Several Sympathy Cards

It's been a rough couple of months for some of my dearest animal friends and their owners. Here are a few of the sympathy cards I've made.

The first two are inspired by the card I'd made for Leela. I changed a few things up to make the designs unique and suited to the pets I was honoring.

In Memory of Lexi

Lexi's card is a little softer, with warm colors and a soft gray backing panel. Lexi was a sweet, soft, small dog, and I was trying to remember that about her with the colors I chose.

 The heart behind the die cut sentiment doesn't have the embossing that Leela's card has. I instead sprayed the whole die cut with a warm gold shimmer spray. I also lost the washi tape embellishment and instead finished up with some Nuvo drops in white and a warm gold.

In Memory of Phantom

Phantom's card has the embossed heart, like Leela's, but I added gold shimmer spray to the whole thing instead of just the raised paw prints. I also used a rainbow color scheme and a different washi tape. I thought the black and white pattern would help make the rainbow card more somber and appropriate for a sympathy card. I chose the rainbow palette as a nod to Phantom's owner, who was my high school art teacher.

My favorite thing about this card is the paper I chose to line the inside, but I forgot to take a picture before I wrote in it, and I didn't want to share my personal message here. But it's Stardust White, with flecks of color echoing the rainbow ink blending from the front of the card.

In Memory of Jon

 Jon's card is in a rather different style. I was going for a more simple, masculine look. There are die cut paw print windows on a stamped panel, layered over green paper on a kraft card base. I have unfortunately made this owner several sympathy cards before, and I wanted to honor Jon with something unique.

This card has an extra panel for more room for signatures from my coworkers. Jon was a well-known and well-loved regular in the clinic, so I needed to make sure everyone had plenty of room to show their respect.

Remembering Gatsby

 Gatsby was not a client from work, but a horse belonging to a fellow boarder at the barn where Wrangler lives. I used a floral stamp set, but a masculine color scheme. The colors red, green, and navy remind me of the saddle pads from the lesson barn where I grew up riding. To me they are very "equestrian" colors. I finished off the card with some baker's twine and Nuvo drops. I hoped that the white drops would tie together the card base color and the backing for the sentiment panel, to give everything a cohesive look.