Let's Encourage Each Other (Encouragement Hop)

I think I have mentioned this before, but I'll say it again... Crafters are cool!  I love how so many talented people love to share their ideas and expertise, encourage and teach each other, and mentor other crafters.  Not long ago, I discovered three wonderful ladies that truly enjoy doing just that...

Mary Polanco
Courtney Kreeber
Jenn of Scrabena Creations

Recently these ladies, gathered and did a live stream for all of us "novice YouTuber crafters" and came up with a wonderful idea---an Encouragement Hop!  It's a chance for us all to stand up tall and proud and display our works---no matter what our skill level, and feel like a "superstar" crafter.  So hop on along with us.  Check out some wonderful crafters and spread some encouragement!

Next along the hop is Dawn Marie Manning https://youtu.be/RoKctShq25M. 

So along the lines of encouragement, my friend's son recently joined the Air Force and is now at boot camp.  So I created this card to lift him up and, hopefully, bring a smile to his face.

I don't have very many stamp sets or stencils so I use my Cricut Maker to make die cuts, background/stencils, and titles/sentiments.  Because I have no limitations, with my cutter, I can truly create one-of-a-kind papercrafts.  That's a good thing and a bad thing.  Sometimes, I'll spend hours making tiny tweaks to my designs.

On this card, I used my Cricut to create all the text, the star, and a ray stencil for my background.  After everything was cut out, I used the ray stencil and my Distress Oxide inks to blend my background on my card front.  For my "Nothing" title, I stacked 3 sets to give it some dimension.  Next, I glued my sentiments in place (checking for placement for my star).  Lastly, I attached the star to an Action wobble and attached the the card front.

After allowing all the glue to dry, I attached the card front to a standard card base.  I stamped a few stars on the envelope and inside the card to tie it all together.  Finally, my son and I wrote a personal note inside and popped it in the mail.

Supplies:

Recollections black cardstock (Michaels)

Georgia Pacific White cardstock (Walmart)

Strathmore Bristol smooth watercolor cardstock (card front for coloring)

Mirrored cardstock

Neenah Classic Crest Solar White 110lb cardstock (for my card base)

Ranger Distress Oxide Squeezed Lemonade

Ranger Distress Oxide Worn Lipstick

Action Wobble Spring

Unknown Jewel Dots

Art Glitter Glue 

Hints:

Be very careful with any type of mirrored cardstock/products.  They tend to "stain" if any glue gets on it--even if you wipe off the glue while wet.