For My Family, For Puerto Rico

Hi everyone! Today’s post is one that’s very personal and dear to me. I really wanted to do something to cheer my family who’s going through a bit of a hard time.

As many may know, on September 20, 2017, hurricane Maria (Category 4) struck Puerto Rico causing catastrophic damage and leaving millions without electricity or communication. Many of my family members (grandma, aunts, uncle, and cousins) live on the island and were impacted by the hurricane. While none of them lost their homes (thankfully), they have been dealing with the after math and having some tough times.

I decided to send my family a care package and include inside a few cards to cheer them up. I really wanted these cards to be special, so I decided that I wanted the cards to represent Puerto Rico and I used the Puerto Rico flag as my inspiration.

Card #1:

The first card I made was completely out of my comfort zone. I got this crazy idea in my head that I could color the Puerto Rico flag inside a flower. Now by no means am I an expert in coloring and I just recently started to learn how to use alcohol markers. So I went for it and I am so glad I did!!! The results were just beautiful!

To make this card I followed the steps below:

1. Stamped the star that comes in the Ready for Christmas Stampin Up stamp set and the floral image from the Birthday Blooms Stampin Up Stamp set (one of my favorite images!) using Memento Tuxedo Black ink.
2. Colored the floral image using Spectrum Noir alcohol markers. Blues: TB2, TB3, TB5, TB6. Reds: CR8, CR10, CR11, DR7. Grey: BG1, BG2, BG4. I used a white gel pen on the stamens of the flower.
3. For the background piece, I created a pattern by stamping repeatedly two sentiments from the Text Ya Later Stampin Up Stamp set using VersaMark ink and white heat embossing it with WOW! Super fine white powder.
4. For the main sentiment, I wanted it to be in Spanish. Given I don’t have any Spanish sentiments, I decided to creat my own using the alphabet dies from recollections (got this at my local Michaels store). For this card, I wanted it to say “Ten Fe” which means “Have Faith”. I cut each letter 4 times (3 times in black cardstock and 1 time on white shimmery cardstock). I layered each letter on top of each other, gluing on top the white shimmery letter.
5. To finish the card, I cut a border on my main image and some black cardstock using My Favorite Things Stitched Basic Edges. Then glued it all together and added some clear wink of Stella to the flower.

Card #2:

After making the first card, it gave me the confidence to make a second card with a similar concept, but a different flower arrangement. I followed some of the same steps as card #1 and once again I was very happy with the end result!

To make this card I followed the steps below:

1. Stamped the star that comes in the Ready for Christmas Stampin Up stamp set, two of the small floral images from the Birthday Blooms Stampin Up Stamp set, and the large daisy and leaves from Gina K’s Daisy Delight Stamp set using Memento Tuxedo Black ink.
2. Colored the floral image using Spectrum Noir alcohol markers. Blues: TB2, TB3, TB5, TB6. Reds: CR8, CR10, CR11, DR7. Grey: BG1, BG2, BG4. I used a white gel pen on the stamens of the flowers.
3. For the main sentiment, I followed the same step as step #4 on Card #1. The only difference is that I cut all the letter pieces in white and then added clear wink of Stella to the top letter. Also For this card, I wanted it to say “Con Amor” which means “With Love.”

Card #3:

I wanted to do something different for this last card. I wanted the Puerto Rico flag to be kind of in the background but not look just like a flag but something blooming (hard to explain my imagination sometimes 😀 !!!). I also wanted to use the phrase “Se Levanta” which means “Will Rise”. This is a phrase that has become an important slogan and an inspiration for Puerto Ricans including my family as they rebuild their lives and the island.

To make this card I followed the steps below:

1. Using the Hero Arts Large Flower Stencil, I colored the Puerto Rico flag using the sponging technique. I used Stampin Up inks Real Red and Pacific Point for the triangle and red stripes.
2. Same as step #4 on Card #1, to make the sentiment I used the Recollections alphabet dies to cut the letters for the phrase “Se Levanta” which means “Will Rise”. Cut all the pieces in white cardstock and added clear wink of Stella to the top layer.
3. Now for the flowers – Puerto Rico’s state flower is a type of Hibiscus which is usually red (sometimes pink) with a yellow center. So I remember Hero Arts had a Hibiscus Layering Stamp set, and I immediately got it. For the large Hibiscus I used the following inks: Hero Art Soft Pink, Bubble Gum, Red Royal and Stampin Up Berry Burst for the center. For the small flower I used the following inks: Gina K Peach Bellini, Stampin Up Real Red and Riding Hood Red, for the center used Stampin Up Crushed Curry. After all the stamping, I fuzzy cut the flowers.
4. For the leaves, I used the leaves that come in the Stampin Up Stylish Stems Framelits. I cut the leaves on white cardstock and colored them using Copic Markers YG 11, YG 13, and YG17.

Through this project, I learned that both imagination and inspiration can push you to create things that you might not have though possible. This was a very special project to me and I am extremely happy with the results and cannot wait for my family to get these cards.

Thanks,

Yami