9.28.2014

Calendar Girls ~ With Sympathy ...

 
For me, sympathy cards are the very hardest for me to make.
Truth be told, I'd rather trek myself down to the nearest Hallmark
and pick one up!
 
Baby cards have been known to stump me,
masculine cards have me crafting in circles and scratching my head.
But sympathy cards ...
eh, I stare at the paper, ink and markers with a wary eye, indeed!
 
But the reality is ... part of being an 'artist' is often challenging
ourselves to stretch beyond what is comfortable for us.
I love that part of art ~
adventuring into the unknown,
not really having a direction or inkling of creativity.
No spark, no idea, no plan :)
 
Pen to paper.
 
The Calendar Girl's theme this month is presented by Terry,
and this is the theme she gave us to work with, in her words:

 I have recently (within 2 weeks time) had 3 friends lose parents. Very sad situations for all of them.
With that and the anniversary of 9-11 coming up I would like you all to create a Sympathy card.
Unfortunately, we will all need them at some point. It's a sad thought, but reality.
As an added challenge, I would like you all to share a memory of someone you lost and what that person did to change your life.
 
This is my humble offering.


 
The person that I've lost that influenced my life was my sweet
Grandma, Thelma.  She passed away at 89 on Halloween, 9 years ago,
the same year as my dad.
She was a woman of faith, strength, courage and spunk!
 
Grandma Thelma had 12 kids at a time when just one was too many,
and times were tough ~ VERY tough.
I remember her telling me stories of having to make a meal
to feed everyone from a small sack of flour and an orchards filled
with apples and peaches because "that's all there was."
More than that, she was filled with an incredible faith
and gave my mom her first bible,
which in turn became mine.
 
We didn't get to see Grandma Thelma very often as she
lived on a farm in California and we were traveling all over the world,
often so far way, letters would take weeks to arrive.
But she always wrote!
She always remembered us and stayed connected to the far away family that we became and reminded us that family and faith were two things
that can always remain unbroken.
Love and miss her muchly ♥
 
Be sure to stop in and see what the rest of the Calendar Girls
have created with their cards -
you can find them in my sidebar.
 
Big hugs, Bigger Blessings!
~Kelly
 
 

16 comments:

  1. Loving your beautiful card- the flowers are so pretty and love the CAS look as well. Your write up is so touching- your G-ma sounds like a fab lady with an incredible heart!

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  2. Right, it is not easy to make sympathy cards but yours is very pretty. Love the poppies.

    Here in Germany the color for those cards is normally black. And at funerals you wear black clothes.
    I personally do not like that. I think the occasion is sad enough and therefore it may be a bit more color. I make my cards also colored but elegant.

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  3. What a beautiful card!! The flowers are so pretty!! Sympathy cards are by far the hardest to make...yours is gorgeous!! And what a beautiful story of your Grandma!! Have a great day :)

    Lisa
    A Mermaid's Crafts

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  4. Beautiful, beautiful card Kelly - love the bold splash of red against the other quieter colours. Thank you for sharing of you Grandma Thelma.
    Blessings
    Maxine

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  5. The colors on your card are so pretty together. I love the gingham and poppies. Gma T sounds so nice - you were lucky!!!

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  6. This beautiful. Sounds like both you and your GM were lucky...

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  7. Kelly, your card is beautiful. I like the buttons tucked behind the mat. Your grandma sounds like a special lady.

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  8. What a gorgeous card of sympathy, Kelly! Thank you so much for the beautiful story of your grandmother. It brought back many memories of my beloved grandmother also named Thelma.

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  9. Kelly, your card is just beautiful. The story of your Grandmother Thelma is sweet as can be. How it warms the heart!

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  10. This is gorgeous Kelly. Such wonderful happy colors, and I am loving you buttons :).

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  11. I agree, these are really hard to make especially when you need one, so I find the best thing to do is make one every now and then when you DON'T need it and it will be there when you do.

    This is absolutely GORGEOUS!!! Love the layout with the added buttons! The colors are stunning!! Hugs & Smiles - *Vicki*
    My Blog: Stamp Smiles

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  12. Gorgeous card - I love the colors you chose. God bless you and your Grandma.

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  13. Kelly--your card is stunning. I love the image and it is so clever to pop the image on the buttons!

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  14. I sure missed some fun cards while I've been enjoying my time with Lynn! Love the new sentiments, each card is fantastic!

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  15. I think it's perfect. Yes, difficult to make probably because of the difficult purpose.

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  16. What a wonderful tribute to your grandmother and such a beautiful card!

    I know exactly what you mean about making sympathy cards. I try to keep a few on hand just because I struggle to make them.

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