Sympathy – My Crafts are Like a Box of Chocolates

Elegant Floral Sympathy Card

April 26, 2013 beccreates1

Sadly I needed a sympathy card last week. An old fellow from my congregation passed away at over 90 years old after nearly 67 years of marriage, a pretty good run huh? He had a long, good life. The weekend before he passed he was at a party listening to us all sing karaoke! Apparently not his thing even though we tried to get him to join!

So this card was for his sweet wife. I tailor the card to the recipient, I don’t base it on the gender of the deceased. Is that what you all do? I layered ribbon, twine, leaves, small flowers and a larger rose then tucked in a tied bit of tulle. It made for a lovely embellishment cluster. This is such a heartfelt sentiment isn’t it? It really sums up how I feel when someone I really care about loses someone close.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: JustRite
Ink: chocolate-PTI
Paper: dk green, red SU!, light green, ivory CS-PTI, DP-Webster’s Pages
Accessories: rose-Prima, white flowers, tulle, ribbon-unknown, twine-PTI, oval Nestie dies, May Arts lace

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Pet Sympathy Card

March 2, 2013 beccreates1

A sweet lady has been coming to support me and help handle my autistic son. It’s her job to help parents of children with mental illness but she’s a parent too. She has an autistic daughter herself so when I found out her daughter’s cat died, I had to make a sympathy card for her.

I took the photos during the day so the colours are a bit off; the orange is darker and the DP is brighter so they match better, sigh… oh well. Daylight mixed with my photo lights confuse my camera’s sensor. I made this as she was arriving and she had to take it with her so there was no time to rephotograph it later.

I used the CASE study 129 but since my kids dumped water on my computer, thankfully it is fine, I missed the chance to enter. Grrrrr…… I might have added some more embellishments to match the original but when I asked her mom if she would notice them she said probably not so I went with just the one cat. The style of this cat suits a teenager so I thought it was perfect.

This is the card I was CASEing. I hope you like my take on it. I really liked the twine bits from each embellie. Thought is was cute and very clever. I was working from memory so I didn’t notice the one rounded corner; wish I had done that. oh well.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: sympathy sent-MFT, flourish Vintage labels-PTI
Ink: archival black-Ranger
Paper: Max and Whiskers-Basic Grey
Accessories: twine-PTI, cat-Jesse James buttons

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Papertrey Ink December Inspiration Blog Hop–Ivory Roses

December 26, 2012 beccreates1

This month’s inspiration was to use white on white. A touch of colour or neutrals were permitted. I decided to go with ivory on ivory since the music paper I used as a base for my flower wasn’t was vintage and not white any more.

This was a very hard card to photograph. The top, further away and at a deeper angle to my lights turned out OK, but the bottom faded away to almost nothing. Ugh. On top of the ivory, I added a bit of yellow shading to the music rose, green to the leaves and flourishes and pink to the small roses. All flowers are handmade.

I used a Cuttlebug folder for the embossing around the card to add dimension. Then I added more dimension with the picot circle die cut, flourishes foam dotted so they aren’t just popped up but are flat at one end, one layer foam dotted one third of the way down and double layered 2/3 of the way down so the end sticks up quite nicely.

When you can’t use colour for contrast, you have to look for other ways to get dimension. This card is over 1 and a half inches thick; maybe closer to 2”. It won’t even fit into a card box to be delivered. It will require hand delivery for sure! The sentiment says “Sending our Thoughts and Prayers”.

I am also going to enter this into the Shabby Tea Room Challenge to add a new card or your favourite of 2012. I have several favourites from 2012 but why not enter a new one?

I hope you enjoy the rest of the hop. If you liked my project I hope you will visit again and subscribe, the sign up thingies are on my sidebar. Thanks!

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: JustRite-Sentiment, PTI-flourishes
Ink: Scattered straw, spun sugar Distress, moss-PTI, pink pirouette-SU!
Paper: ivory CS-PTI, vintage music paper
Accessories: circle, tag die-Spellbinders, flourish dies-PTI, large rose dies-Spellbinders, mini rose dies-Cheery Lynn, pearls-Dollarama, foam dots-Jody Morrow, Hug Snug seam binding ribbon

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Pet Sympathy Cards

October 29, 2012 beccreates1

My best girlfriend’s neighbour lost her dog this last week. I knew she would buy a sympathy card so I offered to make one for her to give.

First, I decided to try out my new hex cover plate die from PTI. I had to die cut it three times before I finally got the right combo of number of passes through the machine and shim. I think my plates are old and that is part of it but it is a tricky thing to cut even with a new plate. Don’t start using it the first time on your last sheet of paper! Test it out first!

