Worst/Best Cards to Send

 

Sympathy cards are my least favorite card to make. I try to tailor make them for each recipient instead of using ones I have on hand. It's hard to come up with just the right colors and images and sentiments that honor the person. And it's just sad. Sending a sympathy card means that someone is hurting a lot and someone I cared about it no longer here. 

This card was particularly sad. I sent it to a very dear friend of mine whose husband (also a very dear friend) died of cancer. He was the same age as me. He and his wife were in a prayer group with my husband and me for a very long time. Our kids played together. 

He was diagnosed with cancer a couple of years ago, but some of the symptoms were present many, many years ago and we prayed about them together. He was diagnosed a few years after we moved across the country. His prognosis was bleak, but he outlived the doctor's predictions. We got to see him more than we expected. 

I chose the Butterfly Brilliance Bundle for this card and stamped "Sometimes there are no words..." from the retired Comfort and Hope stamp set. The butterflies seem like an apt metaphor for transitions. 

I say that sympathy cards are my least favorite card to make, but they are also quite possibly the cards that have the greatest "paper hug" impact on friends and family who get them. I know cards had that effect for me when I was grieving. So I'll keep on sending them. 

Birthdays, birthdays. birthdays

July is the month of my daughter's birthday. My daughter is an only child and proud of it. She uses that as an excuse to (jokingly, I think) claim that she should be the center of everyone's world. She believes July is HER birthday month and she is loathe to share it. So, I had to make her a one of a kind birthday card. She loves purple (as do I), so I decided to make it purple!

I wasn't sure how Blackberry Bliss, Highland Heather, and Gorgeous Grape would look together, but I think they worked! I also decided to use the Best Plaid Builder dies, which were a love-at-first-sight item for me. I incorporated the retired Stitched Nested Labels dies, which make any image or sentiment an interesting focal point. The sentiment is from the Sweet Ice Cream stamp set, which I had just gotten delivered, so it was staring at me while I was crafting. 

Speaking of the Sweet Ice Cream stamp set, one of my very good friends also has a July birthday - 8 days after my daughter's. In non-COVID years, we visit each other over the summer - she and her family come here and then we invade their home. Since we haven't seen her since 2019, this was the paper hug I sent to her this year. The Ice Cream Cone Builder punch made it so easy to get those perfect ice cream cone shapes. 

My daughter also shares a birthday month with my brother. Who also loves purple, and whose birthday is coincidentally the same day as my friend's. So while the card my daughter got was one of a kind when I made it for her, I made another one for my brother. Shhh...don't tell! 

What is your favorite type of birthday card? Do you like to share your birthday or would you rather have it all to yourself? 

So Many Cards...So Little Time

I'm a paralegal, so one of my key job functions is organizing things. But for those of you who have ever seen my desk or my stamping room, you know that organizing physical objects (e.g. papers, cards, stamping supplies) is not my forte. Despite my tendency toward clutter, I can usually find things pretty quickly. I also excel at organizing electronic files, which makes me good at my job. But my stash of cards without a home was building on my desk. 

Now mind you, I have a card holder for handmade cards to send to people. It was full. This is the overflow that was sitting on my desk for quite some time until I finally found another container for them. 

But the best home for them is the homes of friends and family members who could use a paper hug! I'm hoping this photo inspires me to find homes for them all. Except the sympathy cards. I don't want to need to use those. They can just stay in my stamping room forever! 

I also hope this photo inspires me to continue to blog about my attempts to create a kindness revolution.

If you are inspired, current products to make cards like these can be found in my Stampin' Up! store. Check there to contact me if you would like to learn more.