In symathy

Sympathy cards can often be difficult to create, especially over the holidays.  A friend and neighbor just lost her mom this week and I couldn't just send a message via Facebook.  I pulled out my 'go to' stamps but I wasn't feeling them.  So I pulled out a new background stamp (Halftone & Rings CMS260) and inked it up with Bundled Sage distress ink and stamped it onto mixed media cardstock.  Mist with water and heat set.  Hmmm, I have an idea.  Smoosh Tattered Rose distress ink onto my nonstick craft sheet and mist with more water.  Drag, drop, and pounce the new layer into this heat setting along the way.  I think this will work!

Two more sheets of mixed media cardstock...one to drag through Bundled Sage and water, the other through Tattered Rose and water.  I pulled out the Tattered Poinsettia bigz die (658261) and cut out several layers of the poinsettia from the appropriately colored mixed media cardstock.  The yellow center I cut from another scrap (Scattered Straw).

I inked up the Textured Poinsettia texture fade (658270) using the same 3 inks...but separately running the layers through the Big Shot.  A bit of Old Paper distress ink was added to the edges of the poinsettia layers as well as the top layer of the card.

The pale green layer was also edged in Old Paper distress ink.  Pink Clay silk craft seam binding (Martha Stewart) was wrapped around these layers.  The sentiment (My Sentiments Exactly S146-IO) was inked in Watering Can archival ink.  The A2 base layer is Cream Puff (Bazzill) cardstock.

I really like how the pale palette turned out.  The poinsettia reflects her loss at Christmas.  The medium gray archival ink was perfect and not too overpowering.

My cards always go out in coordinating envelopes.  Not wanting to use a poinsettia stamp and confuse or lessen the reason for the card I used the negative of the die cut to stencil the poinsettia on to the envelope using the same distress inks.  Heat set then apply a light coat of micro glaze to protect it from the elements.  Nothing like having ink run on the envelope, totally destroying the image.