Rose Gold Foil Watercolor Sympathy Card

Yesterday I shared the Sympathy card I made for Meghan Evan's family.  Today I am sharing another card I made for her family.  I made both and then chose one to give them and put the other in my stash.  As I said, I have difficulty making these cards, but it is good to have some on hand.  I also like to send out cards about a month after the loved one has passed and on the one year anniversary.  I usually make these extra cards around the time I make the first.

The background was loosely watercolored in shade of purple and blue and allowed to dry. I attempted to do gold foil by stamping in versamark and using a heat-n-stick style embossing powder.  After heat setting it I rubbed the gold foil on.  It didn't work quite the way I pictured it, so I ran it through my gemini.  Note, if you attempt this, use a clean/smooth cutting plate or the scratches will impress into the foil. (unless that's the look you're going for)  I layered this piece on a navy cardstock that I had stamped in versmark with the same stamp I used for the card panel.  It adds a little bit of pattern without being too distracting.

Silver Brush Black Velvet Watercolor Brushes, Short Round 6

Ranger Sticky Embossing Powder, 1 oz.

0.5 oz., Judikins Embossing Powder Sticky Stuff

Ranger Shiny Transfer Foil, Basics 10 pk

iCraft Deco Foil Transfer Sheets Value Pack, Rose Gold

iCraft Deco Foil Transfer Sheets, Rose Gold

VersaMark Ink Pad

Watercolor Dot Palette, Hero Arts Watercolor Dot Palette

Wilted Violet, Ranger Distress Mini Ink Pad

Mermaid Lagoon, Ranger Distress Mini Ink Pad

Broken China, Ranger Distress Mini Ink Pad

Baroque Motifs, Altenew Clear Stamps

Pretty Paisley, PinkFresh Studio Clear Stamps (Retiring)

*Note- The stamp set I used is called Beautiful World from Gina K Designs & Catherine Pooler.  I could not find a current link to this set, but it is still one of my favorites because every card I have made using it is so beautiful and touching.

Feminine Sympathy Cards - Lavender Watercolor Flowers

It's nice to have sympathy cards on hand that you can send when needed, but I struggle to do that.  I tend to make them as needed and spend the time making them to pray for the loved ones left behind.  That was the case for this card.  It actually started as a practice piece for watercoloring lavendar.  I thought it would look good on a card so I saved it.  When a young member of our Corvette Club lost her life, I knew this flower would become a card for her parents.

I then stamped a sympathy sentiment beside the flowers and die cut using my favorite wonky stitched dies.  I layered it with some purple paper and a thin strip to anchor the flowers.  The final step was to stamp an image on the back of the envelope.  We took this to a memorial service, so I wasn't worried about rain smearing the ink in the mail.  (A problem here in the Pacific Northwest)

This would make a sweet thinking of you card, Mother's Day, birthday or even friendship card.

This plaque was made by our friends at D&M Embroidery.  They also made vinyl clings for our club members to put on the hoods of our cars as we traveled together to her memorial.

Meghan and her dad were both part of our club.  When her dad & mom saw us pull into the parking lot and they read what was on our cars they started crying (again) and I got so choked up as her mom pointed our car out to Meghan's sister.  It was a special way to honor her life and her being in our club.

That's me on the left waiting for the driver's meeting to start.  Several of us wore purple and black.  I had the unique challenge of finding something nice to wear in my new smaller size.  Thankfully the dress I ordered from LuLaRoe fit perfectly.  You never know when ordering online.  (#girlproblems)

We met together in Olympia and traveled together to Kelso, WA where we met up with the other Corvette Club that Meghan & Don were members of.  Then, we went together to the memorial.  It was a sight that meant so much to the Evans family to see their Corvette families roll in to honor their daughter/sister.  At Corvettes de Olympia we really are family.  Corvette + Family = Love  

Corvettes wrapped around the bend in the road and across the overpass on the other side.

Presenting Don with the plaque, card and flowers.

The flowers and food were lovely.  They also had a slideshow of Meghan's life in pictures.

This was my first memorial service since my grandfather's funeral last Spring.  It was difficult because Meghan was so young.  In this picture I see the effects of grief around my eyes.  It was important to support Meghan's family and though it was hard, I was so glad we went.  We go for those who are left behind.

eta: Sentiment for the stamp set is Beautiful World by Gina K Designs and Catherine Pooler.

