Want To Join Us In Supporting Ukraine?

Check out several ways that you too can support Ukraine including making cards that bring sunshine and hope.

One of the wonderful things about the cardmaking community is that we all have one thing in common, we love to make beautiful cards. But there is something else that is so special about this crafty group and that is the unconditional love and kindness that they bring!

As the situation in Ukraine continues to get more scary there is a crazy outpouring of support and caring for the country and its people. The unconditional love and compassion from people in our crafty group are mind-boggling. And I’m going to share a few examples that I think will touch you too.

Yana From Ukraine

During this crisis, I have come to love an incredible woman that I don’t even know.

Her name is Yana Smakula.

She is an extremely talented cardmaker. But even though I am impressed with her creativity, it’s not her card making that has drawn me to her. But rather it’s the way she approaches life in the midst of this crisis. You see, Yana lives in Ukraine.

You would never know that her country is at war by her blog, https://www.yanasmakula.com/. She is continuing to publish articles and share her beautiful cards. The only sign of the war is a section she has on how to provide support to her country.

She has listed a number of different ways that you can help to support Ukraine. You can access it here if you are looking for a way to help: https://www.yanasmakula.com/support-ukraine/.

More Ukraine Support

There are many other amazing cardmakers who are also doing a lot to support. And, a lot of the card-making suppliers are helping too.

My hero, Jennifer McGuire has listed many of them on her blog. She has listed twenty-two companies that are supporting the Ukrain in various ways. Rather than copying another version of her list here, you can just access her site here: https://www.jennifermcguireink.com/ukraine-relief.

Jennifer is also encouraging all of us to make cards for Ukraine and suggests that we post them on social media using #cardsforUkraine. There are some fantastic cards that have been created that are sure to bring light and hope and maybe even some peace to people who really need it right now.

Delivering Sunshine With A Card For Ukraine

I too am trying to do my part to help. Firstly to point you to these great ways to help. But also I want to share the card that I’ve made in support of Ukraine.

Ukraine’s national colors and the colors of its flag are blue and gold. To represent Ukraine’s colors in my card, I use a beautiful deep blue sky. And then we have a big beautiful sun over a field of Ukraine’s national flower, the sunflower, for the gold.

I hope that you will do something to support Ukraine too. The step-by-step instructions and a list of supply links follow here if you would like to do so by making a card like this one.

Masking and Ink Blending

To begin we will blend the sun and sky onto a white A2 size card panel. To do so, we’ll want to mask off where our layered stamped image will be. An easy way to determine where to put our mask is to make a light pencil mark on each side of our card panel using the stamp for the first layer as a guide.

Next, we’ll string a piece of masking paper using the marks we made to know where to place it. Post-it tape or mint tape is great for this purpose.

Once our mask is in place, then we can begin to add the sun. We’ll do this by loading our brush with yellow ink and blending it onto the card panel in the lower right-hand corner just above the mask. Working in a circular motion we’ll make the sun quite dark and then begin to fade the yellow as we move away from the sun.

Next, we’ll add blue. I like to add it in a splotchy manner leaving some places without color. This gives the illusion of clouds in the sky.

Then we can remove our mask when we’re done with all of the blending.

Stamping and Assembly

The stamp set that we’re using is beautiful. And it has five layers. We’ll begin by using our lightest shade of green with the first layer. And we’re going to stamp that at the bottom of our card panel. We’ll use the darker green for the second layer, yellow for the third layer, brown for the fourth, and black for the last one.

We’ll also use black for the sentiment and the tiny birds from the same stamp set.

Assembly is a snap. We just center the card panel on a white card base using a glue runner.

Supplies

The following list does not contain affiliate links. It just provides you with a convenient way to find the supplies needed to make this card. Thank you for doing your part in helping Ukraine!

• Cardstock: Card base – Neenah Classic Crest 110lb Solar White; Card panel – Neenah Classic rest 80lb Solar White.
• Stamp: Hero Arts Sunflower Field Heroscape
• Ink: Altenew Crisp Dye Ink – Frayed Leaf, Forest Glades, Warm Sunshine, Jet Black, Caribbean Sea, Paper Bag
• Masking Tape: Post-It or Mint Tape
• Adhesive: Gina K Designs Dot Adhesive Runner