Many Thanks

There are many things I do in life that I don't ever expect any gratitude or recognition for, my motivation is not in those things. So I'm not saying if you don't get the gratitude it isn't worth doing. What I am saying is, "if I can make someone feel special, isn't it worth the little bit of effort it takes to say thank you?" I fail at this miserably most days. But I had a wonderful experience a couple of weeks ago and really felt urged to make the effort.

We hosted a women's conference at our church a few weekends ago. It was overwhelming to see women turn out to say, "How can I help?" And honestly events like the conference would never be possible if it wasn't for people stepping up and giving their time. Not everyone can be just a spectator. We are such a society of expecting people to be there for us, but what if no one was ever there, what would that look like? No one to ask for a recommendation on restaurants, no one to help us when we have lost our way, no one who was willing to serve. I hope this series of Thank You cards will 

1. Remind you to be thankful when someone helps you, even in a small way. We are quick to be critical but someone's effort is more than others lack of stepping up to be available.
2. Encourage you to serve others because it is a big deal to give your time to those who need it.
3. Be creative and have fun when creating.
4. Learn from other's mistakes when creating.

They have been a wonderful encouragement to me, as they have been to you. You must show your appreciation to all who serve so well.

1 Corinthians 16:18 NLT

Now you know why I made these cards so lets get into the creating process. I wanted the cards to be inspired by the conference. It was a queen theme with lots of glitz and glam and that is what I tried to pull off using colors that resembled precious metals. 

The stage for the conference was decorated with these gorgeous beads that formed a curtain. I automatically thought of Charming Cascades that had a descending dot background stamp. And don't forget in March when you buy 2 stamps from CTMH you get 1 FREE!!  I used the Galaxy Gold ink by Tsukineko Brilliance to show a little glam, but I was disappointed that it didn't show as much of a metallic look like what I was expecting. So I added gold sequins by CTMH to try to bring that look back in. I also used Hero Arts Ombre Lilac to Grape purple ink pad for the Thank You sentiment. I love this ink pad!! The colors matched perfectly with what was used in the conference. You do have to more the stamps a little back and forth on the pad when inking so you don't have a line mark when you stamp. The Thank You sentiment is from the set For Every Occasion by CTMH which is retired but they have plenty of other Thank You sentiments to choose from just head over to my website www.tamra.ctmh.com.

I used the same stamps on this card but I wanted to experiment with different embossing powders. I used WOW Midas Touch Embossing Glitter.  I would not recommend this embossing glitter. As you can see the top left did not look like it had any embossing powder, the problem is that the glitter keeps the powder from adhering to the glue. When you turn on your heating tool to melt the powder it blows off the glitter. Myself and my craft room were completely shimmery by the time I finished making these cards. Also the color was more on the pewter side than the golden color that is seen online. I added silver sequins with bitty sparkles from CTMH.

Hoping that something with more of a shimmer than chunks of glitter would have a different result I tried Ranger Bridal Tinsel, and it turned out great!! Of course it doesn't stand out against the card base but it left a beautiful shimmer. I added different sized sparkles to add a little dimension and pop to the card.

D1668-Chaming Cascades