Watercolor Sympathy card

Today is the Celebration of Life for my brother-in-law who passed away July 20th. He struggled with health issues for the last few years and his body just gave up.

This card is for my sister on this difficult day.

The card base is SUSummer Starfruit in the A2 size with portrait orientation.

I trimmed the edge to leave a small border and ripped the bottom edge leaving the white edge showing.

I chose a blue strip of cardstock to coordinate.  

I cut a dove with my Sizzix Dove die from textured white cardstock. I painted it with pearl and the blue strip as well.  Adhered both to top part of the card.

I added a SU Modern Label punchie greeting in bottom right hand side.

Sympathy Watercolor

I did this watercolor as a sympathy card for a cousin who loss her Dad recently.  He passed away fairly quickly so it will be an adjustment to life without him.

I reused some watercolor paper that had art on the other side.

A simple landscape with a river, trees, hills and birds in the sky.

I used a small Winsor and Newton set I picked up at the ReUse Center recently.

I added definition with a Micron black marker.

Mounted on SU True Thyme A2 card base.

Headed out of town for the funeral today.

Sympathy Card - Watercolor

 

While I had the time I painted this card for my cousins who lost their Mom recently.  We were away at a family reunion for the other side of the family when we heard my Dad's sister had passed away at 90 years of age.  She is the last of the 3 siblings to pass.

We were very close to these cousins when growing up.  They visited us often especially during the summer holidays. There was 8 of us and 7 of them and were very close to the same ages.  Lots of fun.

This card is a half sheet card measuring 5.5 x 8.5 inches.  I chose a SU Summer Sun card base.  I painted on a sheet of mixed media 150lb paper.  A tree with a meadow of flowers.

Funeral took place Aug 10 2024.

Card - Sympathy - Watercolor Flower

A sympathy card for a friend who recently lost her husband.  He has been ill for a while.

I cut a piece of mixed media paper to 4.00 x 5.25 inches.

I loosely sketched the flower and leaves with my 4H pencil. I wet the paper and added the background in blue at the top and green on the bottom. 

I then a painted the flower with an orange and the leaves with sap green.

Once dry I erase the pencil marks and added the spatter marks in blue.

Once that was dry, I stamped the sentiment with my black Versafine pad and a stamp from the Simple Sketched set.

I then mounted the painting to a Kiwi Kiss A2 card base.  With a quarter sheet insert and a white envelope it was ready for pressing.  It will be mailed shortly. 

Card - Sympathy - Watercolor Cattails

While repairs were taking place in the laundry area I decided to make some cards.

My aunt's husband lost his older brother recently so I decided to make a card.

I started with a panel of Mixed Media paper.  I lightly sketched the cattails/bulrushes with a 4H pencil.  I watercolored the background first with blues on top and greens on the bottom.

I then painted the cattails, their stems and the leaves of the plants. 

Once that was dry, I outlined in permanent marker the cattails, stems and a few leaves.

I added a bit of spatter in blue and green.

I used a Stampin Up stamp from the Simply Sketched set with my VersaFine Black ink pad to add the sentiment.  

I then mounted the panel to a brown A2 card base and added some embossed lines on the right hand side with my paper score tool.

Card - Butterfly Sympathy

I created a simple sympathy card for my aunt who lost my uncle recently.

I chose a deep burgundy card in the A2 landscape orientation.

I added a piece of warm purple paste paper trimmed to leave a bit of border top and bottom.

I cut a large butterfly with the Sizzix Winged Beauties thin die set from gold on deep purple cardstock.

I added a gold foil body to the butterfly and adhered it with double sided tape.

Sympathy Card - Serene WC

I made a sympathy card for friend's who lost their son unexpectedly a few weeks ago due medical issues.

He was in his 50's and passed way too young.

It has to be a hard thing to deal with - the loss of a child.

I used one of the backgrounds I made ages ago and added a river, trees, and rocks.

I mounted the watercolor onto black card stock then adhered it with 3D foam tape to a Soft Suede A2 card base.

I added a black sentiment punchie in the bottom right hand corner.

Sympathy Card - Silver and Green Checkerboard

Sympathy card for a friend who lost his wife this week.

The card is Stampin Up Soft Suede.

The decorative paper is handmade paper which has been screen printed with the exact color of green and silver stripes in a checker board pattern. 