I used Nichole Heady’s PDF cutting diagram for 4 patterned papers but I substituted paw stamps for one of the papers. I love how it looks. I decided it was just too much work to give to someone I don’t even know so I’m going to save it. Then I made another one for my girlfriend to give away using this week’s Unscripted Sketch.

I made the button with the same paw stamp I used on the other card. It’s clear with glossy accents as adhesive. I was going to use a grey button from the pack that matches the paper but another button from another Basic Grey pack in this gorgeous teal colour really popped.

Click on the sketch to visit the challenge post.

I hope these cards bring some comfort. It’s so awful to lose a special pet.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: heartfelt, paw-PTI, hugs, sorry-WMS
Ink: chocolate, kraft-PTI, Antique Linen, Vintage Photo Distress, pumpkin-SU!
Paper: kraft, chocolate, cream-PTI, DP-Basic Grey Max and Whiskers, confetti ivory-SU!,
Accessories: twine, hex cover plate die, labels-PTI, clear button-SU!, teal button-Basic Grey, wood button-stash, circle Nesties, 1/16” circle punch-Fiskars, foam dots-Jody Morrow,

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Scrapbook Steals August Blog Hop–Mr. Huey’s Mists

August 10, 2012 beccreates1

I am thrilled to be participating in my first (and hopefully not last) blog hop for Scrapbook Steals! If you aren’t familiar with Scrapbook Steals, it is my Number 1 FAVOURITE place to buy scrapbook supplies at a HUGE discount! And they often have products I’ve not even heard of or used before. Plus their sister sites for Kids, Babies and She for women are just as AWESOME! Their blog is amazing too so if you haven’t been there, be sure to start the blog hop there! I have a card and a scrapbook page for you today!

I received Taxi, a bright yellow Studio Calico Mr. Huey’s Mist to work with. Now if you know my blog, you know I am not so into bright yellow so the challenge was on. I used it to mist a sunset scene that this bright yellow was practically made for!

I started by masking off the bottom portion of the card. Then I mixed the mist with a bit of water to dilute it in a spray bottle and misted the top portion. Then I masked off the sun area as well, added some pumpkin reinker and misted again. Then I misted a third and fourth time adding a few drops of rust red reinker each time until I was happy with the look.

Absolutely lovely coverage and it mixed very well with the reinker. I reversed the masks covering my sky and added a second torn mask to make the shoreline. I sponged in aqua ink for the ocean. Then I tore another mask similar to but not the same as the first. I applied this mask over the ocean leaving a small section to look like the froth of the waves breaking against the shore. Then I used several brown inks to sponge in the sand.

For the palm tree, I stamped it on very dark grey card stock and cut it out. Then I added ink direct to paper from the ink pad so it became a solid black silhouette. I added a sympathy sentiment and I was done! I think a sympathy sentiment was very appropriate as the sunset can symbolize the end of a life. Sad but sympathy cards are very needed and appreciated.

I have several other brands of mists and this is by far the easiest to mix. Thank heavens. Some of the other ones need several minutes of shaking before they are ready to use. And with Mr. Huey’s the colour you see is the colour you get. The others separate and become a gross colour so you have to shake it in order to see the real colour if you forget what it looks like. Not very convenient if you ask me!

For my next project, I used a mask to create an interesting scrapbook page background. As I usually only create cards, I only bought a 6×6 mask. So I added it to opposing corners to add interest to the ‘white’ space I planned to leave on my layout. I added some water and white reinker to soften the colour somewhat. I also added some touches of a pink mist. I love how many ways you can use these mists!

I was inspired by a layout by Maggie Holmes to use a banner across the page but I don’t have a banner die. Helloooo ingenuity! I looked at my dies to try and decide if I could cut down a square or a rectangle or… when my eyes settled on an ice cream die. Yeah! The cone makes a PERFECT banner! That was the most fun especially since I used up lots of scraps!

I added the date ‘wheel’ to the top right but felt I needed to add some more round elements to the page. So I added the medallion stamped once on the right side of the larger photo and again in white on acetate under it. Made a nice triangle I thought. I try to keep design principles in mind more so when I scrapbook because it doesn’t come as naturally to me as card making. But I keep at it because I love the results!

Adding things in odd numbers and in triangles tend to keep your layout more balanced. So I have three photos, pointy shapes in three places (stars in each corner and the banner), orange in three places: one photo, the title/banner and the date wheel; three circle elements and words in three places: the title, date wheel and journaling.

