Deepest Sympathy
by Kathy Berger
Last week a dear friend lost her husband after a time in hospice, and I needed to make sympathy cards for her and her adult children with whom I am also close.
I don't know if you struggle as much as I do to make sympathy cards. Perhaps it is the fact that the reason for making them is always a sad one, but I seldom feel inspired when I need to make them. When I do stumble upon a design that works for me I like to document it so I can keep it in my back pocket for when I need to get one made and my muse is on vacation.
These cards will be joining my small repertoire of fall-back sympathy designs. It has several features that make it a keeper. It is easy to make, even in a hurry. It can be done in either landscape or portrait orientation. And it can be sent to a man or a woman.
To make it easier to make more in the future I created a reusable mask for the circle by covering a 4.25"x5.5" piece of text-weight paper with clear contact paper, front and back and punching a 2" diameter circle in it. I then taped the mask onto a piece of white cardstock and used blending brushes to add ink to the circle. I trimmed the piece down, layered it onto another piece of cardstock, and then to the card blank. I stamped my sentiment with the same ink I used to sponge the circle. Next, I added a single piece of die-cut foliage to the circle. Lastly, I glued on a few clusters of sequins in coordinationg colors.
Each card took less than 15 minutes to make, and still looks fabulous, don't you agree?
I hope you will give this design a try next time you need one of those hard-to-create cards! I know I will be using this basic layout again and again!
