Sympathy Card

I made a sympathy card for a dear friend of mine. Unfortunately his grandfather passed away. But I told him that it sounded like his grandfather lived a long, full life and that he should be happy that he got to see him recently. I know that doesn't always make it easier to deal with, but I hope it brings even just a little comfort that his granddad was happy in life.

I always find sympathy cards difficult for many reasons. I never know if it's appropriate to even make anything that serves as a reminder, but at the same time I feel if properly expressed I would hope that there is a larger message to be understood... that even during a difficult time people want to be there to listen and to help with healing.

Death is a difficult thing though. I have known people who have died, but no one who has been extremely close to me. I am sure it would be absolutely devastating though if it were to happen. And I guess the sadder part is not so much the if it happens... but the when it happens. My father has always been preoccupied with death, I think it was largely in part due to him fighting in the Vietnam war. He's been saying for the last 20 years that he doesn't think he'll live much longer, but as I get older the words become scarier and scarier.

Making the card for my friend really forced me to be a bit more reflective about what is going on around me. Things like would I know what to do if something happened to the people I care about most, or even if I were to go, did I feel that I did my best? I find that the more you count your blessings, the more blessed you'll realize you are. So with this uber comtemplative mood I've been in, I have been choosing to make more thank you cards. I urge you today or any ol' day, to let people know they mean alot to you.


For this card I used:
Card stock - Kraft (base), Bermuda Bay, White
Stamps - Thoughts & Prayers (SU!)

Gothy Goodness Swap

It's been awhile since I did one, but I joined a swap many months ago with a gothic theme. It was due on my birthday (09-09-09! And by the way I turned 27 and 2+7=9... crazy o_O)

So anyway the theme revolved around goth girls. It's basis requires a little bit of the pop subculture of Japan, but there is a style called "Goth-Lolli" (a combination of Gothic Lolita) where girls dress up in these really decadent porcelain doll kind of outfits (I guess Victorian?) and it adds other gothic elements to it (dark colors, dramatic eye makeup, etc.)

Well I decided that based on alot of the imagery I've found of this Lolita

fashion, that I had to do a card with butterflies and lace.

So I started with a piece of photo paper and used Melon Mambo with my brayer.

Then I stamped this image onto it using Jet Black StazOn. The stamp was from a set called Friendship, but I don't know what company it's from. Isn't she pretty?


I then used a white paint pen to color in the whites of her eyes and adhered it to a piece of black cardstock.


Then I put it on the gray base cardstock and silver embossed a butterfly (from the same stamp set) on top of the ribbon.

I kind of like how it turned out, though I don't really know what it could be used for. Thinking of you? Or maybe some kind of dark valentine sentiment?

Speaking of sentiments -- I found a great book in the bargain section at Borders. It's called Finding the Right Words by J. Beverly Daniel. It's got phrases to personalize your greeting cards. While I am a big proponent of say what you want however you want to, it's certainly not bad to have a little help sometimes when you're just stumped.

Graduation Card

I made this card for one of my best friends. She is graduating from her Physical Therapist Assistant program, so we are all super happy for her. (Congratulations Nicole!) I forgot to take a picture of the inside, but there is a cute little stamped image of a graduation hat. I can't get over kraft paper, I have trouble picturing cards on any other base! But I especially love the color combination here. I also used a new embossing powder, it's supposed to have a distressed look. I kind of like it, but I don't know that I will use it very often. Anyway, the ceremony is tomorrow so hopefully she likes it. :)

For this card I used:

Card stock - Kraft (base), Baha Breeze, Walk in the Park DSP and White

Stamp - Say it With Scallops (SU!)

More Belated Birthday Fun

So it just seems like I'm always behind with birthday wishes, but that's not quite the case! A little thing called 'Life' gets in the way and sometimes all parties involved just get so busy. So our friend asked for a delayed celebration of his birthday, so we celebrated yesterday. I'm really liking the Animal Crackers set, I've used it plenty of times since I've had it. So with that, happy belated birthday, Ahmed!

For this card I used:

Card stock - Kraft (base), Walk in the Park DSP (SU!), Sweets Print Pack (from JoAnn's Fabrics) and white

Stamp - Animal Crackers (SU!), Bitty Birthday (SU!)

Birthday Fun

My friend turned 30 in May, but we've both been so busy that I didn't get to give my card to him until recently. I think it came out pretty cute. This entire stamp set was so cute, so I am glad I got to play with it finally. So -- happy belated birthday, Cody!

For this card I used:

Card Stock - Basic Grey (base), Going Grey, Pacific Point and White

Stamps - Bitty Birthday (SU!) and Animal Crackers (SU!)

It's been super busy at work (in a good way!) so I haven't had as much time to stamp, but I plan on cracking down pretty soon and getting more blog posts up. I mean, it's not like my Christmas cards are going to make themselves!

Niece's Orchestra Performance

I just got back from my 13 year old niece's performance today. She got to participate in an intensive orchestra camp this week and today we got to see the results of all her hard work - all the kids did great! :)

I don't have kids of my own, but I'm quite happy being a fun aunt, and I am definitely very proud of her -- so I made her a card.

Another reason to get a new camera (the colors actually look way more washed out than they actually were.)

For this card I used:

Card stock - Kraft (base), Not Quite Navy, random paper from Hobby Lobby and White

Stamp - SU! Animal Crackers
Inks - Basic Black, Tango Tangerine, So Saffron and Chocolate Chip

Gift box and card combo

Today is my best friend's birthday (Happy Birthday Nicole!)
I got her a really cute, sparkly headband and I needed a box for it, so I decided to make a mini-pizza box for it. I based it off of a template I found on SplitcoastStampers, but I had to adapt it in order to fit the headband.


For this box I used:
Card stock - Kraft (base), Real Red, Black and White
Stamps - SU! Yummy, SU! Pocket Silhouettes and SU! Flowers in Silhouette