5 Minute Sympathy Card

It's sad that I find a need for so many sympathy cards lately.  I decided to make another stack so I wouldn't have to make more for some time.  These are super quick and easy, taking me all of 5 minutes to make 10 cards.  I stamped the medallion from Inkadinkado (on sale at Michael's this week!) in Smoky Slate.  The sentiment is stamped in Jet Black Staz-On using a SU Best of Greetings and the inside sentiment from Petite Pairs.  Last is to quickly pop a small pearl onto the center of the medallion.  Thanks for looking!  April

Clean & Simple Sympathy

It is so sad how many sympathy cards I have needed in the past year.  I hate trying to think of something on the fly too so I decided to try to make a stack to have set aside.  It is always a challenge to not be overwhelming with decorations or too cheerful looking.  I decided to pull out the kraft cards and stick with neutral colors.  I stamped the leaves from SU's Day of Gratitude and sentiment from SU's Best of Greetings in Early Espresso ink.  I punched the butterfly in Early Espresso core stock, curling the wings around a stylus for some dimension, and added a couple of different size pearls.  Inside, I stamped the sentiment from Petite Pairs in Early Espresso.  Thanks for looking!  April

Butterfly Sympathy

I have said it before and will say it again - I hate making sympathy cards.  I just have trouble trying not to make a overly pretty or cheerful card.  This is going several states away and is for my chilren's former preschool director.  She was such an amazing blessing in my kids' early learning and I thank her and the staff of Little Lambs to this day.  She touched so many preschoolers' families over the last 25 years and I know she is greatly missed. 
The base is Whisper White and is inked using the SU butterfly bigz die as a mask.  The inks are Wisteria Wonder, Baja Breeze, and Pink Pirouette.  The butterfly stamp is from 7gypsies and is stamped in Versamark, then embossed in silver metallic powder.  The sentiment is from SU Best of Greetings set and also stamped in Versamark before embossed in silver.  Thanks for looking!  April

Butterfly Sympathy

Can I just say how much I HATE making Symapthy cards?  My husband's aunt passed unexpectedly and I am just saddened and shocked by the number of people we love around us who are passing.  I know, Circle of Life and all that, but really...
This is a stock card base.  The paper is 7 gypsies.  The sentiment and butterfly are stamped on scraps of the reverse side of the base patterned paper.  I used the medallion from the retired SU set Day of Gratitude, stamped in versamark and embossed with silver powder.  The butterfly is from 7 gypsies and is stamped in versamark and embossed in gold.  I bent the wings and used a glue dot to hold down the body, then used dimensionals on the wings.  The sentiment is from SU best of set and is stamped in Jet Black Staz-On, then mounted with dimensionals. 
Inside is the Robert Frost poem Nothing Gold Can Stay. 
Thanks for looking.  April

Monochromatic Sympathy card

I really hate making sympathy cards.  I never am sure if something seems too perky or if it is just right.  I wanted it to be somewhat flat for shipping but still have a bit of layers to it.  I also planned on using a butterfly, but mine was too whimsical to look nice.  Even my cricut ones look cartoon-ish or happy for such a card.  I dove into my less-often used Cuttlebug dies and found a crown (it's actually a Disney one, but I don't think it's too obvious).  I tried to cut it from several different patterned papers, but ended up going with black.  

So, the card is a stock Michael's base white that comes with evelopes.  I cut black cardstock, then used the Nestabilities Labels One to cut out the center.  I marked the white base where the opening was, then used Artful Inkables Fictionally Yours swirls stamp in Dove Grey Staz-On.  I set that aside and used the same stamp in Whisper White craft ink on the black.  I also stamped the sentiment from one of SU's 25th Anniversary sets, embossing with white powder.  Attach that to the base.  Next, I cut the crowns from the middles of the Labels One die, then ran through the Cuttlebug again in the matching embossing folder, before I sprayed with Heidi Swapp's Tinsel and Smooch in Silver Foil.  (Heidi's spray has a bit of a blue tint and the smooch is darker and mutes the blue.)  I used a heat gun to set.  I added it to the base before adding three different sizes of faux pearls.  (The big one at the top covers up a heart in the embossing.)  Thanks for looking!  April

close up of crown