I hope you enjoyed my project. If you’d like to visit my blog again, please sign up for updates by email or RSS feed; links are on my sidebar. Now, you are off to visit Julie Odil! Have fun on the rest of the hop! And be sure to sign up for emails from Scrapbook Steals while you are there. If you get lost, the whole line up is below!

Thanks for visiting, Rebecca

1. Scrapbook Steals

2. Rebecca Keppel http://www.myclutteredcorner.com/

3. Joan Borgelt http
://thegovsplace.blogspot.com/

4. Dana Tatar http://datatar.blogspot.com/

5. Laurel Geisbush http://laurelz75.wordpress.com/

6. Rebecca Ednie http://www.eclecticendeavours.blogspot.com/ YOU ARE HERE!

7. Julie Odil http://muddypawsinkyfingers.blogspot.com/

8. Patricia Flores http://harmonyhealthandfaith.blogspot.com/

RECIPE

Sunset Sympathy
Stamps: tree-Taylored Expressions, sentiment-PTI
Ink: Mr. Huey’s Taxi spray mist, pumpkin pie, ruby red reinker, baja ink pad -SU!, Old Paper and Vintage Photo Distress, archival black ink-Ranger
Paper: grey cardstock-PTI, white cardstock-TE, Accessories: mask cut with circle Nestabilities, foam dots-Jody Morrow

Swim Day Page
Stamps: Label Basics-PTI, date wheel-CTMH, Medallion-Clear Dollar Stamps, Smash adjustable date wheel (year)-K&Co
Ink: Mr.. Huey’s Taxi spray mist, Bermuda bay-SU!, black archival, Staz-On white, October Afternoon mist, white dye ink reinker
Paper: DP-Splash by Echo Park, white CS-Taylored Expressions and Bazzil, clear cardstock-PTI, Doublemates aqua matting cardstock, Epson photo paper
Accessories: foam dots-Jody Morrow, Letter stickers-Making Memories, Divine Twine, Staedler journaling pen, label die-PTI, circle Nesties, ice cream cone die-PTI, mask-Crafter’s Workshop, Copics (highlighting the date wheel), foam dots

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Wisteria Sympathy

May 15, 2012 beccreates1

A friend lost her favourite uncle and asked me to make a sympathy card for her aunt. This is one of my go-to sympathy cards but I haven’t made one like it in a long time. Sometimes I have so much fun with the new stuff I buy, I forget about my old favourites.

This is one of the old two-step Stampin’ sets. The butterfly was coloured with Copics but the rest is dye ink.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: butterfly, background and focal image-SU!, sentiment-PTI
Ink: lavender, eggplant, moss, olive-SU!, Antique Linen Distress ink. memento black
Paper: eggplant, saffron, confetti white-SU!
Accessories: pearls-Dollarama

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Doggy Sympathy

May 14, 2012 beccreates1

My mom lost her sweet Golden Retriever Pinkerton last week. I loved that dog so much and of course, she was devastated. So, sadly, I made her a sympathy card.

Inside is one of the sentiments from the PTI animal sympathy set. I actually don’t remember which one. The paw is from that set too and the heart is from Tiny Treats: Valentine.

The sketch is May’s SFYTT.

Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: dog-unknown, sorry sent-WMS Say It Loud, heart-PTI Tiny Treats
Ink: memento black, Antique Linen, Vintage Photo, Frayed Burlap Distress ink
Paper: espresso-SU!, Patterned paper-Basic Grey Max and Whiskers
Accessories: oval die-Nestabilities, striped twine, button twine-PTI, buttons-Jesse James. Copics

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PTI Blog Hop

February 25, 2012 beccreates1

This month’s theme was interactive cards! I can’t wait until I can order the Movers and Shakers dies! For now, I used an SCS tutorial for a wiper card.

Here’s the front…

and this photo below shows what it looks like opened up.

If you hold it open and flat, the wiper section sticks up perfectly straight. We’ve just had three straight yucky days with snow so I needed a happy card with springy colours! I made a very similar card before in deeper colours; if you go to the search box in the top left corner next to the orange Blogger ‘B’ and type in wiper, you will find it. Hard to create links how I’m posting. It would be perfect for a sympathy card. ETA: Here’s the link.

I’ve always wanted to make one with a pocket inside for a gift card holder with an arrow on the wiper pointing to it! I didn’t realize until now that my Laughter panel looks unbalanced so I’ll probably add a little leaf sprig at the top later. I used a marker to create the centers for the pink flowers.

The yellow flower doesn’t have a center for it exactly. I tried thumping my markers in the center but it didn’t show up enough. So I used the tiny flower stamp included to stamp several times in apricot ink to make a center. It’s the same stamp you see in pink in a few places.