I made it a DSP Split card by cutting the paper at 3.5 inches and turning over the top piece to see the wheat colored handmade paper.  

I added triangles of the same card stock which crisscross each other so the meeting point is off center.  This provided a nice place to put the butterfly punchie (Martha Stewart) in the beige card stock on the left hand side.  It is adhered with a Bling Zot glue dot.

I added an appropriate white quarter sheet insert on the inside with an A2 white envelope.

Mailing this off tomorrow.

Watercolor Cards - Butterflies

I worked on more watercolor cards this week.

I needed a sympathy card and I have found that butterflies are a great symbol for that occasion.

I drew a basic butterfly outline that I will be able to use then adjust the shapes of the wings as I choose.

I again cut a long strip of 140lb water color paper and taped it to my desk.  I applied a light coat of color across the whole piece and let it dry.

Once dry, I cut it to 4" wide pieces then added my elements.

Here I have put the butterfly on the right and filled the wings with mostly lines.  I used a blue, yellow & green color scheme.  I added some color below the butterfly to make the bottom a bit darker which helps to ground the composition.

Once, dry I spattered a bit of blue and let that dry again. Trim the piece to it's final size and adhered it to a card base of Bordering Blue.

I created this butterfly with just lines in the wings put down with a Faber-Castell Ecco Pigment Black pen in size.4.

Painted with some pink, purples and blues.

Again, I added some additional color in the bottom left hand corner to ground the composition.  

A bit of purple spatter.

I believe the card base is Brilliant Blue.

Really loving the subtle colors in these cards.

I used my Lowe-Cornell watercolor palette.

The blue one will be mailed out today for a friend who lost her husband last week.  They have been married for over 70 years.

On this bulrush card I just lightly drew a rough composition with a pencil.  Started with my horizon line, added the sun, then the bulrushes.

I have a brown in this palette so I did not have to mix it but just darken it a bit.

I mixed a warm green for the bulrush leaves.

A warm golden yellow for the sun and some blue for the water.

I had to make decision about whether the bulrush stems were in front or behind the leaves.

Once dry I added a bit of yellow above and below the sun to have the sun glow.  This worked out very well this time.

Once trimmed I mounted it on a card base of Crushed Curry.

Each will get a blank quarter sheet insert and a white envelope.

Sympathy Card

My aunt passed away recently.

Her funeral was today.  Another occasion for family to get together and visit.  She was 79 and had health issues most of her life.  She leaves a husband, a son and daughter.

Butterflies are always a symbol of rebirth and life in a different form for me.

I gave this card to my uncle.

I should work on a watercolor butterfly I can use for this type of card.

Sylvia's Simple Shots

The fruit trees are all in bloom.  The crab apples, choke cherry, apple and cherry trees are sporting great colors this week.  Deep pink, light pink, white and some shades in between.

It is feeling like summer.  I was out for my 1.5 hour walk this morning and visiting my favorite park and garden for the first time this year.

Can't beat those Alberta blue skies.

I heard then saw red winged black birds at Paul Kane park this morning.  I have not seen these birds so far into the city.  The pool was filled with water so that may have made the difference.  Generally, the city is later in filling the pool.

There was a male and female so I expect there was a nest in the dry bullrushes. This is so exciting!

There were Canada Geese, Mallards, House Finches, and magpies all making an appearance.

I received a bouquet of flowers yesterday.   It was really nice to get flowers on the remembrance of my Dad's passing on May 12th.  We celebrated his life on May 24th.  He was 92 and passed quietly in his sleep which is exactly what he wanted.

It was a couple of weeks of funeral arrangements, visits with Mom, and the first in person funeral in 2 years for the funeral home.  I pray that everyone remains well following that get together.

Mom and Dad celebrated 68 years of marriage the day Dad passed.  He had tested positive for COVID so it was in full PPE no less.  At least they were together as Mom had been in isolation earlier, had brain surgery and had not be able to see him regularly.

I brought Mom some purple pansies this week.  She has been given a raised flower bed at the lodge so she will have pansies, tomatoes and  Osteospermum - African Daisies in her bed.

Unfortunately, she will not be able to see them from her room so she will see them when she goes into the dining room 3 times a day.

It will be good for her to have something to tend to now that Dad has passed.

She is gaining strength every day following her surgery.   She was thinking about sewing again when I saw her on Monday.  That is a very good sign.

I found these at the community garden.

