In My Thoughts

I have a cat who torments me daily like an elementary school bully, but Bandit picked me so I am stuck with him. I really wouldn’t consider myself a “pet person,” but I’m extremely compassionate and understanding of those who have and love their pets. When they lose their pets, my heart breaks. One of my really good friends lost her family dog this past week, and I made this card for her: Stippled Blossoms, Best of Greetings, Stampin' Up!, Brian King

Tips, Tricks and Reminders

  • Personalized sentiment. So Sorry is a stamp set that says “So sorry for the loss of your beloved pet.” My stamped sentiments don’t reference the loss of a pet, but it successfully acknowledges that I am thinking about her and her family. My hand-written sentiment inside the card says exactly what I wanted to say. No need to say much more than “thinking of you” here.
  • Color Palette. After playing with Wisteria Wonder for the first time last week, I knew it would provide the perfect palette for a “thinking of you” card. I love the mix of colors in this piece of Designer Series Paper from Afternoon Picnic. Coastal Cabana, Crushed Curry, Pear Pizzazz and Wisteria Wonder. The striped patterns provide a soft background for the flowers and sentiment.
  • Borders. Between the Wisteria Wonder card base and the Designer Series Paper, I added a small border of Very Vanilla card stock. I tried bordering the DSP with several of the colors but determined that vanilla gave me a border without standing out too much. Look again – did you even notice it the first time. The lesson here? Maybe subtle works just as well as bold. I’m not preaching the lesson – I’m just the one who cut up a bunch of paper to learn it.Stippled Blossoms, Best of Greetings, Stampin' Up!, Brian King

Stamp Sets: Stippled Blossoms, Best of Greetings Inks: Wisteria Wonder, Pear Pizzazz Papers: Wisteria Wonder, Very Vanilla, Afternoon Picnic Designer Series Paper Accessories: Ovals Collection Framelits, Pearl Basic Jewels, Ovals Collection Framelits

Thanks for stopping by my blog today!

Brian

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Envelope Punch Board. Stampin’ Up!’s Envelope Punch Board is now available for sale! I showed you a project I made with it last week (see it here). This board is easy to use and extremely affordable. You can use Designer Series Paper or card stock to make your own envelope for almost any size of card. To read more about the Envelope Punch Board and to see a Stampin’ Up! video about how easy it is to use, click here.

24 Comments

  1. Love this one Brian, flowers are gorgeous and Wisteria is a fave.

  2. I’m so sorry about your friend’s loss of her dog, I know how hard that could be because our pets become members of the family. This card is beautiful, Wisteria Wonder is one of my favorite colors and your dear friend will love it.

  3. Love this layout and soft pretty touch of pearls. Beautifully done.

  4. This is such a lovely sympathy card, Brian. The softer colors suggest the kind and caring thoughts you have for the person/people receiving the card. The pearls on the flowers give them a depth and a look of more than just flowers on paper, more like a gift of sympathy.

  5. This card is so beautiful and conveys so much feeling. Your friend will be so appreciative of your thoughtfulness.

  6. Yes, the white border is perfect

  7. Good Morning Brian, Perfect card for your friend. Pets are family. Thanks a bunch. 🙂

  8. Such a pretty card ….and yes I agree that the VV border is the perfect choice with all of this color .
    And I would have never thought that the chevron background would look so good with those roses . They look really good together . Now I want to try that with some other flowers . Thank you for that idea . So sorry about your friend`s pet I`m sure she will love your thoughtful card .

  9. Thinking about the lesson, I realized I would have done what I normally do. Whisper White Card-stock base with a border of Wisteria Wonder. I LOVE the reversal of that with this card! Actually, I love everything about this card! I need to make a sympathy card this week too, thanks for the reminder with your stunning card!

  10. i love the card and the colors are beautiful . i have a question. do yo use a full sheet of whiper white ? or just cut strips for the edges ? i am a paper hoarder so i hate to hide alot of paper with more paper on top. thanks brian and hope you have a great holiday

    • Elaine, Thanks for your question. For a border like this, I use a fourth of a sheet of Very Vanilla (give or take a bit). The time it would take to piece all the paper around the edges would not be worth the savings (in my opinion) and might not look as clean. I also like to hold onto scraps and pieces of paper. When making a special card for a special person, I am happy to use up the paper I’ve got – I can always get more. 🙂

    • Elaine, I agree with you about all that hidden card stock. I would have used that same layer piece to cut the oval for the front of the card. It leaves the edges in tact so it stays clean but it gets covered with the larger Wisteria oval anyway.

  11. Beautiful card, Brian. The Vanilla is perfect!

  12. Laurie Burns Gachewicz

    Awww Brian!! I am certain that Bandit loves you and is grateful to you for putting up with him!! I hope your card brings comfort to your friend. Losing any pet is so hard.

  13. I really like the colorful way you have expressed sympathy. Sympathy cards are usually so monotone and sad, your card would brighten my mood immediately! Great job and I’m sorry for your friends loss. Have a good day!

  14. Good Morning Brian:
    Normally a card with this much going on would be a bit much for me however, for some unknown reason, I truly love this card. I think that even without the words this card conveys caring and that, of course, is why someone would send a sympathy card to begin with. I think this card is just absolutely gorgeous and I’m sure it will bring comfort to your friend. I also like the fact that you put a matching envelope liner into the envelope,,,,,,,,the perfect finish.

  15. If you had said that you were going to use a chevron design in a sympathy card, I would have thought you crazy. But it works and is perfectly lovely.

  16. Love how you grouped the pearls! As always, you are the “artiste maximo!” : )

  17. Is it my imagination or was it your intention? Those pearls look like the perfect “paw print”.

    • Julie – funny you should see this. While I was making the card, I decided to pile on some pearls in the center of each flower to give a little dimension and richness to the card. When I placed the pearls in the center of the flower, I sat back and exclamaimed, “Ugh! It looks like paw prints!” when I showed the card to my friend Justin. I still went with it. Didn’t even occur to me until you pointed this out that paw prints was a wonderful (although unintended) tribute to her puppy.

      • There you go being brilliant again. I see paw prints everywhere since one of my kids nicknames is puppy! Your card is beautiful, a perfect tribute to your friend and her pet.

  18. Gorgeous card! Lovely color of paper and flowers! Very thoughtful of you to send this card to your friend!

  19. “I’m not preaching the lesson, I’m just the one who cut up a bunch of paper to learn it.” Brilliant! I am going to quote you about a billion times this year! LOVE this card and your paper manipulation! You are the duke of chevron!

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