Always Remember

Here's a sympathy card I made recently. It's a simple lay-out to suit the mood of the moment. I used a couple of techniques, one called Baby Wipe Technique which takes baby wipes and reinkers to create the coloured background (a bit simpler than brayering but a similar end result). Then I took a solid stamp and did some "silhouette" stamping.

I made a few backgrounds while I had the baby wipe all inked up so you might see another card along a similar theme some time in future.

Thanks for visiting.

Love from Crafty Kim

Pet Sympathy

First a quick note to thank my loyal crafty friends for checking my blog in hope of new posts which have not been forthcoming. Without wanting to burden you with too many details, I am not getting much time to craft at the moment. My husband has been unemployed for 4 months, after his previous job was made redundant. He did receive some funds to keep us going while he finds another job but to supplement these I have been working full-time since April and this has been a huge change for me. I had worked part-time in amongst kid-wrangling since 2006 but my "reason for being" was my son's care and everything else was scheduled around parenting. It's been good for my husband and son to spend more time together but I'm missing the time with my boy as well as time for me. I "take my hat off" to full-time working mothers - I don't know how you stay sane.

Anyway, it's not forever, just "for a season"! And one plus is that I've been doing some really interesting work in a new role. Great to use my brain after so many years away from my profession of food science.

So about this quick card which I made for a friend and like me, a true animal lover, when she lost her cat after a long time of togetherness. Being more a dog owner in later years, I haven't got many cat stamps in my collection. My hugely talented friend, Cookie, used some cat-themed paper so cleverly to make a set of cards which inspired the card above. I added some embossed card (zig-zag stitch) and brads but mostly, the decorative paper did all the design work.

I thought I would take this opportunity to share the story of the Rainbow Bridge:

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge.

When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge.

There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor; those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by.

The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind.

They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent; His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster.

You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart.

Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....
(Author unknown)

Thanks again for your patience and I'll be back as soon as I can be.

Love from Crafty Kim

Doily Sympathy

Doilies have become very popular in paper-craft recently. Not all of them appeal to my personal taste and sometimes it can be hard to find the right-sized doily for use on a card front. But then I came across a die cut to make the above doilies.

Originally I cut the doilies from vellum but then struggled to find a good way to stick the vellum down (lots of cursing here in the craft room about the ineffectiveness of vellum spray). So in the end I went back to regular cardstock in a complementary colour.

I never met a purple I didn't like (yet) and it goes very well with silver. Being a sympathy card, I wanted a subtle look which I was aiming for with the silver butterflies. The base looked quite plain until I embossed it with the "branches" embossing folder. I'm not sure if I've pushed it to far with the rhinestone brad, again not wanting anything too flashy.

Anyway, hoping you've enjoyed your visit to my end of the crafting world. I'll be back as soon as I can with more creations.

Thanks for stopping by,

Love from Crafty Kim

Star Sympathy

I bought this stamp some years ago - fortunately, haven't needed to use it very often but the idea comforts me. In case you can't quite read it from the photo, here it is in text:

“Perhaps they are not stars, but rather openings in heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy.”

My stamp says it is an Indian saying but other research suggests it originates with Eskimos?

I've been looking for a star embossing folder for some time and when I saw the one used above I snapped it up. I made the card shimmery by sponging silver ink lightly on the raised embossed areas.

I wanted to keep the card low-key but the star clips fitted the theme and the silver mesh ribbon helped distinguish the top layer of navy blue from the navy base.

Thanks for stopping by,

Love from Crafty Kim

Birds & Swirls Sympathy

Happy Saturday. I'm at my desk ready to "commit a neatness" but so far all I've done is procrastinate. Outside, the day is glorious; I love the shoulder seasons of autumn and spring. It's now school holidays in NSW and I'll be busy juggling work and kid-wrangling although with my husband currently at home full-time (he's looking for a job after his former role became redundant), it's a little easier. But I thought I would post a card while I had a chance.

The photo doesn't really do the card full justice. The colours are white and warm grey (Sahara Sand in SU! speak) and it was a dull rainy day when I took the photo. Plus I was in my usual rush. Never mind, you get the idea.

The Birds and Swirls folder is one of my original purchases going back to when I first got my embossing/die-cutting machine. I still love it. I didn't emboss the whole of the card front, instead left a blank area and scored lines with my scoring tool to neaten it up. I also used my brayer to lightly apply ink to the raised areas. White pearls were perfect to give this card some elegance.

I sent this card to friends who recently lost their adored mother. It's always too soon to lose the one you love and while we come to accept their passing, the gap they leave remains forever.

Love from Crafty Kim

Look out for Legacy Today

Regardless of your stance on war, please consider supporting Legacy which cares for the families of deceased war veterans. Volunteers will be selling pins today to fundraise for the cause but if you don't happen upon one of these, Telstra is donating $1 for every "Legacy" text message sent to 0447 877 678 during legacy week (ends midnight 10 September 2010). To find out more, please click on the image above.

Thanks for reading. Have a good day.

Love from Crafty Kim

In Sympathy

The card you wish you didn't need. Part of life, yes, but such a sad chapter. And the warm memories help sustain you but you'll always miss the person's unique place in your world.

I made this card for a friend after she lost someone close to her but if this card speaks to you, please accept my sincere sympathy for your loss. I offer this poem "All is well" which brings me comfort:

Death is nothing at all,
I have only slipped into the next room
I am I and you are you
Whatever we were to each other, that we are still.
Call me by my old familiar name,
Speak to me in the easy way which you always used
Put no difference in your tone,
Wear no forced air of solemnity or sorrow
Laugh as we always laughed at the little jokes we enjoyed together.
Play, smile, think of me, pray for me.
Let my name be ever the household world that it always was,
Let it be spoken without effect, without the trace of shadow on it.
Life means all that it ever meant.
It it the same as it ever was, there is unbroken continuity.
Why should I be out of mind because I am out of sight?
I am waiting for you, for an interval, somewhere very near,
Just around the corner.
All is well.
Henry Scott Holland 1847-1918
Canon of St Paul 's Cathedral

I won't dwell on this subject further but life is fragile so please make the most of the living years.

Love from Crafty Kim