Stepping up three sympathy cards

 

I had the sad occasion to make some sympathy cards this past month, and as I often do, I made several extra to have on hand. This particular design shows a couple of ways to step-up sympathy cards without adding a bunch of unnecessary bling, which can strike a false note on these types of card.

The basic design was a one-layer monochromatic card with a Crumb Cake (kraft) base, Basic Black ink, and Crumb Cake ink. I used the new spring catalog Birthday Blooms and Timeless Textures stamp sets, plus the sympathy sentiment from a Paper Pumpkin kit from the summer. That's where the wide grosgrain ribbon came from, too, come to think of it. But a pretty basic card, overall.

 

For the first stepped-up version I made the same card, but added two elements. I colored in the shrub roses with a Crumb Cake marker, for a tone-on-tone look, and I added the details in the flower center with the White Signo Gel Pen. It made the roses pop out of the background a little more. Still, super easy.

In for a penny, in for a pound... I used the White gel pen on the entire flower for the next card.

This one took considerably more time than the other two versions, but it's a real WOW. I love how the White gel pen makes the flower leap out from the background. You could easily add a few seed pearls in the flower center as well and they would not look amiss on this card.
I hope you won't need to make any sympathy cards in the near future, but I hope you enjoyed a peek at a couple of ways to perk up a basic sympathy card design and still keep it subdued and tasteful. If you need any of the products I used, click any of these links to go to my online store and have a little shop!

Supplies List:

• Birthday Blooms Wood-Mount Stamp Set (rose image)
• Birthday Blooms Clear-Mount Stamp Set
• Timeless Textures Clear-Mount Stamp Set (background stamping)
• Timeless Textures Wood-Mount Stamp Set
• Chalk It Up To Love Paper Pumpkin Kit--available to subscribers only
• Crumb Cake 8-1/2" X 11" Card Stock
• Matching Medium Crumb Cake Envelopes
• Basic Black Archival Stampin’ Pad
• Crumb Cake Classic Stampin' Pad
• White Signo Uni-Ball Gel Pen--best on the market!
• Neutrals Stampin' Write Markers (Crumb Cake)

Comments

[Carolyn D]

Hello Lyssa - I love the subtle grace of this card. Thank you for sharing your creation. Did you cut out and mask the flower before applying the Timeless Textures elements?

[Lyssa Griffin Zwolanek]

Yes, I did cut a mask. I usually don't bother, and just grab a post it note or whatever and wing it, but this was just detailed enough that I did make a mask for it. Thanks for the kind comments, Carolyn!