The Hardest Card to Make

Masculine cards have always been a challenge for me, but I can get them done without tears. Sympathy cards, on the other hand, carry too much emotional connection and are, without a doubt, the hardest for me to make. And this one tops them all.

My cousin's daughter Mandy lost her battle with Stage 4 Melanoma last weekend. She was only 33 years old, and left behind two beautiful boys, ages 8 and 10. It wasn't even six months after her diagnosis. So yeah, this one was a real toughie for me to make. And that same weekend a dear friend lost her brother, and another friend lost her father-in-law. All to cancer. Three sympathy cards to make...my heart was very heavy.

So, here is my public service announcement : please, please, please, if you have a suspicious spot have it checked by your doctor. Melanoma doesn't always look like an ugly dark mole! Mandy's looked like a plantar wart on the bottom of her foot, which didn't respond to normal wart treatment. Even if your doctor says it's nothing to worry about, insist on having a biopsy done if your gut is telling you something's wrong.

The "How To" for this card
Image panel: Whisper White 3-1/2" x 4"
Mat behind image: Basic Black 3-5/8" x 4-1/8"
Embossed panel: Lost Lagoon 4" x 5-1/4", embossed with Perfect Polka Dots (retired)
Mat behind embossed panel: Basic Black 4-1/8" x 5-3/8"
Card base: Lost Lagoon 5-1/2" x 8-1/2", scored at 4-1/4" and folded

I cut a 2-1/2" x 3" rectangle out of scrap paper with my Paper Trimmer to use as a reverse mask. After centering it on the image panel (held in place with painters tape) Lost Lagoon was sponged on the Whisper White, leaving a 1/2" border all around. The greeting, flowers and dragonfly were stamped in Basic Black Archival, and some Clear Wink of Stella was added to the dragonfly wings (not visible in the photo). The splats were inked in Lost Lagoon and stamped off once on scrap paper to lighten them before stamping on the image. The flowers were colored with a bit of Lost Lagoon using a Blender Pen. The image panel and mat were popped up on Stampin' Dimensionals.

STAMPS: Awesomely Artistic, Flowering Fields (SAB), Love & Sympathy (retired)
CARDSTOCK: Whisper White, Basic Black, Lost Lagoon
INK: Basic Black Archival, Lost Lagoon
ACCESSORIES: Big Shot, Perfect Polka Dots embossing folder (retired), Blender Pen, Clear Wink Of Stella Glitter Brush, Stampin' Dimensionals

Aarrghhh!

Two things are making me tear my (already thin) hair out - the first is Stampin' Up! has decided to stop selling the Blendabilities alcohol markers. The manufacturer just couldn't meet SU's high standards consistently, so rather than have unhappy customers returning defective merchandise, they've been proactive and stopped selling it. They do realize how popular the alcohol markers are, so they are going to try to find a solution. I certainly hope so, because I love coloring with them!

The second follicle-threatening thing is I keep making cards and sending them before I remember to take a picture! (That's probably due to the fact that I'm frequently rushing to get them in the mail on time.) Poor planning on my part, but I'm going to TRY to be better about planning ahead!

This was one of the cards we made at my stamping team meeting last night. I try to show my downline cards that are cute, but don't take too long to make, especially if there are a lot of stampers making the card. People could get impatient waiting for the stamp and ink pad to came around, ya know?

So this was perfect for the project. The Love & Sympathy stamp is great for using the "marker to stamp" technique and, while the stamp set is geared toward sympathy cards, the image can be used for just about anything. And BONUS - the All Abloom DSP Stack is one of the weekly deals this week!


STAMPS: Love & Sympathy, Simply Wonderful (Sale-A-Bration item)
CARDSTOCK: Whisper White, Crushed Curry, All Abloom DSP Stack
INK: Old Olive ink pad, plus Old Olive and Crushed Curry Stampin' Write Markers
ACCESSORIES: Texture Boutique Machine, Beautifully Baroque embossing folder, Crushed Curry ribbon from Best Year Ever Accessory Pack (Sale-A-Bration item)

Love & Sympathy

Just a quick post today - I'm designing cards to share later. This is one of "those" cards; the kind you never want to have to make.  Too depressing to share details, but I hope that knowing people care and are praying for the family helps them in some small way.

On the bright side, it is simple card to make (unless you're bow-challenged, haha), and would be great for other occasions if done in cheerier colors with a happier greeting. The mat behind the greeting was cut twice from Basic Black. One was split lengthwise and the other crosswise to form the mat.

Stamps: Everything Eleanor, Love & Sympathy
Cardstock: Whisper White, Basic Black, Baked Brown Sugar DSP (In Color stack)
Ink: Basic Black
Accessories: Big Shot, Apothecary Accents Framelits, Basic Black 5/8" Satin Ribbon (retired)