Love & Prayers Bring Healing & Comfort

I needed two sympathy cards right after Christmas and the New Year, and my sympathy stash is ZERO!  I was in the middle of fulfilling my New Year's resolution to make at least 60 Christmas cards by the end of January before putting my Christmas materials away.  I had just finished a card design idea a  few days ago, based on a My Favorite Things sketch from April 2018...MFTWSC382.  I felt my new design would actually make an excellent sympathy card made exactly like I was planning to make the Christmas card.  

The cards are made from the Stampin' Up Feels Like Frost paper scraps, which was carried over from the 2019 Holiday mini catalog to the 2020 catalog. I got busy and changed my new card design yet again to use up all the leftover kit pieces, plus cutting a few more in order to make two cards the same.  One would be given locally and the other mailed to Denver, Colorado, so neither would ever know they received cards with the sames style.  

My design change involved using an envelope flap at the top of the card where I would place the sentiment.  It is actually adhered not a flap.  I used white cardstock and sponged it with Balmy Blue ink.  I added the sentiment with the computer/ printer and then measured and cut the triangle-shaped envelope flap to fit the card top.  On these two sympathy cards, unfortunately, I measured wrong, and the flap ended up too short to go all the way to the top of the card according to my design.  Not to worry, I placed it an inch lower from the top and added the planned ribbon band and bow onto the cardstock layer above instead on the flap.  Though I think I'll like it better almost all the way to the top as I will do on the Christmas cards, I decided it really didn't look too bad this way.  I used Stampin' Up's Snowflake Splendor Holiday ribbon, which is a sparkly iridescent white normally, but I colored blue it with the broad nib of a blue shade  of Copic Marker to coordinate with the blue shades in the card.  I randomly popped on some rhinestone sparkly gems, made a little sympathy verse for inside, and the card was done.

Take a peek below at both my modified Christmas card design made into a Sympathy card and the inside design and verse below:

Ingredients:  Stampin' Up products:  Cardstock--Balmy Blue, Night of Navy, Silver Glimmer; Patterned paper--Feels Like Frost 6x6 dsp; Ink--Balmy Blue; Ribbon--1/4" Snowflake Splendor.  Basic Rhinestones.  Other:  Punch--EK Victorian Corners; Copic Markers (color ribbon); Chatterbox computer sentiment/ verse; Size--4-3/4" x 6".

Christmas Brings A Spirit of Peace

I'm working on my fifth card from the Totally Lovin' Christmas card.  I'd call this one a mini makeover!  I actually loved the design of this card and just wanted to make it my traditional, larger-sized card, closer to an A6 size (4-1/2" x 6-1/4") than the more common A2 size (4-1/4" x 5-1/2").  While I was at it, I had a few other tweaks I wanted to make.

To make my card larger, I added a new white cardbase and recut the original Garden Green cardbase into a mat layer to use between the cardbase and the dry embossed and ink-sponged birch trees top layer.  Rather than using Liz's choice of Crumb Cake for the embossed birch tree layer color, I substituted the retired Burnt Brown Sugar cardstock that has a more cinnamon brown look, giving it a more lively and cheerful look.  Sometimes, Crumb Cake just seems a bit blah to me.

I made four other minor changes:  1) I chose to Copic color my pinecones (E21, E23, E59) and fussy-cut the die cut edges down a bit more; 2) I used chunky glitter for my snowy effects rather than the snowfall puff paint. (I like the nice, chunky texture and sparky effect); 3) I added a few more pine branches peeking out from below the sentiment focal piece; and 4) I ink distressed the edges of the card giving it a more aged look.  All in all the card only has subtle changes, which does not change the overall look all that much!  Take a peek at the finished card both inside and out below.

Recipe Ingredients:  Stampin' Up products:  Cardstocks--Whisper White, Garden Green, Burnt Brown Sugar (retired), Red Glimmer paper.  Stamps--Peaceful Boughs--2019 Holiday.  Ink--Garden Green, Soft Suede.  Dies--Beautiful Boughs-leaves, sentiment frame--2019 Holiday.  Woodland EF-sponged w/ Soft Suede. 3/8" Red Grosgrain ribbon.  Chunky Glitter--2019 Holiday.  Holiday Rhinestones (inside verse corners).  Other products:  EK Punch--Victorian Corners.  Copic Markers--E21, E23, E59.  Size A6: 4-1/2 x 6-1/4 inches.