cry. laugh. remember.

Losing a loved one is always hard, but it seems worse when it happens at Christmastime.  Using some new stamps, I made two sympathy cards which I hope will bring a little comfort.

The background and butterfly stamps are from the new Seasonal Expressions catalog from CTMH.  It's a hostess only set called A Thing Well Done. 

The card base is 4.25 x 4.25, and the inside panel is 2.5 x 2.5.  I stamped the architectural elements in Whisper ink, then sponged over top in three coordinating colors.  I started top right with the Crystal Blue, added Juniper through the middle, then Pacifica on the bottom left. 

I didn't change my sponge dauber or clean it in between.  I think that helps with the blend.  I really wanted that bottom left corner saturated with the Pacifica to disguise the bareness. Once I had the depth of color there, I moved back up adding more Juniper and Crystal Blue (again without cleaning my sponge dauber) until it was nice and deep.

Knowing I wanted to cut the butterfly out to mount over top, I stamped the head and antennae in black because I didn't want to have the border necessary if I fussy cut them.  I placed the antennae on a spot where the body would cover that muddy place where the two background stamps overlapped.  By the time I got the saturation of colors, the Whisper ink was almost indistinguishable and I could have put the butterfly anywhere.

Before I finished with the panels, I dropped water over top.  Even though the CTMH inks aren't distress inks, they reacted with the water just fine for the effect I wanted.

The butterfly was stamped in black and colored with Copic markers (BG10, BG72, & B26).  After I trimmed it out, I went around the edge with BG72 to avoid any white showing through.  That extra effort is really important when you put it up against a dark background.

The sentiment is from a stamp set called Big Hug.  The full sentient says, "cry. laugh. remember."  I stamped the first two words on the front and the last one on the inside.

I love how this turned out so much that I plan to make about five or six more to have on hand.  Nothing can replace the loss of a loved one, but I hope these cards let my friends know they aren't grieving alone.

Until next time,
Becca