I found an Aquarium BluRay DVD the other day at the thrift store.

I am enjoying the sights and sounds on the TV when there is not too much else that is very good on.

There are about 6 different scenes and well as quite a few fish swimming around.

It's like putting on the fireplace at Christmas time.

I finished this book this week.  P is for Peril - Sue Grafton.

Kinsey Millhone is hired by Fiona, the first wife of Dr. Dowan Purcell, to move along the stalled investigation by police of his disappearance. He disappeared nine weeks earlier. The first wife is more concerned than present wife Crystal. Fiona, embittered by the breakdown of her marriage, is convinced that Dow has engineered his own disappearance, as she alleges Crystal is having an affair and admits that Dow has gone missing a couple of times before. In support of this, his passport and thirty thousand dollars seem to be missing. In contrast, Crystal, a former stripper Dow met on a trip to Las Vegas, is convinced he is dead. Not impressed either with Fiona's haughty personality or the chances of turning up something on a cold trail, Kinsey accepts the case with misgivings.  Kinsey ends up finding the Dr., having a brush with some really bad characters and is trying to find new office space.

I found this book a little slow but it may have been the distractions in my life the last couple of weeks more than the book itself.

Check this duck out on the small pool at Paul Kane.  It is a Greater Scaup - a diving duck.  The male and female where casually swimming the water.   

It was so great to see them there.  There were about 10 mallard males just sitting in the sun.   I have seen this before so I am not sure where they have left Momma and the ducklings.   There is not a lot of water nearby.

Wishing you a great week!

Sympathy Card Digital

 I created this digital card for my cousin and his wife who lost their daughter in a tragic accident last week.

I started with a re-inker background which I made while trying to take an abstract photo for the upcoming art show.   The resulting photos were not what I wanted and not to waste the ink I captured the color onto a 4x6 piece of photo paper.  I tried several color variations

This morning I cut the piece of arty photo paper to 3.75 x 5 inches and started doodling.  I drew the flower and the ground and added texture with a black marker.  I then mounted it to a piece of coordinating card stock.  I scanned the card and added the sentiment.

The colors were bolder than I wanted so in my photo editing software I soften and manipulated the colors a bit.

I am really happy with the final result.  I was able to send my sympathies by email.

Sympathy - Tragedy strikes

This card is for my aunt who lost her granddaughter in an airplane crash this week.

The young lady had moved to California with her husband.  She had just finished her education.  Due to COVID she had not been back to visit and now it will not happen.

She was 33 years old with her life in front of her.  It is very sad.

This is one of my photographs with a filter applied to create a black and white stylized evergreen branch.  Printed on heavy card stock, trimmed to leave a small border and mounted to the front of a Kiwi Kiss card base.

I used a Modern Label punchie with a color printed greeting. Chalked with green to coordinate and mounted with 3D tape. 

Pet Sympathy

I couple I know had their pet dog Hank pass away this week. I just felt I needed to send a card.  He was a good dog.

I found a outline graphic on line which reminds of Hank.  You can find the graphic here.

I printed it on card stock as well as the sentiment.  I chose chalk pastel to color the image and integrate the sentiment. 

I adhered the focal element to the front of a warm teal textured card. I aligned it to the left.

The sentiment was adhered above the image with 3D foam tape after I flagged the ends. Aligned to the right.

Sympathy Card - Ivory Poppies

I made this card for a friend who lost her husband in late March.  He had been sick for several years and contracted pneumonia.

I started with a warm green card base.

I added a brighter green layer cut to leave a small border.  I added a layer of designer paper next.

I cut the Memory Box Perky Poppies from another piece of the bright green card stock.  I then cut the poppies from cream pearl card stock.  I adhered these over the green ones.

I adhered the poppies to the card front with quick dry adhesive behind the poppies and the base.

I ripped a strip of the same brigth green card stock and adhered it along the card bottom. 

I added a Word Window sentiment on the right side.

Sympathy Card - Butterflies

I made this card for a family who lost their father and granddad to COVID19.  Very sad!

I started with a dark blue green card base.

I added a layer of warm toned designer paper - K&Company - Addison Swirl Collage which was adhered to the card front.

I added a piece of vellum on the left hand side, folded over on the top and bottom and adhered to the inside of the card with tape.

I cut butterflies with the Sizzix Winged Beauties thinlit set.  Large and medium are layered onto each other and adhered to the vellum.

