2020 Stash Party #58 - A Split Panel Sympathy Card

 Hello, Crafty Peeps!

We lost a friend!  

We lost a friend to COVID-19.  Yesterday we learned that the fiancé of a friend has passed away.  They were to get married next year!  Every week his fiancée would bring my husband up to speed on the plans for her impending nuptials.  My husband and the groom-to-be would crack jokes about "brides on the edge" and the "posh pitfalls of married life!"   Our shopping trips to Aldi's, where they both worked, will never be the same.

They said they wanted to be married as long as we have been married (52 years.) They wanted to be as much in love as we are (on our good days!)  Now, he is gone!  We don't know what to say to her.  

We can't fathom that kind of loss.  It was only last year, at the urging of our daughter, that we sat down and had our wills drawn up.  The very thought of not being on this earth together is anathema to our souls.  What can we say to someone who has had their dreams ended so brutally and so abruptly?   I don't think I know how to comfort someone who is facing my greatest fear, being without the man you love!  The man who makes your heart sing!  I saw their love,  now I just see her pain, and it is so unfair!

I will repeat what I wrote in an earlier post:

I wish the creation of this card had not been necessary!  I pray that more people become serious about COVID!  It is sad when people who are taking every precaution to protect themselves and their families become the victims of those who believe they have a constitutional right to kill others through their indifference, hatred, and ignorance.

Sleep on, dear friend, and take your rest.

They'll miss you most, who loved you best.

In silence you suffered, with patience, you bore,

Until G-d took you home to suffer no more.

Hugz,

Chana Malkah

2020 Stash Party #30 - Sympathy Card #4

Hello, Crafty Makers!

Well, we are at sympathy card # 4 of 5!  I am trying to think of one more new design.  I want to stick with the embossed clinging vine background  I may just change up the color and maybe fine another border die to use as an inset die cut.  We'll see.

Wishing You...

I know I am breaking that unwritten rule that sympathy cards should be in muted colors and maudlin.  I can't do it.  Anyway, I figure if she does not like it as a condolence card, she could always use it as a get well card.  I am sure Covid-19 has presented lots of opportunities to wish all of the above for people.

This soft pink EP is one of my favorites for background embossing. And, as you can imagine, it works great on flowers.  This company made a similar EP that they called Sahara Pearls.  It is a translucent rather than opaque EP.  I may use it on the next condolence card.  The color is lovely!

When I emboss my card backgrounds, I always hope for this bumpy, leather looking finish.  It is not only visually pleasing but also very much a fun texture that feels good when you touch it. I was super pleased with the outcome of this background.

Matching ink colors with paper when they are sourced from different companies is always a challenge.  I was over the moon at the perfect match up of my 20-year-old vellum paper and Ranger's Peeled Paint Distress Oxide.  Just amazing!  That oh so pretty Prima flower was the perfect finishing embellishment.

Thanks for stopping by!

Hugz

2020 Stash Party #29 - Gold and White Embossed Sympathy Card

Hello, Crafty Makers!

Whew!  I have completed four of the five sympathy cards that I need for my SIL's order.  I actually made this card first but I have held off on it because I questioned my taste level with this one.  I like the card.  The gold embossing is pretty and the Irises are perfect still I wondered if the gold was a bit much.  In the end, I decided to include it and if she doesn't like it, I will create another card to replace it!

"Jeweled Gold"

Once again, I used my mini clinging vine stencil for the background.  I did not iron off the gold embossing powder for this project, instead, I went with the standard heat embossing.

I wanted you all to see the different colors that are in this embossing powder. The mfg. calls it Jeweled Gold. Unfortunately, the company that made this product is no longer in business and I have not found a comparable gold EP with which to replace it.  The great thing about EP is that one container lasts for years. I have had this EP since 1999.  If you overheat embossing powder, you can literally brush it off your project and reveal a softer color underneath (the concept behind the iron resist technique.) On this project, I intentionally overheated some areas and then brushed away the powder. The depth and texture it adds to the card are amazing.

My daughter gifted me this Iris Stamp and Die Set and it has become one of my favorites.  I have used it to create vellum flowers, I have stamped it on acetate and I have even cropped off the stems and simply used the blooms.  For this iteration, I use three layers of die-cut and one layer of die-cut fun foam to add dimension and increase the visual interest.  I also wanted to create a little distance between the Irises and the white leaves beneath it!

Hugz,

2020 Stash Party #27 - In Sympathy and Friendship

Hello, Crafty Makers!

I have actually completed three of the five sympathy cards I need to make for my SIL's order.  One of the cards is still on my questionable list so I am holding off on publishing it right now.  This card however was easy.  I was asked by a few people to show how to "iron off" embossing powder so I made a quick video.  I used the same stencil and embossing powder that was used in my first sympathy card.  It just seemed so easy to create a second card with that background but using a different orientation.

Here is the video showing how to do the background stenciling,

 embossing, and iron off.


Hugz,

A Place To Start - Challenge# 2-2019 - Inspiration Please! -Use an Inspirational Die or Stamp

Hello, Crafty Makers!

Today's Card was my second make for the "Inspiration Please" challenge at my new challenge blog A Place To Start.

MICRO CHALLENGE TO SELF

In February, I have challenged myself to do two things:  

1) Close my eyes, stick my hand into one of the bins that store stamps that have not been used in 15 years or more and to use whatever stamp I pull out to create a card or tag or paperclip. 

2) To create CAS and or Single layer cards for the entire month.

I probably will not be very successful with #2 because while I love and admire CAS creations when I try it, my cards just look empty.

May You Be Comforted

Sympathy cards are always challenging for me.  Since I am taking the time to create a handmade card, I do not want it to come off looking like a Hallmark® design.  As this design came together, first in my mind, and then on my board, I felt that with it I had succeeded in accomplishing my wish for understated elegance.  The stamp set that I used included a detached leaf stamp that was intended to be placed a short distance away to depict a leaf that had fallen from the stem but I elected not to use it.

I added a simple verse inside.  The stamp I used for the sentiment is from an old set by "My Sentiments Exactly" a company that is no longer in business.

Materials used:
Top Flight White CS (82lb) Smooth Finish
(75sheets, $3.93 @Big Lots.)

Thanks for stopping by!  

I hope to see your Inspirational entry over at 

A Place To Start

Hugz,