We read about it all the time . . .

How many times do we hear about an elderly couple who had been married forever and one of them passes away and then hours or just days away their spouse also passes?

If you have read my blog recently you know a great neighbor of mine when I lived in NY recently passed away. John was a great guy, the neighbor anyone would want, and he was married to Joyce. Joyce was a "girly girl" -- always had her hair done every week, dressed well, and she and John were bananas about each other --- they raised eight kids together and in their final years they raised a furry daughter, Miss Marcie. Miss Marcie passed away a couple of years ago with John passing less than two weeks ago. I just received word that his beloved wife, Joyce has also passed away, ten days after John, and I am sure John and Miss Marcie were waiting for her to arrive. . .

Since Joyce liked all girl colours here is the sympathy card I made to remember her:

Card is on a card stock base of black and the white is GP. I used the Swiss Dots embossing folder for the white embossed card front. Cut the greeting label out using the Spellbinders Labels 10. Used a rose stamp from Inkadinkado that I inked with VersaMark ink. Then used shimmer chalks and chalked that. Using a stamp from the Stampin Up stamp set Thoughts and Prayers I stamped the greeting at the bottom of the flower. Added a pink ribbon bow with a glue dot to the flower stem.

Here is a closer photo to show the shimmer of the chalks on the card front. May John, Joyce, and Miss Marcie rest in peace together as the family they always were. TFL

A Stenciled Hello Card

Another card using the distressed inks with a stencil and mask. I had taken a class with Daphne much earlier in the year using distressed inks and now that I have all the information and tips Daphne shared with us I wanted to make more cards using what I learned. This card is also inspired by Daphne and I want to send a BIG thank you to Cheryl for the stencil and mask I used for this card.

Card stock base is pink, with a piece of green for the card front. Cut and scored the card base and front green piece and set those aside. I used 110 lb weight white card stock from Mikes for the white piece. I cut it to the size I would need for my card front. Then I used the Brilliant Peony Stencil from Memory Box for the flower and the mask is their Garden Bloom Stencil. Here is a list of the distressed inks I used for the flowers:

Squeezed Lemon
Spiced Marmalade
Spun Sugar

For the script stamp:

Brushed Corduroy

For the stems/leaves:

Shabby Shutters
Peeled Paint

For the flowers I used the Squeezed Lemon and over that I added Spiced Marmalade and the pink on the outside is Spun Sugar. With distressed inks -- two tips --- have baby wipes ready for use and also -- remember you can add colour but not take it away. Light touch is the key to this ---- and with this stencil I "pounced" the applicator rather than the normal circular motion you would use if not using a stencil. By pouncing the applicator you will not tear your stencil:

 Once I had the flowers done I then added the stems/leaves. Using a script stamp from Hero Arts I inked that with distressed ink Brushed Corduroy. Stamped it off onto scrap card stock and then stamped it onto the stenciled piece. Sponged the edges of this piece using the Shabby Shutters ink. Added a pink ribbon and tied that into a knot. For the greeting I used a stamp from SU Teeny Tiny Wishes --- the stamp reads "hello baby" but I only inked the "hello" of the stamp and stamped it onto scrap white card stock. Using the Spellbinders Simply Charmed die set I cut the greeting tag out. Sponged the edges of that with the Shabby Shutters ink. Put this under the ribbon using a glue dot:

Easy card to put together once you decide your ink colours -- always remember to start with the lighter colours and then go to the darker colours as you work. There is no right or wrong using the distressed inks and stencils -- quite easy to do and it makes a big impact on your card front. TFL and YOLO