IC581: Invitation to Smile, and a Special Thank You to Janet

As always, Audrie came up with wonderful inspiration again this week at the SplitcoastStampers Inspiration Challenge! This week's challenge is to find inspiration at the Oh So Beautiful Paper. My card was inspired by this invitation here.

I made three changes to the inspiration piece: smaller panel mounted on a white base, horizontal rather than vertical orientation, and gray sentiment rather than pink. Oh, I also changed the shade of green to a peppier celery rather than serene sage to better suit my sentiment. Otherwise, this is a pretty literal interpretation of the original, and I LOVE IT! Two reasons: 1) it let me use a little-used Hero Arts set in a very satisfying way, and 2) it highlights that wonderful, wonderful sentiment from Simon Says.

And that's all I have to say about that. Play along with the IC581 Challenge if you have time and are so inclined. It's truly a fun one!

Now for the thank you. Reader Janet E. sent me a card that...well, words can't express the depth to which it encouraged me. Seriously. This past week has been one of silence for me on the news, even to the point of not posting here on my stamping blog when I normally would and for no other reason than it just didn't feel right. I didn't even comment on my sister's long and picture-heavy group text on her experience marching in DC on Saturday with my niece and nephew, except to say, "Nice pictures."

I have no idea why, unless I'm just processing and trying VERY HARD not to react, not to put knee-jerk words out there that I might regret later. I'm very aware of how politicians on both sides have been lying and misleading and inciting division and anger and resentment for their own partisan purposes. I've watched in sadness as people react badly to this provocation and blatant manipulation. I'm trying very hard to understand all the perspectives in this so as to generate words that unite, that heal, that lead my small corner of a very big Internet to feel hope and inspiration and a sense of real, honest, deep compassion moving forward. That's my ministry. That's what I feel called to promote.

Because there is hope. There is. For ALL of us. Things are not nearly as bad as the media might lead us to believe, nor are they rosy and good. We have work to do, the work of humanity and not of political divides, the work of justice and not of privilege or bullying, the work of kindness and not of insults, the work of bridge building and not of trench digging.

We can do this.

Janet's card was salve to my silence. The article she included with her beautiful card is a counter-cultural tour-de-force of unity and hope. And I share them with you in hope that you, too, might be inspired.

Beautiful!

Hope and love. You can also see the shimmer
of the ink Janet used. So lovely.

Oh, and when I was at Barnes & Noble today, I saw a volume of Emily Dickinson's poetry, thought of Janet's card, and bought it. Perhaps dipping a little deeper into 19th century poetry might offer some further inspiration. Emily was pretty amazing with words, after all.

Thank you, Janet. Thank you.

Mercy, grace, peace, love, and hope,
Susan

Supplies
stamps: Hero Arts Flower Garden, Simon Says Uplifting Thoughts
ink: various Impress Fresh Ink and Memento Luxe
paper: Papertrey white
accessories: craft foam, glue