I'm Thinking of You...

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I received some very sad news today that one of my Pals lost her mother after a brave battle with breast cancer. I never had the pleasure of meeting this obviously much-beloved woman, but I am sure she was lovely, as she raised such a lovely daughter. To let my Pal know that I'm thinking of her and her family at this difficult time, I wanted to send her a card. She's a talented card-crafter, and so I think she of all people will understand my heartfelt condolences.
Sympathy cards are so hard to make. We think of card-crafting as a fun activity and it's a challenge to switch gears and try to create something out of sadness. The way I look at it is there are few chances we have to pour love and care into something tangible. Since I can't give my Pal a hug in person, I can send her one in a card. To help me along, I thought I would turn to a few of my favorite challenge blogs for some inspiration. Both the Friday Challenge and Julee Tilman are hosting tag challenges, and, though I've never been a real tag maker, I thought it would give me a little extra push to make something special for my friend.
I never realized that tags can make lovely cards with just a few simple steps. Today I thought I'd show how a tag can become a card. For this tag, I stamped my musical background image and then applied Distress Ink in three different shades. Next, I used the negative of some pretty punched butterflies and punched out square frames for each. I stamped and punched out my sentiment and applied more ink to both it and the butterflies. Finally, in honor of my Pal's mom, I tied on a pink ribbon.
To turn the tag into a card, I stamped my musical background again onto a larger piece of cardstock, distressing with ink to match my tag. Using dimensional squares, I attached the tag for a finished card. I hope my friend will know that I'll be thinking of her and sending her love.
BEAN NOTES: Just Rite Custom Design Cardmaking Kit and Cornish Heritage Farms Aged Sheet Music Scrapblock; Tim Holtz Tea Dye, Tattered Rose, and Vintage Photo Distress Ink; Stampin' Up Pink Pirouette and Very Vanilla Cardstock; Martha Stewart Classic Butterfly Punch; Paper Shapers 1-3/4" Circle, 1-1/8" and 1-3/8" Square Punches; Pink Organza Ribbon (generic); Foam Dimensional Squares (generic) HAPPY BEANS: Tag (generic)