Sympathy

It is always difficult to buy or create a sympathy card for someone, but it is something we will eventually be confronted with if we haven't already. Regardless of the number of times, you are faced with the loss of a loved one of yourself or someone else it simply doesn't get any easier. Each incident is as painful as the one before it.

For this reason, this post will be short but I hope that I can encourage you to take time now and prepare for that moment when you may need to offer comfort to someone.  

I have created a sympathy card with an envelope in hopes that it will somehow inspire you to create a few to just have on hand...you never know when you might get that call when a friend asks you to make one for them or you need to send one yourself.  You cannot plan for this type of event but you can prepare.

Here is the card I created when I received the call that asked if I could make one for a special lady that was grieving from a loss.  I wasn't ready then, but I am now.

Like I promised this post is short and promised.  Your thoughts on anything that I've said or comments about the card is welcomed.

Thanks for stopping by, and until next time

Be Safe, Stay Healthy, and Craft Happiness

Sending hugs from Texas

~Lesia

Gift Set Bundles

Well, here I am again to share with you another customized gift set. This time it consists of a 6x6 card, a DVD coordinating cover/box and of course a coordinating handmade presentation box for these goodies. I chose a color scheme of peachy pink, medium grey, and off-white for my client. She informed me that the recipient of this gift set loves to fish, is not a lacy or frilly person and yet she is always a lady and she met her at her temple. With this information in tow, I got started on what would be a unique fun learning adventure of creativity for me.

So let's get started, but beware that the colors may not appear the same but they indeed are exactly the same (different lighting).  In the photo below, you see all three products together. They each coordinate with the other creating a lovely gift set. 

We will start with the DVD Case cover. Deciding how to do this was a bit challenging because I wanted to tie in the client's beliefs and values and this would be my first attempt at creating a DVD case cover. On the front, we have an image of a temple that has been foiled along with the birthday greeting which was foiled as well in a dark peach color. 

Using the pearls, trinket and ribbon was my way of relating back to a more feminine side. This little box will hold any standard DVD case, so next time you give a DVD as a gift think about jazzing it up a bit and making it personal.

The most important part of this bundle is, of course, the card. This card involved a lot of customer input and I did my best to accommodate her wishes. 

When making this card I had to remember that the recipient of this gift set enjoys her cabin on the lake and the fishing she is able to do while there. Although she is not a phoo-phoo kind of girl she is very much a classy lady so finding the right image to portray this wasn't exactly easy but I think I hit the jackpot with this one.  I used an image from Saturated Canary (no longer available) and colored her using Copic markers (listed below). This card has it all; ribbon, flowers, netting, lace, pearls, glitter and brads.

The inside follows the fishing theme with an image of a cabin out in the woods which I colored using Prismacolor Pencils. Once again you see the netting and the ribbon as well as a foiled customized sentiment.

Lastly, we have what keeps this bundle together and that is the presentation gift box. My client asked if I could make a box that would hold both the DVD and the card, and of course, I said yes although I had no clue if I could or not (new template in order).

The gift box measures 8.5 x 6.5 x 2 and it is all handmade using chipboard and cardstock. Although it took me some time to get the template correct I was pleased when it finally came together. Its sturdy and will survive shipping. There is a band that helps keep the lid on the box as well as a little tag I added so the client could write in the recipient's name.

Like I said a fun learning experience. Products I used are at the end of this post. 

Thanks for stopping by and please know that your comments are appreciated.

SENDING HUGS FROM TEXAS

~Lesia

I would like to enter the following challenges:

Little Patch of Crafty Friends - #83 Anything Goes (6/14)(136)
Scrapbook Stamp Society - #142 Anything Goes/Spring (6/16) (10)
Pammie's Inky Pinkies - #1822 Anything Goes (6/10) (25)
Crafting From the Heart - #209 Anything Goes (6/9) (66)
Artistic Inspiration - #201 Anything Goes (6/9) (143)

Supplies:

Copic Markers:  fish BG23, 90, 32 Pinks R85, 83, 81 Grays C7, 5, 3, 1 and T3 Skin E01, E11, E00 Hair E57, 55, 31 Green G94 and G24

DSP: Paper Studio "Floral on Blush"   Cardstock Bazzil, Martha Stewart Punches Washi Tape, Ribbon Netting, Offray Ribbon, Paper Studio Gemstones 

Everything Purple

For this post, I have a card that I created for a special lady I met in one of my Facebook Groups. The focus was actually the color purple. I personalized it with the recipient's name and greeting highlighted in purple foil. Pleased with the results, I decided to share it with everyone. 

After I made the card I realized that the embellishments prevented it from fitting into an envelope properly, so I decided with the leftover papers I would make a chipboard box for it and fill the inside with purple tissue paper.

On the inside, I used the same color scheme and used my PC to print out the sentiment and then added purple foil using my Minc to continue with the theme from the front.

