The World Needs More Kindness…and A Giveaway!
Several months ago I was sent a Kindness Stamp and Die Set to use in Honey Bee’s promotion for “World Kindness Day.” Having been an avid fan, and shopper in their store, I already owned the set. This will not be a surprise to many of you! Honey Bee encouraged me to save it and use as a giveaway to one of my followers.
The time has come to share this gift with one of you. If you would like to own this Stamp and Die Set please leave a comment below. To be eligible you must ALSO be a subscriber to this blog. The deadline to enter is February 14, at 11:59 pm (CST). I know that many of you subscribe in other ways but I have no way to access that. Sorry. Check back on February 15th to see the winner.
Also, I have included a tutorial to share with you the inspiration behind these four cards and to show you how they were made last November.
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In Japan, when a piece of pottery or a bowl is broken it is often put back together in a process called Kitsugi. The cracks are filled with gold, silver, or platinum that has been mixed with a special lacquer. This practice reflects the Japanese philosophy of wabi-sabi, in which “beauty is seen in the flawed or imperfect.” Rather than seeing the object as broken, and no longer useful, they add to it, making the piece more beautiful, unique, and valuable than the original. In applying this to our human experiences I encourage you to remember that all humans have value. Learn to accept the imperfections in others and to take your negative experiences, repair your hurts, and become the unique and precious person that you were intended to be!
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I wanted to duplicate the rich blue, green, and sometimes pink, glazes found in Japanese pottery. I used my Zig Kuretake Gansi Tambi watercolors on Tim Holtz watercolor paper and set them aside to dry. I think that grey and black backgrounds would also look stunning with this technique.
I cut three pieces of white card cardstock to 2.25” x 3.5”. I placed one piece in the Misti stamping tool and arranged the small sentiments from the Kindness stamp set to fill the paper. When I was happy with the arrangement I prepared the paper with an EK Success Powder Tool. Each were stamped with VersaMark ink. Two were heat embossed using Ranger’s Princess Gold embossing powder and one was embossed using Simon Says Stamp’s Ultra Fine Silver powder.
I cut three more pieces of white cardstock to 3.75” x 2.5”. Each piece was edged with 1/4” doubled sided Scor-Tape. After removing the tape liners I laid Gold Nuvo Gilding Flakes on two and Silver Nuvo Gilding Flakes on one. I pressed them into the tape and brushed away the excess with a soft brush.
To replicate the crack repairs I added jagged glue lines to the painted pieces using a Nuvo glue pen. When the glue has dried you can add the Gilding Flakes. I added gold to the green and pink backgrounds and silver to the blue background. Press the flakes into the glue and use a soft brush to remove the excess. Be sure to save all the excess bits, as they can be used at a later date.
I cut a plethora of the script Kindness Die from white cardstock. And by plethora, I mean fifteen pieces. I made three stacks, of four each, and glued them together. (The three leftover pieces are for the fourth card.) I applied the Nuvo glue pen to the tops of each stack and put them aside to dry. When they were tacky to the touch I added gold flakes to two and silver flakes to one. It was crazy fun trying to keep the little dots (tittles) over the “i” from escaping the confines of my desk, but I prevailed. At this point I had gilded flakes everywhere! The slightest breeze or cough will send them flying. I found it easiest to clean them up with a piece of a Swiffer cloth. I cut the box of cloths into smaller pieces.
The cards were assembled by layering the pieces onto a white card stock base.
As I was working I found myself humming the old Girl Scout song…”Make new friends but keep the old, one is Silver and the other’s Gold.” Do you have that stuck in your head now too? You are welcome!
For the last card I gold embossed the smaller sentiment onto a scrap piece of the watercolored paper, again using VersaMark ink and Ranger’s Princess Gold embossing powder. It was layered onto another small piece that had also been gold embossed. I used the Kindness Die once again to cut the word directly from the watercolored card front. It was then stacked onto the remaining three pieces, glued together, and inlaid back into the card. To help the word stand out from the background I added cast shadows to the right side and bottom of the lettering with a C3 and C5 Copic marker.
Don’t forget to leave a Comment and Subscribe to the blog if you would like a chance to win the “Kindness” stamp and die set.
As always, thanks for joining me on this creative journey. Remember, “No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted.”
Joyfully, Jo Ann
Supplies Used:
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