One Stencil = Three Sympathy Cards

As usual, when I need a sympathy card, I don't have one handy.  Since this one was for an Asian friend, I decided to pull out my 'sympathy' Japanese character stamp, only I didn't have one (or couldn't find it).  I did have a Dreamweaver sympathy stencil which worked out for what I wanted to do.  I started with a fibrous lavender washi paper torn to fit a standard card blank. Tip: To get a straight tear, hold a ruler along the line you wish to tear and run a small wet paintbrush along the line before tearing.

I used a Sizzix die (from a set) to cut the inner panel from a Japanese specialty paper.  After taping the stencil down with a small piece of washi tape it was run through my Big Shot machine using an embossing foam pad.  Before removing the washi tape, a little perlescent lavender ink was rubbed on the Japanese character.  All the layers were mounted with Merikan  double stick tearable tape (purchased at HM Ben Franklin Crafts).

For this version, I used a specialty paper that had leaves encased in the paper fibers.  I used Bo Bunny gold glitter paste in the stencil to wet emboss the 'sympathy' character.

Of the three, I think this one is the most visually pleasing.  I had trouble getting the color of the stenciled character just right so I started smudging my extra 'mistakes' and made one that worked.  Funny how sometimes messing around results in the best look.  I was pleased with the sympathy card I created for my friend and happy to have two extra ones for my stash.  Hopefully, I won't have to use them for awhile.  Wishing you a splendid week of crafting!