EDITED SINCE I WROTE THIS: I apologize for the very lousy iPhone photos. I promise to get better ones up this afternoon but I’m so tired. I got up right after nursing the baby to make this. He actually slept through the night, from 12:30 until almost 8 (awesome for a 2 month old), but I’m behind on sleep because he’s usually up several times! So I’m posting from my iPhone and will post properly later with real camera pictures. I’ll add the recipe then too. The PTI products are the papers except the Kraft and plum CS, the stamps, dies, buttons and striped twine. The inks, scalloped punch and twine are not PTI.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: Life-PTI
Ink: banana, apricot, moss, olive, plum, pink, eggplant-SU! Distress Linen, Photo
Paper: spring moss DP, rustic white CS-PTI, kraft, perfect plum, pale plum CS-SU!
Accessories: butterfly and scalloped circle die, chocolate twine, white button twine, buttons-PTI, foam dots-Jody Morrow, twine-stash, bee bellie-Jessie James buttons, Battenburg lace tape-stash, EK Success mini scallop punch, WRKM Corner Chomper

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Super Simple Sympathy

February 4, 2012 beccreates1

Try and say that 10 times fast! Sharon Johnson posted a super simple sympathy card this week using Webster’s Pages paper as a background. Those papers have so much going on, you don’t need to add much else. What a great idea as I hate spending time making sympathy cards; I care but it’s a bit morbid especially when you make them in advance.

On the right is the most embellished one I made. It has the little flowers and a button in addition to the die cut sentiment panel and the ribbon. The one on the left has no embellishments other than ribbon but it has some patterned paper on the die cut.

The best part is that I made two of the purple cards; all I used for paper was a single sheet of vintage violet cardstock (cut in half), two sheets of DP and scraps of ivory cardstock as the purple die cut used the remainder of the paper I cut off from the 6×6 sheet.

The button was threaded with a tiny strip of paper! I raised the die cuts on foam dots. I couldn’t find a tiny leaf to add to the small flowers so I used a green button instead.

This one is the simplest card. No embellishements with a style and colour combo which are definitely more masculine. Yeah, it has flowers on it and I would never usually send a card with flowers on it to a guy but have you ever looked at store-bought sympathy cards? Mostly flowers or landscapes so I think it’s OK. This one is going to the Renz family. So sad. The others are for my stash. I am going to make up a small folder of thank you, sympathy and get well cards to keep in my car. I am ALWAYS forgetting to write out cards ahead of time and as I drive to visit someone or get close to church, I remember then. So this will let me still give cards despite my terrible memory!

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamp: Out on a Limb Sentiments-PTI
Ink: Memento black, chocolate-SU!
Paper: DP-Webster’s Pages, vanilla, violet CS-SU!, artichoke, scarlet CS-PTI
Accessories: Prima flowers, button-PTI, ribbon-stash, foam dots, Labels 6 Nesties

This must be the shortest recipe ever! I love CAS cards… sometimes.

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Hero Arts Thinking of You Card

January 24, 2012 beccreates1

I bought one of the new Hero Arts sets that includes stamps and matching dies. The dies are unique in that they cut right at the very inner edge so no guessing where it is going to cut like dies with the cutting edge in the middle. Of course, then there is no way to stencil or emboss so it’s a trade off.

I sincerely apologize for the icky colour cast. I have come to realize that photographing my cards in the daytime in my light box is never going to work. The lights I use have a very yellow cast and the light in my room is daylight so quite blue. The mix seems to confuse my camera sensor in a very nasty way. I don’t have software that will auto correct and the manual adjustments I made didn’t help much. I’d take another photo but I already gave the card away. Sigh… I hope you can use your imagination to get rid of the bluishness.

The authentic colours are celery, banana and apricot in the background, pretty in pink and regal rose for the flower and celery and olive for the leaves, all from SU! I used markers to colour the flower and then spritzed the stamp lightly with pearlized water I made from Perfect Pearls. Next time, I’ll use a bit more water as I wish it had blended a bit better. I was inspired by a card I found by Melissa Bickford posted Jan 14th on Just Dandy. Thanks Melissa!

This card says Thinking of You but I used it as a sympathy card. I stamped a sentiment from JustRite stamps inside. A dear friend lost a brother and sister within the space of a month. Sadly, I didn’t know about the brother so the card only says sister inside but they get the idea.

Enjoy, Rebecca

RECIPE
Stamps: Hero Arts-Floral set and dot stamp from some other HA set
Ink: celery, rose, banana, apricot, olive, pink-SU!
Paper: doily-Wilton, white, banana, celery CS-SU!
Accessories: Ribbon-May Arts, dies-HA