Hope you like what you see. I am entering this card in the following challenges:

Dare2BArtzy - Dreaming of Flowers (6/2)

Lil Patch of Crafty Friends - Anything Goes (6/1)

The Corrosive Challenge - Anything Goes (5/31)

Crafting with Dragonflies - The Color Purple (6/8)

Creative Fingers - #146 Anything Goes

Polkadoodles Crafting - Wk21 Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by for a visit. I hope you will visit again real soon and often.

Sending Hugs from Texas

~Lesia

Easy Foiling

Hello Crafting Family. I have a bit of news to share. For those of you that enjoy foiling this might be very interesting.
In the past, you have had to use toner paper to die cut things you wanted to be foiled or you had to buy phrases pre-made and then foil them. Well, that is over.

If you have a laminator, and transfer foil you can add foil to your images without toner paper or printing using a laser printer.

NOTE: this technique works better with outline stamps but I was able to get a decent foil with Stampscapes Prickly branches.

Anyway if you're interested, all you do is stamp your image and heat emboss with clear embossing powder. While doing this get your laminator going so it will be nice and hot. Add your foil to your stamped embossed image and send it through the laminator and BAM you have a foiled image. This technique is gorgeous when you use stamped images of large outline flowers. Even your stamped sentiments can be foiled. How cool is that!

The two machines tested were the Royale Laminator and the Minc foiling machine. We discovered the best settings for the Royale laminator was 3 and for the Minc, the best setting was 2. Using these settings each machine worked perfectly.

I was so excited I created a quick clip of my newly foiled stamp and thought I would share. Here is the quick clip. You may need to click play twice.

Thanks for stopping by.

Be safe, stay healthy and craft happy.

Sending hugs from Texas

~Lesia a.k.a. Mema

WaterColor Jazz

Hello everyone. I am so excited about this new product I just picked up and I want to share with everyone. I could never master water coloring although I did try, so finally, I just gave up and would dabble using distress inks and my Nuvou Mousse but none was real watercolor.

But all that has changed with these Kuretake Zig Clean Brush pens.  These pens are awesome and even my attempts look almost like a professional did it. No, I haven't mastered these pens but using them for the first time gave me results I never expected and a lot of hope for my future.

Below is my first attempt at watercolor. I thought it was good enough to warrant a card. 

I used a sentiment and images from Altenew "Beautiful Day" stamp collection. My watercolor paper is Strathmore Bristol Smooth Surface and my coloring media was Zig Watercolor pens.

I would like to enter the following challenges:

Crafting With Attitude - #38 Anything Goes (4/29)
QKR Stampede - #293 Anything Goes (5/3)
Polkadoodles Crafting - Wk#17 Anything Goes (5/3)
Simply Papercraft - #57 Anything Goes (5/26)
Creative Fingers - #145 Anything Goes (5/3)
Colour Crazy - Wk#17 Anything Goes (5/10)
Brown Sugar - #277 Pearls/Mother's Day (5/7)

That's all I have for tonight. Thanks for stopping by and I hope you come again real soon.

Sending hugs from Texas

~Lesia

Quirky and Funny

Boy have I been busy stepping outside my comfort zone. First I got involved with scenic stamping using Stampscapes stamps and glossy paper, then I moved on to creating with alcohol inks and Yupo paper. 

But I didn't stop there, nope I moved into the paints (so outside my zone) and I must say I really do like the Nuvo embellishment mousse and pearl drops. 

Another product that caught my eye is the Dylusions paint series by Dylan Reaveley in conjunction with Ranger. The paint is vibrant and fluid and created specifically for journal page creations.

Well, I am a card maker so I had to figure how to use this paint to create my cards and that wasn't hard.  All these inks are so versatile and can be used in so many ways. I created several cards and would like to share a couple with you. I used digital images from my stash and colored them with Spectrum Noir markers.  The sentiments I used are all by Dylan Reaveley.

Although these cards are far from my usual style and so outside my comfort zone, I still hope they will inspire you and maybe even bring a smile. 

Both card backgrounds were created with Dylusions paint and stencils. I used a gel pen to add little bits here and there.  The sentiments are by  Dylan Reaveley in conjunction with Ranger. I love these sentiments because they are quirky and funny. 

So there you have my latest adventure in the world of crafting and paper.

I'd like to enter the following challenges:

Crafting With Attitude - #38 Anything Goes (4/29)
Simply Papercraft - #56 Anything Goes (425)
Jo's Scrap Shack -#229 Anything Goes (4/19)
Creative Fingers - #144 Anything Goes (4/19)
Polkadoodles Crafting - Wk. 15 Anything Goes
Crafting With Friends - #65 Anything Goes (4/24)
Colour Crazy - #15 Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by and come again soon.

Sending Hugs From Texas

~Lesia