Sympathy Cards

Our challenge this week at Sugar Creek Hollow is to make vintage, shabby chic or primitive SYMPATHY cards.  Sympathy cards may not be the most fun to make but certainly can be the easiest as long as you think clean and elegant. I am sure this card meets those criteria.

We have a sponsor this week - Robyn's Fetish - and all of us on the Design Team have used wonderful images from her shop in our creations.

We will choose one random winner who will receive 5 images from Robyn's Fetish along with a winner's badge from Sugar Creek Hollow to display.  The Design Team will also choose their Top Pick and the creator will receive a winner's badge and will be in the running for a monthly Guest Designer spot.

I am going to enter this card in the following challenges:

Fat Pages & Cards With Attitude - Anything Goes
Inspire Me Fridays - Anything Goes
The Poodles Parlour - Use a Digi Stamp
Delightful Challenges - Bling & Bows
It's All About The Vintage - Anything Vintage/Retro Goes
That Craft Place  - Anything Goes

Image:  Bible (Robyn's Fetish)
Sentiment:  Computer Generated
Card Stock:  (Recollections)
Paper:  Basic Grey
Colouring Medium:  Pencil Crayons (Prismacolors) with OMS (Gotrick)
Tools & Embellishments:  Oval Nestabilities and Ironworks Accents (Spellbinders), Floral Die (Nellie Snellen), Frayed Burlap Distress Ink (Ranger), Ribbon (Fabricland), Gems (Michaels), Suede Lacing (Wal Mart)

Paper Piercing

Welcome to Sugar Creek Hollow and another Sensational Saturday.  This week our challenge for you is to create a vintage, shabby chic or primitive card using the technique of PAPER PIERCING.  You don't need any special tools to prick holes in your paper because a sewing needle will do the trick.  If you want to use a pattern rather than just pricking holes in a line or circle and don't have any, there are quite a number of freebies out there (just Google "Free Paper Piercing Templates").  There are also lots of tutorials available.

This week we have a wonderful sponsor, PHINDY'S PLACE, who will provide our random winner with a $10 gift certificate to her store.  The random winner will also receive a badge to display on her blog.

I had fun with this card on all sorts of levels.  First, I am on the Phindy's Place Design Team so I love working with her images and this is one that I didn't have.  I thought it would make a gorgeous sympathy card, which are often hard to make. Secondly, I went on a little road trip last week with a couple of gal pals and since I was driving they were held captive while I stopped at a craft store and picked up this new die. Lastly, I found a tutorial online that showed how to use digital images and fonts as pricking templates so I found a great font and then created the border pattern - easy peasy.

I am going to enter this card in the following challenges:

Digi Doodle Shops Best - Butterflies
Truly Scrumptious - Things with Wings

Image:  Birds Go By (Phindy's Place)
Sentiment:  Computer Generated
Card Stock:  Buff & Kraft (Recollections)
Paper:  Victoria & Albert
Colouring Medium:  Pencil Crayons (Prismacolors) with OMS (Taltine)
Tools & Embellishments:  Doily (Wilton), Open Scalloped Die (Nellie), Chalk (Mungyo), Skeleton Leaf (Graphic Products), Pearl Stickers (Recollections), Victoria Embossing Folder (Cuttlebug), Scalloped Cutting Blade (Fiskars), Butterfly (Gift from SCH Team Mate)

Remember

The challenge this week at Isabella's Sketchbook is to do something in the colours of our country (in my case, red and white) with a Memorial Day theme.

In the United States, Memorial Day is the unofficial start of summer so that usually brings to mind cookouts or picnics, going to the beach, relaxing with family and friends or spending time in the garden.  However, when I looked up the meaning of Memorial Day, I discovered that it is the day to honour and remember those men and women that have lost their lives in the service of their country.  I decided that even though Canada does that on November 11th each year, I was going to go with the true meaning of Memorial Day rather than making anything related to summer.

When a Canadian soldier dies in Afghanistan, their body is brought to Trenton Air Base in Ontario, which is about an hour east of where I live.  The body is then transported in a motorcade, which includes his or her family along the main highway to Toronto.  The section of the highway from Trenton to Toronto has officially been named Highway of Heroes.  It is always announced which day the soldier will be brought home and the motorcade always travels at the same time so people line the overpasses with their flags to pay respect to the soldier.  There is always at least one police car, ambulance and fire truck with lights flashing and the first responders standing on the vehicle to salute as the motorcade passes.  Ordinary people traveling the highway at the same time drop back so as not to interfere with the motorcade and people trying to enter the highway at any interchange wait until it passes.  This happens in the warm sunshine, the pouring rain, a snow storm and when the temperatures are well below freezing.

I have included a verse inside and while the colours are not those usually thought of for a sympathy card, certainly the beautiful image and the sentiments are appropriate and could be used as such.

Death leaves a heartache

no one can heal,

love leaves a memory

no one can steal.

I hope you will all choose an image from Isabella's Sketchbook and join the challenge with your lovely creation about Memorial Day.  Isabella has so many appropriate images no matter what Memorial Day makes you think of.  While you are checking out the challenge, take a look at all the wonderful cards made by the other design team members, visit their blogs and leave a comment.  I know they would love to hear from you.

The image from Isabella's Sketchbook is called Garden Party Round and has been coloured with a combination of Prismacolor and Koh-I-Noor pencil crayons.  The paper is from Daisy D's and Recollections (Michaels).  The card stock is Recollections (Michaels).  The sentiment is computer generated.  The butterflies were made of parchment paper using Pergamano techniques and then hand cut.  Other supplies used:  Star Dust Stickles (Ranger), Pearl Stickers (Recollections from Michaels), Mini Gems (Dollarama), Border Punch (Martha Stewart) and Ribbon (Michaels).

Sympathy Card for Phindy's Challenge

The challenge at Phindy's Place Challenge this week is to use ribbon.  I selected this beautiful image from Phindy thinking it would be perfect for a sympathy card so all I had to figure out was how to use the ribbon tastefully.  By its nature I don't think a sympathy card should be overly embellished so I hope I have accomplished that with this one.  I have put the following verse inside:

Within our hearts

and in our memories

those we love

remain with us

always.

Thinking of you

at this difficult time.

I am going to enter this card in the following challenges:

Phindy's Place - Ribbon
A Spoon Full of Sugar - 3D something
Stamping Royalty  - Punches
Little Red Wagon  - Sympathy

 The image from Phindy's Place is called Quiet Afternoon and has been coloured with a combination of Prismacolor and Koh-I-Noor pencil crayons and Mungyo chalk.  The paper is from a Provo Craft Scrap Pack and the card stock is Recollections (Michaels).  The sentiment is computer generated.  Other supplies used:  Ribbon (Fabricland), Skeleton Leaf (Graphic Products), Border Punch (Martha Stewart) and Nestabilities (Spellbinder).