Aloha, all!
Sadly, no matter the time of the year nor the current political or economic climate, people about whom we care experience the loss of a loved one. I’ve written about this before, encouraging all of us who make cards to have a few sympathy cards on hand. If we have the cards on hand, it’s easy to write an encouraging note and send it off quickly so our friends know that we care. Unfortunately, I have not listened to my own advice of late. Within the last several weeks, no fewer than five of our friends lost loved ones. So I had to stop what I was doing to make sympathy cards.
A Stamp Set I Rarely Use
One of the benefits of being a Stampin’ Up! demonstrator is that we get to pre-purchase host stamp sets as part of the overall process of preordering products from new annual catalogs. Of course, we have to pay full price. But then I don’t have to be worried about forgetting to order it whenever I have a $150 or more order that generates the host rewards.
This year the stamp set that I knew I’d have to have was Touched My Heart. It has such a beautiful set of soothing images and loving sentiments. So that is my go-to stamp set for sympathy cards.
A Soothing Blue Combination
My first instinct was to use something in the violet family to make this card. But when I went to choose my colors, my eyes wandered over to where my favorite blues are stashed. I immediately thought that an outline in Night of Navy would be a good start for this card. And then blue took over.
I knew right away that, with the heart image outlined in Night of Navy, I would stamp the sentiment in the same color. After that quick thought, I was puzzled about the layout. Just to get myself started, I used my Brother Scan n Cut machine to cut the heart out with a bit of a white border all the way around. I originally thought that I’d just add a full layer of Whisper White Cardstock onto the Thick Whisper White Cardstock card base. I tried that without any gluing, and it didn’t do a thing for me. Then I wondered if I could color in the heart with a lighter blue. Just that quickly, the Balmy Blue color added itself to the card.
Balmy Blue Completed the Card
Once I colored in the heart using my Light Balmy Blue Stampin’ Blend, I wanted more of that color. The square layer on the card took shape quickly, with a Balmy Blue Cardstock mat (just 1/16″ as it was 1/8″ larger than the white top layer). I was about to adhere the heart to the center of this layer, when I realized I’d have a large expanse of flat white space. So off to get my Subtle 3D Embossing Folder, and I love the difference the texture made.
But there was one last surprise in store for me. I wondered how I might get a piece of the Balmy Blue Cardstock behind that heart. I tried a circle and an oval and – then I realized the my Scan n Cut machine was not only still out on my work table (hard to miss such a big machine) AND it still had the heart shape in its memory. Bingo! I asked the machine to cut the heart again, but this time with a larger border and on a piece of Balmy Blue Cardstock. You can see that mat of the heart peeking out – I love it!
I put everything together, added the sentiment and I was finished!
The Bottom Line
It’s good to keep sympathy cards in your card stash. I made 8 of these cards, and there are now three in my stash should I need them quickly in the future. Unfortunately, I’m about to be down to two in the stash as I now have a need for one more. But I’m ready for it!
Whether you’re stamping for fun or for a sad occasion, I hope that you have joy in what you’re doing in making your own cards!
