Yesterday morning as I sat down to write my blog I said it was an “interesting” morning. On the instructions of the RCMP we were locked in our home and keeping an eye out for strangers on our property. All we knew at the time was that there was an “active shooter” situation 3kms down the road. Living in a rural community we’re used to hearing the odd gunshot during hunting season. This however was something entirely different. Little did we know that as the day progressed the eyes of the world would be turned towards our peaceful corner of Nova Scotia.

We spent the day watching the news for updates on the situation. By the middle of the day we heard that the “shooter” had been apprehended. At 6pm the news conference confirmed he was dead, along with 13 other people including an RCMP officer. By 10pm that number had risen to 17 dead. So many lives needlessly lost. For many more their world has been forever changed. We are eternally grateful to the RCMP and other emergency services who put themselves in harms way to protect us.

BACK TO NATURE

I must admit I didn’t do much crafting yesterday, but I did make this card.

I began by cutting and scoring a piece of Soft Sea Foam Card. Then I folded it along the scored line and sharpened the crease with a Bone Folder to create a card base.

Next I cut a layer of Old Olive vellum from the Perennial Essence 12″ x 12″ Vellum pack. Then I placed the vellum inside the Layered Leaves 3D Embossing Folder and ran it forwards and backwards through my embossing machine. With that done I fixed the embossed vellum to the front of the card base with Tear & Tape Adhesive.

To cover the adhesive I then decided to add an embossed frame layer. For this I first cut a layer of Old Olive Card. Then I cut out the centre using the #7 die from the Stitched Nested Labels (counting from the smallest up). With that done I wiped the inside of the Subtle 3D Embossing Folder with an Old Olive ink pad and placed the card inside. Then once I’d embossed the card I fixed that over the vellum using more Tear and Tape Adhesive.

INTERESTING BLENDS

With the base complete I was now ready to get to work on the decorative parts of the card.

For my images I turned to the Free As A Bird Stamp Set, starting with the single bird image. Using Soft Suede ink I stamped the image onto some Petal Pink Card. Then I coloured the wing and tail with a light Smoky Slate Stampin’ Blends alcohol marker. Next I coloured the head and breast with a light Seaside Spray Stampin’ Blends. I followed this by going over the wing and tail with the dark Seaside Spray marker. To finish the bird I coloured his beak with dark Smoky Slate.

For the flowers and leaves I found scraps of Soft Sea Foam Card. Each of the images were stamped a number of times using Soft Suede ink. Then to colour them I simply used a light Old Olive for the leaves, while for the petals I chose light Rococo Rose. Once everything was coloured I cut out all the pieces with Paper Snips.

I was almost ready to put everything together, I just needed my sentiment.

THE WORLD…

Sticking with the Free As A Bird Stamp Set I chose “The world needs more of you” for my sentiment. Using Soft Suede I stamped it onto Soft Sea Foam Card then cut it out using the #3 Stitched Nested Labels Dies.

Using Stampin’ Dimensionals I fixed the sentiment to the front of the card. Then I added a leafy branch and a small flower to the sentiment with Multipurpose Liquid Glue (Tombow). This was followed by another small flower and two flower buds glued behind the sentiment.

Then came the bird (minus his legs) sitting on the bottom left edge of the frame. I used liquid glue to fix the tail but placed a Stampin’ Dimensional behind his body to raise it up a little. Then I added my remaining leafy branches and flower buds with liquid glue but only attaching them to the frame. Finally I finished off the front of the card with a large flower attached with a Stampin’ Dimensional.

FINISHING TOUCHES

To complete my project I cut a layer of Very Vanilla Card. In the bottom right corner I stamped the leafy branch, a bud and a small flower with Soft Suede ink. I also stamped the images on the front of a Very Vanilla Medium Envelope. Then I coloured everything to match the flowers and leaves on the front of the card.

Then once I’d fixed the Very Vanilla layer inside the card base with liquid glue I was done.

I love how this project turned out. The texture provided by the embossed vellum and frame layers. The really interesting way the Stampin’ Blends look on the coloured card. But most of all, the sentiment.

For everyone who responded to yesterday’s incident, by putting themselves in harms way to protect our communities, or by offering words of support and comfort afterwards. Thank you. The world certainly needs more of you. x

PRODUCT LIST

BUNDLE BONUS – I bought the Free As A Bird Stamp Set in a bundle with the Stitched Nested Dies. This meant I saved 10% off the cost of buying the two items separately. I’ve included both options in my product list in case you want to explore this further.