It gets better

I've been a little angry with myself lately, and it has interfered with my creativity.  I had a disagreement with a friend about a mutual friend who had lost her dog (well, not lost, the dog (a greyhound rescue) darted of the house and ran full bore 3 blocks to a busy street and got run over.  Greyhounds are like that).  Anyway, the disagreement was about whether or not the friend should get a sympathy card.  I make sympathy cards all the time, for people who have lost relatives, but not for people who lose pets.  That is where I draw the line.  Just the week before, a different mutual friend lost her elderly mother in law, and that is a good reason to make a sympathy card, in my opinion.  My friend argued that the woman who lost her mother in law was in less emotional pain than the one who lost her dog, because the mother in law was very old and in pain and mentally foggy, and that for her, death was a mercy, and the woman who lost the dog suffered the shock of a surprise death, plus she had a mourning child and other dog to deal with, in addition to her own unhappiness.  She felt that the dog lady needed a card more than the MIL lady.

I understood what she was saying, but I did not capitulate - it is a slippery slope.  First it is cards for dogs, then cats, then parakeets and gerbils, and the squirrel that runs out in the road in front of your car - once you start making cards for animals, you may as well be lining bird cages with them.

However, I did feel badly.  I really like the woman who lost her dog.  She is a great friend.  I did not make her a card, and my muse walked out.  I think maybe my subconscious is smarter than my conscious mind.

I will be seeing her tomorrow.  This is not a sympathy card.  It is a "I know things are crappy right now and I want you to know that I care about you" card.  I know technically that is the definition of sympathy, but let me have a little bit of dignity left.

Details: The background is DCWV cardstock embossed and sanded.  The butterfly is TAC, I've had it for ages but never used it the way it was designed before now (2-step stamp).  the ribbon I've had for ages, and this is the first time I've used any, and this is the first time I've used this sentiment stamp, although I've had it for ages, too.  The sentiment and butterfly are heat embossed using some iridescent UTEE my buddy Diane gave me, and the flower is a RAK - I don't remember who it is from.

Challenges:
Cupcake Craft - up in the air with green
Diecut Dreams - special friend
Let's Ink It Up - embossing
Pile It On - green and orange
Sentimental Sundays - green plus a sentiment
Corrosive Challenges - Sketch
Phindy's Place - well wishes
Crafty Purple Frog  - things with wings