Another Sympathy card

 As you know if you are a regular reader, I 've been busy making sympathy cards.
 Here is another card. Hubby says it looks like I haven't put any effort into making it....  (Slap)

So I said there was probably just as much effort in this card than in the cards in my previous post.

Then I started to explain how I made this card. so he would understand just how much planning and thought went into this card....

 Well I lost him half way through  my first sentence.
So this tutorial is is really for him,  but if it's useful to anyone that's new to stamping that's a bonus.

 After stamping the frame,
I used a stamp positioning tool  to get the sentiment stamp, in the frame, evenly spaced and straight!
 Hubby is a stickler for getting things straight.

Once the ink was dry, I      masked off the frame with a post it note and then stamped the floral image over the top.

Again I waited for the ink to  was dry,  (My cherry cobbler ink pad is very juicy ) then I removed the mask and cut a frame to go over the image and then adhered the frame and image to the front of my white base card..

Well,  Hubby  dearest...I 'll know when you re reading this post as I will hear your raucous laughter coming from the dining room.

More Sympathy Cards

Unfortunately I have needed quite a few of this type pf card over the last  three months.. We've lost four members of the family in the last twelve months, three in the last 3 months.
Just when we thought that was it,  one of our lovely  friends lost her mum on New Years Eve,

So today I've been experimenting  with hot foiling on black card using white foil, a black laser printer and a laminater.

 Here is another version using the same stamps and sentiment. 
But I changed the colours,  the composition  and the shape of the sentiment on each card.
This one is hubby's preferred card of the day. But for me there is something not quite right about it, but I can't tell you what it is.

I thought I 'd try something different for the  black tent fold card and put a black insert with white text in it. 

I found a lovely poem and  a few words online for the insert,  Once I'd  printed them off on black paper  I then hot foiled it in white to match the sentiment in the front. 

Now I have to dig out my white gel pen so I can write out this card and get it in the post.

Swallowtail stamp

 Sadly I needed a bereavement card this week, so I resurrected my very large swallowtail stamp. It's a retired stamp by Stampn' Up.
I stamped the image using  S.U  Chocolate chip ink then coloured the image using Copic markers. On the first image I stuck to yellows, light oranges and browns.

 I decided to experiment with colour  on the second card.

  I didn't think a lot of colours would be appropriate on a sympathy card. So this image became a Thank you card.  

I am not sure which one I prefer.

This stamp set, didn't jump out at me and say buy me, buy me. In fact it didn't appeal to me at all,  until I saw a couple of  really nice cards made by other people.  (It's called "Remarkable you,)

So I went back to the catalogue to take another look at it.   I still wasn't 100% sure this was a stamp set for me, but there wasn't anything  else in the catalogue  that I  really wanted and I needed to buy something to make my quarterly figures to get me out of pending.  

 This set is called "Remarkable you.

I was quite pleased with the way this card turned out. 

The lily stamp only has two lilies.  I added the third  by stamping the image on another piece of card and cutting out one of the flowers and adhering  it between the stamped blooms. I drew in the third stalk in with markers. 

Sympathy Card

Unfortunately I have needed to make two sympathy cards this Christmas. this was the first one,
Using the Bokeh technique I created the background.
If you are unfamiliar with this technique it very easy to do.

It is created by sponging two or three colours of ink over white card stock in patches until you can no longer see the white card stock.
The next step is to dry the card either using a heat gun or allowing the card to completely dry naturally.

Once the card is dry you can start the next step.
Punch several different size holes in  a sheet of acetate or vellum to create a masks.   Place the mask over the coloured card and  fill in the aperture with white pigment ink and a sponge dauber. Repeat this process using at least three different size apertures. Overlap the circles occasionally, but be sure to use a dabbing motion when applying the  ink over the overlaps or you will lose the overlap effect.

Dry the card with a heat gun or naturally, Be aware that the white pigment ink takes a lot longer to dry thoroughly. Once it is dry, I advise you wipe over the area with an embossing buddy. (chalk powder filled bag).  Your card stock is ready to be over stamped.
I stamped the ferns on this card using Mellow moss, Always artichoke and black ink.

For my second card  I used the same technique and colours, but changed the size of the white card stock to a 6x6   square and added one more step, which was to stamp the fern  or just a small part of it again using Versamark ink and heat embossed using gold embossing powder. Before  doing this step it is essential that you use an anti static bag  before stamping with Versamark and heat embossing.