stampers Anonymous, with painterly backgrounds using Distress Stains and water on watercolor paper.  What I like about making them is that each one turns out to be a bit different.  Here are two of the completed cards.

Supplies:
Stamps: Stampers Anonymous, Close To My Heart
Ink: Black Archival, Distress Stains, Distress Inks
Paper: Gina K Designs, Watercolor Paper
Misc.: Tonic Distress Tool

I was able to vary the colors of the cards as one had some pinks showing, where the other one had some more yellows.   I distressed the images and them used distress inks to set it off.

I am entering them in the following challenge:
http://www.simonsaysstampschallenge.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/simon-says-anything-goes.html

When I saw the use of Tim Holtz products listed, I knew these would be a great fit!

Hope you have a nice day, and that you find time in the day to do something you love!

With Deepest Sympathy

Hi, guys! Today I am sharing a card I made for a friend of my husband who lost his mom.  I wanted to make it a nature themed card, and appropriate for a man.  I didn't want to make it too fussy, and wanted it to be calm in feel.  This is what I came up with.

Supplies:
Stamps: Rubber Stampede
Paper: Core-dinations, Gina K Designs
Ink: Stampin' Up
Misc.: Cuttlebug Embossing Folder, Scallop Edge Punch, Sanding Block, Gem

One of my favorite papers to use is Core-dinations as I love the different colored cores in their papers and love to sand them.  It gives the image such a fun distressed look.

Hope you have a nice day!  Until next time!

Nature-Inspired Sympathy Card

Hi, guys! I thought I would share a sympathy card I made for a co-worker. It is for a man who lost his mother.  I was asked not to make it religious in any way.  Feeling that nature themes work well for masculine cards as well as sympathy cards, I took out my trusty Lovely As A Tree stamp set by Stampin' Up to use. I heat embossed the image with copper embossing powder, and matted the image with some gingham paper to give it a touch of color.

Supplies:
Stamps: Stampin' Up, Rubber Stampede (Sentiment)
Ink: Versamark, Stampin' Up
Paper: Stampin' Up, Papertrey Ink (Ivory), Imaginations Gingham
Misc.: Copper Embossing Powder Stampin' Up


I sure hope the card brings some comfort to the recipient.  I know I have said this before, but while this type of card is the hardest for me to create, they are the ones that need to be made.

Have a great day, and I hope you find a few moments in your day to do something you love.