Hollyhock Watercolor Birthday Card

Do you remember me saying that watercolor videos from Let's Make Art helped me get back my creative mojo?  This card was made using one of her tutorials.  I've found that I like to "practice paint" on a smaller scale.  Often I am able to turn them into other cards.  Sometimes I paint them onto a card on purpose, like this card I made for my mother-in-law.

 Unlike the original video, I added a background using all the colors on my paint pallette.  The effect I was going for was a mutued floral and sky background similar to a macro setting on my camera.  I finished the card off by stamping "Birthday Wishes" and adding a double layer Happy die cut of glimmer paper over black cardstock.

If you have been wanting to try watercolor, but unsure about starting a subscription, I highly recommend choosing one of their kits.  You can find one you would like to paint and order the box, then watch the video on youtube that goes along with that painting.  They also have lettering kits and kits for kids.  Clicky for the hollyhock I used to make this card.

Sew Monday ~ Grand Central Mystery Clue 2

Yesterday I shared my results from clue #1 of the Grand Central Mystery Quilt from sewonthego.com Today I am sharing clue #2.  This one went fairly quickly.  It also called for half square triangles of my background fabric (I chose white on white), so I cut those first and set them aside in my trusty ziploc bag.  (Same pic below as from yesterday, but it was cut to a different size.)

I forgot to take pictures, but I used Michelle's instructions and the Wedge Star ruler to cut the triangles below as well as get the angle started for the diamond cuts. 

After sewing them together I trimmed off the "dog ears".  This stage went so quickly, and I only knicked the diamond once.  (oops)

After trimming them up I sewed the 2nd set of triangles to the other side.

The final step was to trim it down to size.  I LOVE blocks like this that give you wiggle room to trim down.  The ruler really made it easy to get is centered and cut perfectly.  

Clue #3 is in progress for me.  I'll share that soon.  This is still a difficult challenge for me, but I am loving how each clue is turning out.  

Sew Sunday ~ Grand Central Mystery Quilt Clue 1

A couple of weeks ago I shared some of the quilting challenges and QAL (Quit A-Long) I am taking part in.  One of them was/is the Grand Central Mystery QAL from Michelle Hiatt at Sew On The Go.  Friday started week 3, but I'll be honest.  On Friday I had not even done clue 1, but I am happy to say that I am now over halfway through clue 3.  I'm taking a break to watch the SuperBowl.

Before the challenge began, Michelle, gave us tips on choosing our fabrics.  I'll be honest here, it isn't easy for me to do this without knowing the pattern.  This is my first mystery quilt and I admit, I like more control than this gives me.  LOL.  One thing about it though, I love the colors. 

This isn't my final fabric pull, but it is where I started.  I also took this picture in black & white so I could check out my color values.   I'm not sure it matters much for this quilt pattern, but I wanted to be sure I had some variation.

Michelle gives instructions each Friday and then a download PDF that is only available for one week.  It's free, but if you miss a clue there is a small fee to get past ones.  Totally worth it, if you want to do this QAL.  She put so much work into it and the instructions are really well written.  I'm learning a lot about pulling colors and different ways to piece my quilts.  That alone is worth giving up my control of design.  (sort-of)  LOL

For clue one, we sew together strip sets.  I sewed the first 2 together and then auditioned the 3rd ones.  I'm trying to be a little more free with my fabric placement.  This is something I struggle with.  Anytime you see a "scrappy" style quilt from me I have re-arranged the pieces to make sure it looked just right.  (in a scrappy way)  Did I mention control issues?

I really liked the way these colors looked together in their strips of 3, but decided to change the pic to B&W to see if the color value placement was ok.  Again, I'm not sure it matters in the final quilt, but it was worth editing the picture on my phone.

Looks pretty good, if I do say so myself.  I did switch around the 4th strip set.  It looks like 3 darks to me, so I took a medium value from one of the other sets and switched it out.  

Not a big change, and possibly not noticeable.  If I were being super structured I would make all 3 strips have different values, I would rip out seems so I could better arrange the pieces, but in the end that is not the point of this quilt.

From there I used the triangle wedge star ruler to cut my strips into triangles following the directions in the download for Clue #1

Here is how it looks when I put the strips from one of the sets together.

