My card making time has taken a back seat to various activities and drawing new stamp designs, so today I have something a little different to share with you.
One event we've been involved with has been my daughter's participation in a production called Celebration of Hope - a Holocaust remembrance concert, and she performed in the children's opera, Brundibar. I could write pages about how wonderful this experience was for all of us but I will stick to how it pertains to today's project. One message from Brundibar is that of hope (and art) in a horribly dark time. A tradition in theater is exchanging cast gifts, and a bookmark seemed appropriate.
If you are ever going to make a stack of bookmarks, I recommend vinyl bookmark sleeves from Clearbags as shown in today's photos. They will last longer, the vinyl makes them look nicer, the sleeve protects and keeps embellishments in place, and if you want to add a ribbon or twine or tag to the hanging hole, it won't interfere with your bookmark design. We added a gift tag to these with a piece of ribbon.
I began with
cold-pressed watercolor paper, and drew a freehand candle with a
Versamark pen. It's like writing with invisible ink :) . . . But once
you sprinkle the embossing powder on, you can touch up missed spots with
the pen and brush away missteps with a paintbrush.
Once the embossing powder was melted with the heat gun and cooled,
I used Distress Stain dauber bottles to apply the color,
and spritzed on water with a Mini-Mister.
When drying with the heat gun, you can manipulate the water, blowing it
around to create a watercolor layering effect.
The black-embossed sentiment is balanced with a black musical brad.
"Take time to hear life's song with your heart" is from
the Inky Antics "Birdbath & Feeder" set:
The completed artwork was adhered to navy cardstock
using the Perfect Layers Tool. What a terrific time saver this was!
And more importantly, the results were so much better than if
I had eyeballed the position of the watercolor paper on the base.
You would think that out of almost 30 bookmarks, I would have
remembered to photograph the back, right?
I may be able to add a photo later.
For the back, I used the Distress Ink technique with the daubers
of applying various colors to my craft mat, spritzing with water,
and laying down the cardstock, lifting, and then
drying with the heat gun.
This technique gives a pretty speckled effect
as shown in this card:
This is an excellent choice for a technique where you
want something for the background but you don't want it
to be overpowering. If it's a small project or one item,
there are patterned papers like this - but for a larger
quantity, it's fun to just make your own!
For the bookmarks, I then printed memorable lyrics from
the children's "victory song" on the patterned paper,
added a strip of wide washi tape,
... and the keepsake information with
the name of the event, location and date,
with the words:
"Never forget.
Never again."
Pavel Friedman: Friedman was a young poet, who lived in the Theresienstadt Ghetto. Little is know of the author, but he is presumed to have been 17 years old when he wrote “The Butterfly." It was found amongst a hidden cache of children’s work recovered at the end of the Second World War.
He was eventually deported to Auschwitz
where he died on September 29, 1944.
(via www.yadvashem.org)
The last, the very last,
So richly, brightly, dazzlingly yellow.
Perhaps if the sun's tears would sing
against a white stone. . . .
Such, such a yellow
Is carried lightly 'way up high.
It went away I'm sure because it wished to
kiss the world good-bye.
For seven weeks I've lived in here,
Penned up inside this ghetto.
But I have found what I love here.
The dandelions call to me
And the white chestnut branches in the court.
Only I never saw another butterfly.
That butterfly was the last one.
Butterflies don't live in here,
in the ghetto.
I may be able to add a photo later.
For the back, I used the Distress Ink technique with the daubers
of applying various colors to my craft mat, spritzing with water,
and laying down the cardstock, lifting, and then
drying with the heat gun.
This technique gives a pretty speckled effect
as shown in this card:
This is an excellent choice for a technique where you
want something for the background but you don't want it
to be overpowering. If it's a small project or one item,
there are patterned papers like this - but for a larger
quantity, it's fun to just make your own!
For the bookmarks, I then printed memorable lyrics from
the children's "victory song" on the patterned paper,
added a strip of wide washi tape,
the name of the event, location and date,
with the words:
"Never forget.
Never again."
Pavel Friedman: Friedman was a young poet, who lived in the Theresienstadt Ghetto. Little is know of the author, but he is presumed to have been 17 years old when he wrote “The Butterfly." It was found amongst a hidden cache of children’s work recovered at the end of the Second World War.
He was eventually deported to Auschwitz
where he died on September 29, 1944.
The Butterfly / Pavel Friedman
(via www.yadvashem.org)
The last, the very last,
So richly, brightly, dazzlingly yellow.
Perhaps if the sun's tears would sing
against a white stone. . . .
Such, such a yellow
Is carried lightly 'way up high.
It went away I'm sure because it wished to
kiss the world good-bye.
For seven weeks I've lived in here,
Penned up inside this ghetto.
But I have found what I love here.
The dandelions call to me
And the white chestnut branches in the court.
Only I never saw another butterfly.
That butterfly was the last one.
Butterflies don't live in here,
in the ghetto.
Hope you are safe and dry in your little corner of the world tonight. We have had rain and flooding, wind and power outages. . . a wild weather spring.
Be careful out there. . . and remember to "take time to hear life's song with your heart."
Be careful out there. . . and remember to "take time to hear life's song with your heart."
