A Rainbow of Thanks

Hello Everyone,

Thank you for stopping by.  It has been a minute since I have posted something.  That does not mean I have not been busy though.  With the current events of the world, we have all had to shift gears quite a bit.  I am starting to settle in to the new normal (as folk say).  For me I have been favored, as there has not been much interruption to my day to day.  I have been praying hard for the physical and mental health of the world and know that all things happen with purpose (though we may not know what it is or understanding it…HE does).   

Now that the shock of the situation has passed, it is time for me to get it going again.  I want to share a card I did for a special challenge. This card is also close to my heart as I am a healthcare worker.  I am NOT on the front lines, but I want to send the front line workers a message of gratitude and thanks for every moment they have given to this cause.  They have not asked much of us (the general public) and whatever they have asked is FREE!  STAY YOUR TAIL INSIDE!  Not much in the way of an ask when you consider they are putting their lives on the line to save ours. 

I cannot take credit for the design of the card.  The design was created by Mindy Eggen.  Mindy was a guest designer for Altenew some time back.  When I looked at her card, it brought to mind the new symbolism of the rainbow.  The rainbow has become a symbol of hope and encouragement.  To me the branches of the wreath represented the extension and preservation of life.  As the branches touched it made me think of how the Corona Virus has touch every one of us (the world).  And the formation of the branches creates an unbroken circle, to me it says we can not and will not be broken. So, MANY THANKS to our front line workers from the small businesses struggling, but still pushing through to serve us, to ALL the healthcare workers (worldwide) and EVERYONE on the front line serving in any capacity in between.   And thank you to Mindy Eggen for such an inspirational design. 

A Rainbow of Thanks card: to find the items used to make this card, click on the links.

To make my card, I started with a card front using 80# Neenah Classic Crest Solar White Card stock (CS) cut to A2 size or 4 ¼ x 5 ½ inches.  I taped my card front down onto my Tim HoltzTravel Glass Media Mat at with some Washi Tape.  I took Altenew’s Wonderful Wreath Stencil, centered the wreath stencil image over the card front and taped the corners down with pieces of Washi Tape. (Optional) on the Wreath stencil there are some little holes, which represent berries. I did not cover them; however, if you want a clean center, you will need to cover the holes with a piece of paper before you start inking.   I am not sure what colours Mindy used on her card.   I decided on the colours that I thought came close to the ones in the photo of her card.   I used my blending brushes to lay down the initial colour with medium pressure.  After the first layer of colour was complete, I removed the Washi Tape from the stencil ONLY.  I rotated the stencil image so that the branches would touch or overlap just a bit, then I taped the corners of the stencil in place using the Washi Tape as before.  To get the shaded or lighter colour, I used a lighter pressure and the ink that was left on the brush from the first layer.   The colours I used were Altenew’s Crisp Ink Cubes-Marigold, Honey Drizzle, GrassField, Tide Blue, Ultraviolet, and Magenta.  The greeting is from Altenew’s Halftone Circles stamp set.  This is a 6 x 8 inch, high quality, photo polymer stamp set that comes with 14 total stamps, 8 graduating circle images with textured gradient dots and 6 sentiments.  I used the Obsidian Black ink pad (my new love) to stamp the greeting.   I trimmed the card front down by 1/16^th and mounted it onto a white A2 card base.   The sentiment (inside) is something I made up and used my Cricut Maker to write on the base of the card.  

Until next time, stay in and stay safe! 

JOYCE