Today I am sharing a recent sympathy card I made. I was inspired by cards on the Pinkfresh Studios webpage and also the current Freshly Made Sketch Challenge #525. Here is the sketch:
I really like all of the texture I created with the different layers of die cutting.
For me, sympathy cards are difficult to make. It was nice to have a sketch for inspiration. Do you have a go to design for sympathy cards? Let me know in the comments.
Unity has so many beautiful stamps that come with wonderful sentiments. I have bought several sentiment sets from Unity over the years. I believe they are an excellent value because you get so many sentiments that can be used to create a wide variety of cards.
Two of my favorite sympathy sets are “May Hope Sustain You” and “My Sympathies.” I find the sentiments to be so thoughtful and caring and they work well for a card front as well as for stamping inside the card.
I typically don’t make multiples of the same card (except for holiday cards), so when I need a sympathy card, I make it. What I love about Unity stamps is the images are so beautiful, you don’t really need to do much to end up with a pretty card.
For this card, I stamped the floral image from “You are Forever Beautiful” and the sentiment is from “May Hope Sustain You.” I stamped my image and sentiment and then added a bit of color by daubing on Milled Lavender Oxide Ink. Next, I sprayed a bit of water with my Distress Sprayer and blotted with a paper towel. I love the slight oxidation that occurs and adds some interest to my card. Here is a close up of what it looks like:
This card came together quickly so I was able to get it in the mail in a timely fashion, which I think is important for expressing sympathy.
For my next sympathy card, I decided to simply leave it black and white. I especially like to do this if I am sending the sympathy card to a guy. A beautiful image and sentiment are perfect in this instance.
Another black and white sympathy card
For this card, I stamped the wreath from “Woodland Bunny” in Ranger Watering Can Archival Ink and then stamped the sentiment from “May Hope Sustain You.” I added a simple die cut oval frame. This would be a good card to make multiples of – I really need to do that so I have some sympathy cards on hand.
If I have time, I do like to Copic color the images. Below are a couple of cards that I created a while ago, where I colored the florals.
But in all honesty, I don’t think it really matters if you color or not. Your sympathy card will be loved by the recipient because you took the time to make and send them a card.
I hope my cards today have given you some options when you need to make a sympathy card.
Please leave me a comment so you have a chance to win some Unity stamps.
A Red Letter Day 