   

And this is one of each.  hmmm... Who knows what it will become.  The directions also had us cutting a set of half square triangles.  For now I am keeping each of the finished clue pieces in Gallon ZipLoc bags.  I'm sure there is a better way, but it keeps them safe and together for now.

Clue 1 is done.  I'll share my clue 2 results tomorrow.  Now back to the SuperBowl and my Uncle Wayne's family favorite Crab Dip. 

Prayer Cards with Inktense Pencils

On Monday I shared a cupcake card using Inktense pencils, so I thought I would share a few other things I created with these wonderful ink pencils.  In case you missed that post, when you color they go on like pencils, but when you add water they turn into smooth ink.  Once the "ink" dries, it is permanent.

Last Fall the ladies of our church had a bible study on hospitality.  (Just Open the Door by Jen Schmidt) At every session we have index cards out that the ladies can write their prayer requests or needs on.  They can share the cards with and have us pray for her during the week or she can keep the card as a prayer reminder.  The nice thing about these prayer cards is we can write each others prayer requests on them and pray for them long after the study ends.  I keep mine in my study book during the study sessions and often keep them in bible afterwards as a reminder to pray or of God's answer to those prayers. 

 The church had index cards on the table, but I decided to get a little creative with my "prayer cards" and make them "pretty".   I cut down some Very Vanilla cardstock into 3x5" panels and stamped some images from a retired Stampin' Up sale-a-bration set that fit the season.  If you wanted to make something similar I would suggest an outline image with script stamped over it. I LOVE the look of these stamps and that is why I have kept them so long.  ;) 

It was so relaxing to sit and do some simple coloring.  For the pears I used yellow, green and a touch of orange-y red.  The leaves were done in red, orange and yellow.  I used a simple paint brush with very little water to spread and blend the ink.  The technique for using a "thirsty" brush like this is to dip the brush in water and then dab the brush onto a paper towel where the bristols meet the handle.  I learned this from Sarah Cray at Let's Make Art.  You can use more water with Inktense, but not with the vanilla cardstock.

I think took the leftover pieces from cutting up those index cards and stamped more of the pears to turn them into cards I could send to the ladies to encourage them or if someone was sick.

The pears were die cut and layered with crumb cake cardtock and popped up with foam tape.  I tied a matching ribbon from Stampin' UP which I am sure is also retired.  Twine or burlap would also look great with these cards. 

Sidenote- I used inktense pencils in my study handbook.  Jen had outline style drawings on several pages that were just begging me to color them in.  Others did the same using crayon, colored pencils, markers or even pens.  I enjoyed taking a little more time with this study by coloring on the pages. It has inspired me to plunge into faith art journaling in my bible.  I'm still scared to color on the pages, but I got a bible specifically for this purpose. 

This was a such a fun thing to do.  One of the ladies in my study was a new Christian and asked me to write out a scripture verse each week on her prayer cards so she could reflect on it all week long.  That blessed me so much!  Our new bible study started last week, and I think this time around I am going to add washi tape to each of the index cards.  Or, perhaps I will pull out some heart stamps.  The study is on Joseph, so I could look for a stamp to recreate his "coat of many colors".  Let me know if you want to see what I come up with.

Pencils, Set of 24, Derwent Inktense

Silver Brush Black Velvet Watercolor Brushes, Short Round 6

Wonky Stitched Rectangle STAX, My Favorite Things Die-namics

Hearts Love, Alexandra Renke Clear Stamps

Welcome Wreath, WPlus9 Design Studio Clear Stamps

Beautiful Peony, Altenew Clear Stamps

Winter Anemone, Honey Bee Clear Stamps

Autumn Bliss, Penny Black Clear Stamps

Ocean Minded, Gina K Designs Clear Stamps

Wreath Whimsy, Penny Black Clear Stamps

Elegant Script Background Stamp, Gina K Designs Cling Stamps

Tea Party, Penny Black Clear Stamps

Essentials: Stitched Squares, Pinkfresh Studio Dies

Wonky Stitched Square STAX, My Favorite Things Die-namics

Essentials: Diagonal Stitched Squares, Pinkfresh Studio Dies

Double Stitched Squares, Gina K Designs Dies