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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I Hate Cancer!

Yes,  I HATE cancer.  I hate that it has robbed two wonderful people of a long life with family and friends. I hate that it comes out of nowhere and turns life upside down.  I hate that I know so many others who are actively fighting it and I find hope in the fact that some/many of them will beat this disease.  I am reminded of the times when I watched my Mother bravely fight it three times.  Over a span of thirty+ years, she fought breast cancer, uterine cancer and colon cancer.  She was the winner of the first two battles and when it reappeared in her life, in her early 80s, she was also recovering from breaking a hip.  I believe it was all too much for her.  She was one of those who exercised almost religiously, watched what she ate (probably to a fault!), was never overweight, etc.  She lived such a healthy life. I lost her fifteen years ago and still wonder....why??? 

And sadly, I made these cards to memorialize two beautiful people who bravely fought and lost.  I hope these cards bring the families a little solace and remind them that they are loved....always.

The world, my world,  has lost two very special people in the past two weeks. First, it was the adult son of a dear friend of mine.  Her oldest son was diagnosed with brain cancer in April and he passed away the end of July - four short agonizing months..........

The second was for the husband of a special friend.  This dear womanwas diagnosed with ovarian cancer 3 1/2 years ago. I have never seen anyone fight like she did - from chemo to immunotherapy to radiation along with vision boards, experimental drugs, nutritional changes, herbal tinctures - you name it; she gave it her all and never believed the cancer would get her. Even in the face of horrible news, she would still say she believed she was in remission and the doctors were wrong.  It was an unbelievable journey, but so painful to watch, especially the past six months.  She lost her battle on Monday.

God bless these two remarkable people, and all of the warriors in our lives who are fighting this disease with all they have.  May they continue to be strong...... may they be victorious.


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Sending Words of Sympathy

I have talked about it before.... making a sympathy card is without a doubt the most difficult card to make.  And there are certainly situations that make it even harder.  This was one of those times.

I have been blessed to have a lot of warm and wonderful people enter my life.  The dear lady who is the recipient of this card is truly one of my guardian angels. She came into my life when I moved back to CA after having lived in Arizona for 12 years.  I was not in the strongest physical shape and needed a part time caregiver.  That is when this special woman created a "forever spot" in my heart.  She not only helped me for a year (I was in wheelchair at the time and couldn't drive) but she challenged me to live - really live and reach for all that I could do.  Over time and a lot of tough love on her part, I found the will and the strength to leave the wheelchair behind and fight the system to drive again.  She saw the strength inside of me even when I couldn't, or didn't want to.  I owe her so much.  And even though we mutually ended the employer/employee relationship, we have remained close friends for the past ten years.

A week ago I received a very short email from her. She is now in her 80s,  but living a full and active life. Sadly she shared that her oldest son had recently passed away and that the healing would now begin.  My heart ached for her and I felt/feel so helpless.  So this card is for her - this special lady who was a transforming light in my life.   I hope it reminds her that she is dearly loved...now and forever...

God bless you and your family.....

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Simple Sympathy Card

This is a very simple sympathy card for a special friend.  He fought a hard battle in a short amount of time and has left this world too early.  Unfortunately that could be said of most - it's never enough time......

The papers are all from Paper Temptress (incandescent and two kinds of luster) and the design is from Birds Cards.  This is an intricate design that my Silver Bullet handled with ease....

It's hard to see, but the paper is a deep navy incandescent with a dark navy ribbon.

Pearls in assorted colors were added to finish the look...

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A Special Sympathy Card

I love making cards, but this is one "occasion" that I do struggle with the card. There are always emotions interfering with any creative process that may be trying to develop.  I want the card to speak to the family or individual.  I want them to know that I care. But how do you put all of that into the construction of a card?

I don't have the answer to that, but I try to do the best that I can.  This was a tough card to make. A friend had lost her grown daughter. The circle of life is just not supposed to work that way :(  So I what bring me solace and peace - the beauty of nature.  I found a stained glass patter in one of the Dover Art clip art books I have and turned it into a cuttable design. Dover Art has many books with royalty free clip art that really helps when you are looking for the perfect inspiration.

The papers are once again from Paper Temptress with a touch of silver vinyl for the accents on the wings of the dove.  Some of those cut lines are very fine and the Silver Bullet did an awesome job as always.

The cut vinyl

The detail of the remaining cut

I hope this card brings the family a little peace and solace and reminds them that they have a community of friends who care.......

I cut the whole design out of white card stock so I would have a "template" in order to place 

the pieces in the right spot.  It made the placement so much easier!

Details of the embossing...

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One More Sympathy Card...

Am back with one more sympathy card.

The next one is utilizing a file I really like (cannot remember where I got it )!  I have used it before with an acrylic and glitter background and it cuts like a dream. There is something so serene about  a gentle hummingbird flitting gracefully  from flower to flower.  I am highlighting a closeup of the hummingbird feathers because of the detailed cut I was able to get with the Silver Bullet Professional.  You can see how minute those feathers are and the machine just sped through those.  I always worry when I have it cutting so fast that it may not be able to handle the details if there are a lot and/or they are tiny, but it never disappoints.  The cardstock is from the incandescent line (candido and nero) from Paper Temptress - they both have what looks like thin gold threads woven through the paper.  It is so elegant and why I chose the gold pearl accents for the hummingbird eye and the flower.  I used a gold leaf pen to get that rich gold color.

I think this is one of my favorite cards.

Wanted to share this closeup so you can see the fine detail of the cut - 

so exact and 

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