Condolences

I was put to task to create a condolence card for a very nice woman from Hong Kong. She has introduced me to customs from her homeland like lucky money and Chinese New Year and so, when I was placed with this task of making a card for her, I wanted to make sure I didn't present something that was inadvertently offensive because our cultures seem so different. I found out that white or red flowers could be offensive when presented as a gift of sympathy, so I wanted to stray away from those but other-colored flowers, much like in the west though, can be given.

The colors in the MFT Card Challenges Blog's Color Challenge #16 worked for a condolence card in that they were soft and sincere enough to keep the message in the forefront. I also used the sketch from the Sketch Challenge 218.

I used the only flower punch and stamp that I own! It's from Martha Stewart Crafts and it's both a stamp and also a punch! I thought that I had more flower stamps but I did not. I used a Pretty Pink Posh die for the frame and American Crafts paper for the sparkly bits and the cardboard-colored tag. For the sentiment, I stamped a Stampers Anonymous phrase on green linen-patterned paper from Michaels.

I also learned, in my quest for cultural knowledge, that paper gifts are commonly given as condolence gifts as well, so cardmaking can play a larger role in someone's life than originally thought!! Best wishes!