Hello my crafty friend! As promised, I’m back with a very special pair of light-up cards. You may be aware that May is Mental Health Awareness month. Today, I’m participating in an Instagram hop where the designers are hoping to shed light on the topic, and help decrease the stigma associated with mental illness. Each stop in the hop also features beautiful cards, meant to uplift each other. I designed a pair of similar cards, one for Mother’s Day, and the other to send to a friend who has been having a rough time lately. The sentiment on both is the same…with love.
Here’s a quick look at both cards…
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I’ve been trying to figure out a way to incorporate EZ-Lights with a floral design, but light-up flowers just didn’t seem to make sense – until now! Spellbinders has some beautiful new stained glass die sets, and when I saw them, the lightbulb went on (pun intended)! You can check out the whole collection here.
To create the stained glass portions of the cards, I die cut the intricate frames and flowers from the Sweet Rondure set from grey cardstock. I cut the solid pieces from vellum. To give the vellum a stained glass look, I colored the pieces with Copic markers (2-3 color blends), adding dots for texture. Before gluing the layers together, I die cut the solid florals from the center of the intricate background piece (only the grey piece, not the vellum). That way, the grey lines of the background wouldn’t show behind the roses. Next, I glued the solid pieces to the intricate ones, inlaying the flowers on top of the background.
To create the front panel of each card, I use the large solid background die to cut a hole in a 4¾” kraft square. After inlaying the rose panel, and taping it in place from the back with Scotch tape, I die cut a sentiment from the panel, and again from grey cardstock. More Scotch tape helped to secure the grey sentiment inlay, and I was careful to replace any small pieces inside the letters.
After that, I stamped PUSH HERE on the panels with grey ink, and set them aside while I prepped the card bases. I matted 4½” white panels onto 5″ square kraft card bases. (I wanted a white base under the vellum for a brighter look.) Next, I taped EZ-Lights to the white panels, lining the buttons up under the stamped PUSH HERE, and the lights under the flowers. (It’s really easy, there is nothing complicated with the lights; you just tape them in place and cover them up.) After running double thick foam tape around the edges of the stained glass panels, I attached them to the card bases.
That’s it, they’re done! Here is a closer look…
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Which do you like better, the red, or the orange? I thought for sure I’d love the red more, but I think the orange is my favorite.
If you’d like more information on EZ-Lights, check this out. You can also find a ton of process videos on my YouTube channel.
I hope I’ve inspired you to create an uplifting card to share with a friend or loved one. It doesn’t have to have lights inside to light up someone’s day.
Don’t forget to hop along with us. The hop is on Instagram, but don’t worry if you don’t have an account, you don’t need one. Just click the links below to see each post. If you’d like to share inspiration, or your mental health journey use the hashtag #NotAlone so that we can all support and encourage you!
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@pearblossompress – that’s me
@itsacardknocklife – next stop
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If you, or someone you know needs help, resources and support are available.
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In the USA, reach out to:
National Alliance Mental Illness
National Institute of Mental Health
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In the UK, reach out to:
Mental Health Charities/Support
Mind
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Thanks so much for stopping by today. I’ll be back soon with more inspirational cards to share.
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