Sympathy Card - Graciellie Design

I wanted to make a simple and elegant sympathy card for a dear lady who recently lost her husband.  she also lost two of her grown children the end of last year and I honestly don't know how people without faith get through trying times like these.  She is an amazing woman.

I love this floral image from Graciellie Design (the You Matter collection). It is simple yet elegant and when foiled (I used DecoFoil) it just radiates beauty.  The sentiment is also from Graciellie - the Healing Prayers collection.  

It is much prettier in person. 

It is difficult to capture the shine 

    and coverage of the foil.  

I wanted to keep it uncluttered so just used Neenah Classic Crest card stock and some gold card stock from my stash of scraps!  The card is accented with sequins from 28 Lilac Lane and Nuvo Golden Ovals which are new and add a special shimmer to the card.

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Butterfly Thank You

This is a very simple card but it has a wonderful story to go with it  that will explain the theme.

I was invited to have lunch with some of my friends at our local community college. I used to serve on the Foundation Board there and we were catching up on all sorts of things. It was a lovely spring day, but was most amazing was the influx of butterflies all over the campus.  It was incredible.  When I drove into the parking lot I first saw them darting in and out of the cars - or so it seemed. They were nowhere one minute and everywhere the  next.  You may have heard about the butterfly migration that was hitting southern California, and in all my years living here, I had never ever heard of butterfly migration, let alone see it.  I was a bit of a skeptic until that day.  So I walked up to the admin doors and stopped at least a dozen times just marveling at all of the butterflies playing a sort of game of hide and seek.  I was enthralled.

So onto the lunch in an office that had windows all alone. There were four of us enjoying great company and great food but I cannot tell you how many times each of us stopped mid-sentence to watch a group of butterflies darting in and out of the bushes.  Now when I refer to a group of butterflies, I mean HUNDREDS of them at any given moment.  We were all mesmerized. I learned later that they are California Painted Lady butterflies.  They were small, but no less magnificent in their splendor and sheer numbers........  I have lived in southern California most of my life and I don't remember ever seeing anything like it.  It was just amazing.......

So to thank these lovely ladies for a wonderful lunch and great conversation, the thank you card just HAD to include butterflies -right?

 I continue to try to photography foiling with success, but I am not there yet!

The cardstock is actually silver foiled butterflies, but they are reflecting the light

and shimmering in a wide range of colors. The greeting was foiled on the 

Gemini Foil Press and the butterflies from Graciellie Design (Moments of Bliss) 

were printed, cut and foiled with DecoFoil in turquoise.  They are so much

prettier in person.

I love the simplicity of this card.  I am definitely in a foiling rut and don't plan on stopping anytime soon!

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Hello Card - Graciellie Design

 I have been spring cleaning and uncovering layers/piles/drawers full of craft supplies that either need to be used or donated. So I sent boxes of "stuff" over to the Boys & Girls Club because I know they put all of it to good use as they have the main site plus have after school programs in 8 schools.  They are always happy to receive whatever I can share.  So it makes the giving away process so much easier!

And during that process I always seem to get invigorated and feel creative again because I am reminded of all that I have wanted to use and forgotten about - or just haven't had time.  I find ideas whirling around in my head again and it just feels so good.  So even tho my craft room is in a bit of chaos at the moment (I promise new pics soon when I CLEAN it up), it's all good.  I am rediscovering the things I love doing and starting physical lists of what I want to try as the ideas come because I just don't trust my memory anymore!  I should not say that out loud. :(

I have done the same with the kitchen and I am sure that is why I have started doing more baking and experimenting there as well - so there will be more recipes to share soon - it all feels good. And maybe that is part of what spring cleaning is all about - letting go of what gets in the way and making room for whatever it is you want to do or what feels important in the moment. So glad I am at least in the process!  Progress is often baby steps, but at least there is movement. I will take it.

Enough chatter - on to the card.

This is one of the newer designs from Graciellie Design.  She is such an engaging artist and her artwork always makes me smile.  The image is from her "Your Kindness" collection and it was such fun to color even tho I am still a work in progress on that front!

The fun thing about coloring on vellum is that it is so forgiving whether it is markers or pencils.  You color on the backside and it is super forgiving - you don't have to do a lot of blending

This was printed in SCAL using a print and cut on the Silver Bullet Platinum.

I purposely left an edge because I wanted it to pop a little more...

And here it is from the front - so soft and the colors are 

diffused but I love how subtle the colors are - like a gentle spring day.

Here it is assembled on the card with ribbon and backing

and some foam squares to pop it up a little.

Designed in SCAL from a simple font and cut on the Silver Bullet Platinum.

Look at now narrow the lines are - cut with ease!

 Loving the finished product - hope you do too!

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