Blogger's Challenge -- Sympathy Cards

This week's Blogger's Challenge was to create a Sympathy Card. This was a easy- and a hard - challenge. I believe that sympathy cards should be simple, elegant, and not overworked. Sympathy cards, more than any other cards, are defined by what is INSIDE -- not what is outside. So my way of making sympathy cards is to create something soothing and elegant.

When my Mom passed a few years ago, I received hundreds of cards -- and although I was never able to scan and post them (they evoked too much emotion), I did look at them often and gained much comfort from the love and support they represented. Needless to say, I don't take sympathy cards lightly.

Hopefully today I have captured the soothing elegance I was striving for, The flower (from Stampin' Up!) on my card was stamped on acetate with a StazOn pad, then it was colored with Lumiere paint that was tinted with a smidge of Pearl Ex. I chose colors that matched the blue and green background -- which was made using the Watered Tintz technique from the December 2006 issue of the Technique Junkie Newsletter. This was layered on a thin edge of black, then layered again on a Metallic Explosion background (done on matte paper, to bring down the bling) from the August 2006 issue of the TJNL. This was then mounted on Turquoise, then on a very pale blue.

The verse is from Firecracker Designs by Pamela (the sympathy stamp set from this company is wonderful, and VERY affordable).

Hopefully I won't need to send this card out anytime soon.