Sympathy in Hunter

I don't think any of us actually like making Sympathy cards, but sadly, they are necessary and are so meaningful to the recipient. Most especially when they know it was hand made with love.

Unfortunately, yesterday, I needed to sit down and create several of these for friends near and far who experienced a loss while we were away. I hope they know that they are near in heart and prayers as well when they open the envelopes.

I tried to keep the cards simple and I love the Thoughts and Prayers stamp set for doing just that. This tree image is a beautiful one and can be used for many occasions, but it lends itself so well for a Sympathy card.
I inked up the main image with Stampin' Write Markers, coloring directly on the stamp. I used Chocolate Chip for the trunk and Sage Shadow for the leaves. I then dotted some Handsome Hunter over the Sage to give it the two toned effect.
The image was stamped on a piece of Very Vanilla cardstock, which was sponged with Close to Cocoa ink (as were all the layers). After stamping, I layered it onto pieces of Close to Cocoa and Sage Shadow cardstock.

The greeting, from Teeny Tiny Wishes, was stamped in Handsome Hunter on more Very Vanilla cardstock. It was punched out with the Word Window punch, sponged and layered on a piece of Handsome Hunter that was punched out with the Modern Label Punch. It's simply attached with SNAIL adhesive.

For the cardbase, I used Handsome Hunter and wrapped it with Hemp Twine, securing it behind the focal layers which were mounted with Stampin' Dimensionals.

Then I stamped the inside panel:

The tree image is simply done with leftover ink that was on the stamp from the focal point. I did not clean my stamp, but 'huffed' on it (like how you clean your eyeglasses) to re-wet the ink and stamped onto the piece of Very Vanilla cardstock leaving a muted image. Very soft and pretty.
The greeting was simply added with Close to Cocoa ink by using my Stamp-a-ma-Jig tool.

This layout is a simple one and could be adapted for many projects - in fact it's one I've used many times in the past because it's so versatile.

Have a wonderful day my stamping friends and hug the ones you love!
Blessings,
~~Robinn