In Remembrance

I talked to my mom on the phone the other night and she asked me to make and send a card to one of her dearest friends that recently lost her mother. It was the least I could do. So yesterday I went to the task of creating a sympathy card for Mary.



I have a really hard time with sympathy cards. It's such an unfortunate circumstance, but one in which a heartfelt greeting is truly appropriate. This month Papertrey's releases included a sympathy set (With Sympathy) as well as two smaller additional sets for specific losses (With Sympathy:Loss Of A Child and With Sympathy: Loss Of A Pet). I've learned this week that a beautiful sympathy set makes the task of creating a remembrance card a little easier. Today's card was created using the new full set as well as the Loss Of A Child mini set. The "Know that I am here" sentiment was just enough for the outside of the card while one of the longer sentiments was used inside the card.

I used the same layout for this card as I did for the birthday card the other day. When I'm having a difficult time with a card I will often reuse a recent layout. It gives me a jumping off point and makes the entire creative process run a little more smoothly.

The card base today is made from Kraft. I stamped a piece of Aqua Mist with the Guidelines set in Ocean Tides and a little Brilliance Moonlight White (to tone down the Ocean Tides). The Aqua Mist was layered with a piece of Linen Vellum and embellished with Aqua Mist Saddle Stitched Ribbon and dark brown double-sided satin. That layer was then matted with Dark Chocolate and adhered to the base.

Then, I stamped the stems and floral image from With Sympathy on Kraft in Dark Chocolate, Ocean Tides, and Frost White inks. I punched out that image using an oval Marvy punch (the pink one). I used Dark Chocolate to distress the edges just a smidge. That oval was mounted to the card using foam tape and the sentiments were stamped (both inside and outside) in Ocean Tides ink.

I hope Mary likes it. I hope my mom likes it, too. Maybe today we should all take a little time to remember someone we love that has passed away. Smile at the happy moments they left for you. I miss my Grandma and Aunt Gina, but I know they loved me and I know they were both lovely women that led wonderful full lives. Warm, happy memories...

Recipe:
Cardstock: Aqua Mist, Kraft, Dar Chocolate, Linen Vellum - Papertrey Ink
Ink: Ocean Tides, Dark Chocolate - Papertrey Ink; Moonlight White - Brilliance; Frost White - Colorbox
Stamps: With Sympathy, With Sympathy: Loss Of A Child, Guidelines - Papertrey Ink
Fibers: Aqua Mist Saddle Stitched - Papertrey Ink; dark brown satin - American Crafts
Tools: Notch & Die Set - Basic Grey; Oval Punch (Pink) - Marvy
Other: Foam Tape - Scotch