Textured Heartfelt Sympathy Card by Neva Cole

Sympathy cards are a gift given to comfort the bereaved, in this instance, it is for a family member who now lives overseas. I wanted to create something soft and beautiful to deliver a message of condolences and love. The textured background is created with Amplify! and the shimmer of Brilliance Graphite Black sets of the Radiant Neon Electric Pink.

I started by applying the Radiant Neon Electric Pink Amplify around card base. I added drops of Amplify in white and smaller drops of Amplify in black. I used a rubber brayer to move the Amplify around on the card base, and used a heat gun until the texture puffed up. I used the scraps to die cut mini hearts with Lawn Fawn’s Stitched Journaling Card set.

I applied Brilliance Graphite Black ink with an InkBlusher to my die cut Decorative Elements. I die cut the center from the Amplify! textured card base to use between the inner and outer decorative pieces. I stamped the sentiment in Radiant Neon Electric Pink to match the Amplify medium. I had forgotten to clean the stamp before this step so the “mistake” became a creative choice instead and matched the distressed card base! I also gently inked the sentiment with Brilliance Graphite Black to add a bit more black low-lights to the image.

I finished the card with the DeNami Design white ribbon around the Decorative Element outer frame, and added the mini hearts. You could add other embellishments as desired.

And you are finished and ready to add your own personal message!

Supplies

Imagine

• Amplify! Radiant Neon –  Electric Pink, Black, White
• Radiant Neon Ink – Electric Pink
• Brilliance – Graphite Black
• Ink Blusher

Other

• Cardstock – White
• Spellbinders – Labels 54 Decorative Elements
• Unity Stamp Company – Heartfelt Sympathy
• Lawn Fawn – Stitched Journaling Card die
• DeNami Design – white ribbon
• Rubber Brayer
• Heat Gun

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Blue Roses Sympathy Card by Roni Johnson

It’s not a fun part of life but with beginnings comes endings. It’s always hard to create a card when that time comes so why not make a bit of beauty to help us all through those rough moments. I created this card with those tough times in mind. I also wanted to share a technique I discovered when I was making this card that can be used to create an amazing background for not only this card but so many.

Trim a piece of watercolor paper to the desired size. Choose 2-3 colors of VersaMagic Ink you would like to use for the background. Apply the inks to a stamping block in any pattern you desire. Mist the ink with a bit of water. Place the inked block on the watercolor paper and let it set. As the block sits on the paper you will notice how the paper begins to absorb the water moving the ink around creating a lovely pattern and texture. When you can’t take the wait any longer, remove the stamp block to reveal the design created by the ink, water, and paper interaction. Once the ink has dried you will be left with a beautiful matte design perfect for any project.

Here you can see just how lovely that design is. I did try this technique on regular cardstock and compared the two side by side. The regular cardstock didn’t create the depth and design of the watercolor paper. While it is pretty and very usable, it just doesn’t yield the same effects.

The remainder of the card was finished by stamping the layered flowers with the same VersaMagic blue inks; leaves were stamped using a combination of VersaColor and Memento Dye inks and all images were then die-cut. The sentiment was stamped over the VersaMagic background using VersaFine Onyx Black ink and the stamped die-cuts were then affixed to the card.

Supplies

Imagine

• VersaMagic – Sea Breeze, Aegean Blue, Night Sky, Ocean Depth
• VersaFine – Onyx Black
• VersaColor – Lime
• Memento Inkpad – Ivy Cottage, Olive Grove

Other

• Watercolor paper
• Cardstock
• Cardbase
• Stamping block
• Altenew – Vintage Roses