I've got a quick post today, sharing a sympathy card - not a category we ever enjoy making, but ones we need in our stash none-the-less.
I started here with Lawn Fawn's Fancy Lattice Backdrop Die and when I ran it back and forth in my die cut machine, it slipped a little on the "back" pass so the bottom got a bit of a distorted cut. We often get questions about how to fix mistakes like this so I thought I'd share what I did here - I left the double cut bit in place - the majority is covered by my embellishments and sentiment, but some is still on show and I know that will make some of you gasp that I sent it not perfect. The truth is - the recipient likely wouldn't even notice and if they did who is to say it was part of the design - we all need to worry less about making our cards perfect - they are handmade so a little imperfection here and there adds to the charm.
I then just selectively popped out the bits in the middle leaving some of the perfect bit at the top in the die so it mirrored the wonky bit at the bottom - and I even added a few random bits back in - gentle grunge effect in play.
To add to the grunge effect I used one of the new dies from Gummiapan Small Torn Paper to create a layer for the bottom left corner - I love a die that does a tear as I am rubbish at making them look nice when I do a tear freehand! I trimmed off the binding holes on this one as I just wanted the shape. I die cut it from the same blue as my sentiment strip but used a couple of oxide inks to add some random grungy colouring and sprayed with water for a more distressed finish.
For the main focal image I opted for the wonderful Old Butterfly Die, also from Gummiapan as the torn wings fit the grungy theme. Die but from light blue card, then with a little inking applied and a black pen to colour the body.
Once I'd popped him in place I decided it needed a little something in the top corner to balance the card and draw the eye up, so I made a little extra torn piece (by hand this time) and inked as before.
The sentiment is from an old Altenew stamp called With Deepest Sympathy and is currently out of stock but it was perfect for what I needed. As with any of our older stock, we will always try to reorder them (subject to availability) if you add your email to the restock notification system.
OK that's all from me today. Back to packing orders and adding stock!
Tara
