A Bit Of Kindness - Share Handmade Kindness Challenge
Hi everyone! As you may or may not know, I've been playing along with Jennifer McGuire's Share Handmade Kindness Challenge that she is hosting in the month of November. I love that she is encouraging all of us to share what we make with others. You can learn more about the Share Handmade Kindness Challenge by clicking HERE. Every week, Jennifer is challenging us to share handmade kindness (through cards, baked goods...whatever it is you do) with different people. This week's challenge is all about sharing handmade kindness with people who work in our communities. This could be teachers, police, firemen, nurses, doctors, mail carriers....you get the idea. I decided to play along this week by creating cards for my fellow nurses.
I knew I wanted to include a heart on my card (because nurses really are the heart of healthcare) and I knew I wanted to include an EKG form with some foiling. Since I don't have mad computer design skills, I Googled "EKG clip art" and used an image I found online. You can see the image I used by clicking here.
I downloaded this free clip art and printed several of the images on some Neenah Solar White cardstock using my laser printer. The laser printer is an important factor in using the Heidi Swapp Minc for foiling. The toner is what binds the foil to the paper...so an inkjet printer won't work for this. If you don't have access to a laser printer at home, you can take your image to a copy center and have it printed there.
Once I had cut the EKG images with a stitched circle die, it was time to add some foil using my Heidi Swapp Minc Mini. I opted to use SILVER this time. I know! Crazy huh? I thought I would give you guys a tiny little break from the gold (but not for long). I used the DecoFoil silver transfer foil and my Minc to add foil to my printed images. These just shine! I'll show you exactly how I did this in the video tutorial below. You can see another project I created with the Minc Mini by clicking HERE.
I cut several heart from Smooth Bristol card stock. I used the Smooth Bristol because I find it easier to blend on this particular card stock using Distress Inks. I used my mini ink blending tool and three colors of Distress Ink (Worn Lipstick, Spun Sugar and Festive Berries) to create an ombre effect on the hearts.
For the sentiment on today's cards, I'm using two stamps from the Acts of Kindness stamp set from Hero Arts. This stamp set is full of beautiful sentiments, all about kindness. And what makes it even more awesome is that Hero Arts is donating 25% of the profits from the sales of this stamp set to The Kind Campaign. The Kind Campaign is an organization dedicated to ending bullying in schools.
I heat embossed a couple of the sentiments on some vellum using ultra fine embossing powder. I chose a couple of the sentiments. One might be more appropriate to thank a nurse for caring for you or your loved one. I thought the "a bit of kindness to brighten your day" sentiment was perfect for sharing with my coworkers. The fonts in these sentiments just make my heart sing! And I love that I can use this stamp set year round!
To adhere my hearts to my card front, I used Action Wobble Springs. I love the interactive element that these add to cards. I also thought it would kind of make it look like the heart on my card was beating! I had to cut them down quite a bit to make them fit on the back of my hearts, so I added a little Multi Medium to make sure they were good and stuck to my cards.
I chose to keep the color palate really soft for this card. I used Fog card stock from Simon Says Stamp for my card base. I love the way the pink, gray and silver play together. I used the Diagonal Lines background stamp to add a little bit of texture and interest to the card base. I stamped it using the coordinating Simon Says Stamp Fog ink to keep a monochromatic look. This simple step really made all the difference in the world.
To finish the card off, I added some Sparkling Clear sequins from Pretty Pink Posh. These added just the right amount of sparkle to the card without taking away from the beautiful, soft color palate. I love the way that these Sparkling Clear sequins really go with anything.
I realize that not all of you have the tools for foiling, so I wanted to create another version of this card that anyone could make. I used the same printed EKG clip art for this card. Instead of foiling it, I left it black.
To tie in the black from the heart beat clip art, I stamped my sentiment directly on to the printed and die cut circle. I also tied in the black again with some patterned paper along the side of the card.
To add some sparkle and shine to this card, I chose to add a little strip of gold metallic card stock to the card front. You know I can't stay away from gold for too long! This card stock is an easy way to add foiled elements to the front of your cards if you don't have the tools for foiling. And for a little more shimmer, I finished this card off with some Sparkling Clear sequins as well.
I'll walk you through both of these cards in the video tutorial below. I've also linked all the supplies used in these projects below.
I made several of these cards. They're perfect for sharing with my coworkers on a busy day. They'd also make a lovely stationery set for your favorite nurse! Or share it with a doctor who has really touched your life.
I hope that this has inspired you to create something for someone in your community. You could use this same idea and change the images for a special teacher, fireman, or police. Or you could use this design and share a little kindness with some nurses at a hospital in your community. I also really hope you'll check out Jennifer's Share Handmade Kindness Challenge, because after all, the world could use just a little more kindness. It's something easy that you and I can do to make the world a little brighter!
Don't forget to check out my Share Handmade Kindness Giveaway post too!
Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you'll come back soon. Until next time, I hope you have a fabulous day!
Supplies
*affiliate links used*
