Hello Friends. I think I’m speaking for everyone when I say we have watched with horror over the last five days as the country of Ukraine has come under attack. One of our very own, Yana Smakula lives in Ukraine and thankfully so far is okay, but very scared. Yana, has always inspired me with her kindness and creativity. I think I have watched most of her Youtube videos as I am never disappointed with her craftiness. But, what I am most inspired by is her courage, her sense of country, and loyalty. It is hard to imagine this wonderful person going from making stunning cards to making Molotov Cocktails in a matter of days. My thoughts and prayers are with Yana, her family, and the people of Ukraine. As a cardmaking community we are making cards in support of Ukraine by using their colors Blue and Yellow and tagging them on all social media platforms as #cardsforukraine Please don’t get this confused with sending cards to the country. Honestly, I’m not sure that would even be an option in the midst of a war. I have never navigated those waters, and hope I never have to. If I do, I hope to face it with the same character as Yana. In honor of my cardmaking hero, I made a card using her newest release from Spellbinders Paper Arts called Yana’s Blooms.
To create this card I used a couple of Hot Foil Plates/Dies from her collection. I started out by hot foiling the hexagon from the Geo Foliage set using Matte Gold Glimmer Foil. Next I foiled the Magnolia Glimmer Blooms and cut it using the accompanying die. I did all of my foiling and die cutting before coloring the blooms with Copics. Finally I used the beautiful “thanks” die from the Yana’s Layered Script Sentiments die which comes with a thin word layer and shadow die. If you are interested there is a hot foil plate called, Splattered Sentiments which has the same font as well as other images. Anyhow I splattered the focal panel with gold acrylic paint and then matted it in a brushed gold cardstock before adhering it to the cardbase.
If you are interested in helping Ukraine you can read Yana’s blog post HERE! Also I’m listing from her blog, places that you can support Ukraine efforts below. I have no affiliation with these organizations and can’t personally give a recommendation one way or the other. Ukranian Armed Forces Fund
To donate in USD:
SWIFT Code NBU: NBUA UA UX
JP MORGAN CHASE BANK, New York
SWIFT Code: CHASUS33
Account: 400807238
383 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10179, USA
IBAN UA843000010000000047330992708
To donate in GBP:
SWIFT Code NBU: NBUA UA UX
Bank of England, London
SWIFT Code: BKENGB2L
Account: 40000982
Threadneedle Street, London EC2R 8AH, UK
IBAN UA843000010000000047330992708
To donate in EUR:
SWIFT Code NBU: NBUA UA UX
DEUTSCHE BUNDESBANK, Frankfurt
SWIFT Code: MARKDEFF
Account: 5040040066
IBAN DE05504000005040040066
Wilhelm-Epsteinn-Strabe 14, 60431 Frankfurt Am Main,Germany
IBAN UA843000010000000047330992708
Just a small disclaimer! All items used in all of my projects are (or have been) purchased with my own funds, but this does not include design team items that I have received or otherwise stated.
Stay safe everyone. Hug your loved ones, and say a prayer.
Until next time… keep crafting!!!