I punched a Scallop Circle from the green card stock, a 1 3/8 inch circle from pink and an ivory 1 1/2 inch circle greeting in ivory.  These were layered then adhered to the card front with 3D foam tape.

Sympathy Cards

I made a few cards for my cousins whose Dad passed away in December.  The Celebration of Life service is today.

This is a left over kit from Tuesday's class.  A DSP Split.  The designer paper was split and reassembled by flipping the smaller top piece.  I added a taupe grosgrain ribbon over the join.  It was adhered to a kraft card base.

I added a white silk flower, an aqua flower, a white sequin all held in place with a light blue tiny brad.

The greeting is a Stampin Up Modern Label in kraft with a Word Window sentiment layered and adhered to the card front with 3D foam tape.

The card on the right features a sunflower cut with a Cuttlebug die and a 1" circle of brown in the center.

I drew the stem and leaf with a couple of green markers.  I added some yellow to the deckle edge with marker.


The greeting is a Stampin Up Modern Label in garden green with a Word Window sentiment layered and adhered to the card front with 3D foam tape.

The next couple of cards were discovered during my de-cluttering. They were many years ago and stored in cellophane were still in great shape.

The flowers were stamped with a Magenta stamp and watercolored.  I added a Stampin Up Word Window sentiment mounted with 3D foam tape. The edges of the white layer were ripped then mounted to a small sheet of my own handmade paper.


One with blue tones and the other with purple tones.




On the left, another card featuring a small handmade paper sheet in white onto which I hand painted a blue daisy. I mounted it to a brilliant blue  card base .


I added a Stampin Up Modern Label in bright green with a Word Window sentiment mounted with 3D foam tape.

I loved making these type of cards.

This is design I call Angled Rectangle.  I angled a piece of designer paper onto the green card front, adhered it and trimmed it to the card edge.

I used a trimmed piece, turned it over and adhered it aligned the long edge.  I added a white silk flower, an aqua flower and a white sequin held in place with a tiny blue brad.






I added a Stampin Up Modern Label greeting in the bottom right hand corner adhered with 3D foam tape.

It is a versatile design as it will do wide/landscape or tall/portrait orientation.

The one on the left has a 1.25 inch yellow circle with a navy Sizzix Winged Beauties butterfly in navy.

I added a Stampin Up Modern Label sentiment with an offset navy layer mounted with 3D foam tape.

Sympathy Cards

My uncle Dave passed away early last week and the funeral was today.  He was a farmer and a real family man.  He was married to my aunt and she passed in 1997.  He did remarry so I prepared a card for his 3 kids and his wife.  I spent time with these cousins when we were kids.  I see some of them at reunions.

I added greetings to my photo cards because the cards were ready and they needed to fit the occasion.  

These are sunlit maple tree seeds.  Love the pale green color against the dark background.

I added a Old Olive Modern Label punchie with a color coordinated greeting punched with the Word Window.

The greeting was mounted with 3D foam tape.

This is for one son and his family.

 This is the bridge in the Japanese Garden at the University of Alberta Botanic Garden.  It is a serene place and I felt appropriate for a sympathy card.

I chose a much brighter green for the label punchie on this one.  It is Garden Green and the coordinated word window.  Mounted with 3D foam tape.

This was for the daughter.

I chose this Japanese Barberry leaf photo with a mossy green Modern Label with a coordinating Word Window greeting.  Mounted with 3D foam tape.

This was for the other son and his family.


This card I made for his wife who was unwell and could not attend the funeral today.  Sunlit Rose with pink greeting.

Sympathy Card

I prepared this large A7 photo card for my aunt on my Dad's side of the family who lost a son. 

It must breaks a mother's heart to lose a child.  She is in her eighties but that does not matter.

I added Modern Label punchie with a black greeting to this simple Rose Hip and grass still life.  Mounted with 3D foam tape.

Sympathy Card - Funeral

I attended the funeral for a friend today who was gone much too soon at 64. She was hospitalized for about 3 weeks and then gone.

She attended my Card Club for a few years.

She moved on to the quilting group and participated for quite a few years.  She was involved in the Fabric Frenzy fundraiser for grandmothers in Africa.  The fundraiser is being held today.

I did not know her very well but she was a service oriented person who sang in the choir, cared for her small dog, regularly met with friends, visited family and baked really good cookies.