Don't forget the caregivers!

Caregiver stress is sometimes forgotten in all of attention and concern given to the sick. I'm not denying that the ill and hurt deserve this attention, because they very much do. They also need it, but I think it's important to remember that their caregivers are under a large burden of stress, as well. They're trying so hard to take care of their loved one while remaining strong. They often forget to take care of themselves in their giving, generous efforts for their loved one. We recently had a bit of a sucky diagnosis for yet another member of my family. His wife was already a caregiver for her elderly mother, and now she is trying to keep it together while faced with horrible news about her dear, loved husband. I love this guy, myself, but don't live close enough to provide as much hands-on support as I'd like. So, I'm going to do what I can for now, which is send cards to both of them to remind them that they are loved and thought about. I sent his card last week and I'll send another one in a few days. For today, though, I focused on her card. It fits a few challenges, too.

Everyone knows I love Elisabeth Bell's illustrations; I've only said so about fifty gazillion times. LOL. This card is for the Whiff of Joy challenge to use chocolate, cream, and teal. I've also entered it at the Belles N Whistles challenge to make a card that is anything but winter. It's also for the Simon Says Bingo challenge. While futzing around with all of my scrap goodies, I achieved my bingo with ribbon, flowers, and brads. I found a new challenge site today. Well, new to me. This card is also for the Copic Creations challenge to use something new. My new item is the stamp. I bought it a while ago but this is my first time using it, so I think that still counts as new. I also used a new technique for me, which was to fashion the ribbon in such a way on the card that the tails of it are popped up. I've done pleating of ribbon before, but never tried to make the tails look wavy. I think it turned out okay. I'll have to give it a shot with some heavier ribbon next time.

The site seems to be having some issues right now, but I believe you can purchase this stamp here. I've gotten quite a few of my Whiff of Joy and Sarah Kay stamps from this store, which has super fast shipping and awesome service.

Well, you all know me by now. I just chat, chat, chat, and digress into things and before I know it, I've forgotten to do something important. In this case, it's post the darned card! So, without further ado, here she is:

She's colored with copics. It's hard to see, but I used stardust pens on the flowers to make them stand out a bit more. The large flower is prima; the smaller ones are from Wild Orchid Crafts. I got the ribbon and the pearl sprigs at Michael's. I distressed the edges and used Tim Holtz distress inks on them. The cream colored floral paper is from DCWV's linen closet line. The striped paper strip in the background (you can just see it peeking out on the one edge) is Basic Grey, I think. The cardstock is Bazzill, so you can imagine how heavy this card is. It's going to cost me a fortune in postage, but she's worth it!