Scrapbook.com Cards for Kindness™

Happy Monday, crafty friends! I hope that you are having a great start to your week! Pinkfresh Studio is honored to be partnering with Scrapbook.com for their Cards for Kindness™ initiative that delivers handmade cards to people who could use an emotional boost, smile, or a helping hand.

 I speak from experience that when you are in your darkest of days, opening a card from a friend or loved one let's you know that you aren't alone. It's a beautiful reminder that you are loved and remembered at that very moment, and something that is so very important to me. It's why I love cardmaking so very much. I was recently given the opportunity to record an episode of Scrapbook.com's Life Handmade Podcast, where I speak candidly about the loss of my children. I also talk a lot about crafting and Pinkfresh Studio, so we would love for you to check it out!

Today I wanted to share a card I made for Cards for Kindness™ featuring the Forever in our Hearts stamp set. This stamp set benefits Layton's Legacy, a fundraiser for NICU parents that I do in honor of my son each year. All funds raised go towards purchasing items for parent's with babies in the NICU, or get donated to a charity that benefits NICU parents. $5 for the sale of every stamp set, and $3 from the sale of every coordinating die are donated to Layton's Legacy.

I decided to create a background with the beautiful butterfly that is included in the stamp set, and heat embossed it in gold multiple times to water friendly smooth Bristol cardstock. I applied a light water wash to it, then dropped liquid watercolor in Bubblegum and Clementine in a few different areas. I lightly spritzed it with water to get some movement of the colors, then used a brush for more control over the color placement.

To soften the colors and give the background a beautiful shimmer, I spritzed it down with iridescent white mist while it was still wet. I dried it with the lower setting on my heat gun, but you could also just let it air dry. Once it was dry, I carefully wiped the mist off the embossing so it would really shine through. Finally, I diecut the background panel with our largest Essentials: Stitched Rectangle die to give it that nice finished edge.

I stamped the sentiment from the Forever in our Hearts set to white cardstock in Detail Black ink, then trimmed it into a thin strip with banner edges. I wanted to bring up the meaning behind this sentiment, because some people believe the sentiment should read "You're on my heart." Both are technically correct, but this sentiment stems from deep loss. And much like we carry those we lose within our hearts, when I grieve with someone...I am carrying them IN my heart. That is why we chose to phrase it this way.

With all the pieces complete, I mounted each one to the front of a white A2 top folding card base with foam adhesive. I added a knot of gold thread underneath the sentiment for some added texture, then finished by accenting with clear iridescent sequins and our Essentials: Crystals Mix in clear & pink.

I don't normally take images of my cards standing up, but I wanted to share that one above just to show the amount of gorgeous shimmer & shine on this card!

We hope that you will be able to partner with Scrapbook.com for their Cards for Kindness™ initiative! Be sure to follow the submission guidelines and fill out the necessary paperwork. All of those details are included in that link above. Just think of all the smiles your beautiful handmade cards will bring to faces all over!

That is all I have for you today! If you have any questions about my card, feel free to leave them in the comments and I will be sure to reply.

I've also started updating my CRAFTY SALE page more lately, so feel free to see what great deals there are out in the papercrafting world right now. It's a great time to support these small businesses if you are able!

Before you move along with your day, I wanted to invite you to follow me on social media. I would love to be crafty friends!

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Have a great rest of your day!

SUPPLY LIST

For your shopping convenience, all products are linked below, including affiliate linking when possible - this allows small compensation for me at no cost to you. I typically link to 2-3 sites, in hopes that your preferred retailer will be among them. I only support legitimate retail sites, that are true partners to stamp, die and scrapbooking wholesalers.