So this month’s Lawn Fawnatics theme is ‘Little Things’ and it really got me thinking about how much the little things can mean when you have a chronic illness, so as another school year ends I created these little thank you cards for my daughters to give to their teachers.
More details on how I created them and my take on being thankful for the little things below.
I chose some Distress Oxide colours that I thought would make an interesting pairing, (all colours listed below) and started by blending them out in a roughly circular motion. I knew that I was going to die cut a stitched star to make my card base, so I made sure that each area would be big enough for the die I wanted to use.
I knew that doing it this way with die cutting after blending would leave me with some wastage but I didn’t want the harsher edges that I would have gotten had I tried to blend onto a die cut. Plus, I saved my scraps and I will use them at some point, so it’s not really wasting any ink.
Before the ink dried I sprayed some water across using a Distress Sprayer so that I could achieve a random spread of both small and larger water droplets. After a couple of seconds I laid a piece of kitchen towel over to lift any remaining water, don’t wipe or you could smear water across your piece and you will lose these clear droplet marks. The Oxide ink reacts with the water creating those almost milky white marks, I just love the effect.
I stamped out images from Lawn Fawn’s ‘A Little Sparkle’ set using Memento Tuxedo Black ink, which is alcohol ink safe, and once these were dry I coloured them in using my Winsor & Newton Pro Markers. I filled in the wings and unicorn’s horn with Wink of Stella glitter brush pen
To give the wands an extra touch of magic I embossed them with WOW! extra fine Platinum embossing powder.
I used the matching dies to cut all of my images out which helps SO much when my hands don’t want to work properly; I’d never be able to fussy cut those tiny pieces with scissors.
I just love the scripty word borders from Lawn Fawn; they are beautifully dainty and the ends can be cut to change the look depending on the size of your card.
Silver card adds an extra touch of sparkle, but it is quite thick which isn’t easy to cut with such a thin die, so I did have to use my precision base plate to give it some extra oomph.
I loved making these little cards, but they took me quite a while to finish because I had a flare up that stopped me from being able to craft at all for about a week. It’s hard to deal with when a flare up means I can’t do what I want to, whether it’s missing time with my family because I’m in too much pain to move from my bed, or messing up the picture I’m working on because my hands stop doing what I want them to.
That’s why I think it’s so important to be proud of the ‘little things’ when you suddenly develop a chronic illness. You have to stop comparing what you used to be able to do with what you can do now, or what you could manage yesterday but you can’t today. When you go down that path you become your own worst enemy, drowning in negativity won’t help. I don’t always practice what I preach, but I try; and as long as I’m trying then I am still battling on.
These cards took me 4 sessions to finish, I ink blended the card fronts and cut out the stars in one session but I was too tired to do anymore. I did all of the stamping in the next session and managed to colour one set but my hands began jerking and I accidentally drew a thick red line across my Unicorn’s face so that was me done for the day! Another session of colouring and I had enough images for the amount of cards I needed to make but I needed my wonderful hubby’s help to die cut them all because I’ve got a manual machine and I can’t turn the handle that many times, even on a good day. that was as far as I got before the flare up set in, so I assembled them all over a week after finishing the individual elements. (This is why I try to start any projects with a deadline, like these cards that needed to be done before school finished, WAY before they need to be ready!)
That second session when I accidentally wrecked my unicorn I came so close to giving up and sending my Hubby to Card Factory, but I kept going and I did a little bit each time I felt well enough. Over time, those ‘little things’ added up to make a whole that I am so proud of, and I think that’s the important takeaway.
So I think it’s a logic that I need to apply to other areas of my life too because every little thing I manage to do is another victory.
I post about the art & craft that I create, along with my thoughts and feelings on living with a chronic illness, and I’d love it if you stuck around and subscribed!
Either way, thanks for dropping by!
T.
Supplies Used:
- Distress Oxide Pads (Blueprint Sketch, Salty Ocean, Peacock Feathers, Twisted Citron, Lucky Clover, Spun Sugar, Worn Lipstick, Shaded Lilac, Wilted Lilac, Candied Apple, Fired Brick)
- Blending Brushes – Unbranded from Amazon
- Neenah Solar White cardstock
- Lawn Fawn ‘A Little Sparkle’ stamp set and co-ordinating die set.
- Lawn Fawn ‘Scripty Thank You’ die
- Sizzix Big Shot die cutting machine
- Sizzix Precision Base Plate
- Stitched star die – Unbranded from Ali Express
- EK Success Craft Tweezers
- Winsor & Newton Promarkers/Brushmarkers (R576, O177, Y367, G178, B637, B944, V735, M727, O729. O819, O518, O837, O427, CG1, CG2, CG4)
- Wink of Stella (Clear)
- WOW! Platinum superfine embossing powders.
- Sequins – Unbranded from Ebay
- Holo mini hearts – Hobbycraft
- Ranger Multi Matte Medium
Your cards are beautiful! I can relate to the problems fussy cutting and turning a manual die-cutter, some days I’m fine and some days I can barely type, much less do a fine motor task. I’m saving for a Scan N’ Cut to make my crafting easier. And to avoid owning thousands of dies ? Good luck to you on your crafty journey!
Thank you! I think I’m going to save up for an electric one, like a Gemini Junior.
Good luck on yours too ?
Beautiful cards!! I can’t imagine how hard is living with chronic illness. I really admire your positive attitude and I agree with you that we should pay attention to our little achievements and feel proud of them.
Thank you very much! That has made me smile so big!! ? T.
These are just beautiful
Thank you so much!! ?
super LOVE the rainbow unicorns and little fairies!! eeee!!! LOVE these!! Thank you SO much for playing along with the Lawn Fawnatics Challenge! ?
Thank you! They were super fun to make! And I enjoyed my first time playing along with the Lawn Fawnatics Challenge ? ?????