Just Believe White Craft Ink & Colored Pencils Card

Today's Lesson From The Craft Room:  Reflect On The Gift Of Your Life

It's amazing how suddenly life can change.  A friend of Michael's was just moved to hospice today (Sunday).  It's hard to even take in.  Just a short time ago, this friend, an amazingly talented artist, was going about his life.  He started to experience some back pain, which was not too odd for him since he had had some trouble with his back before.  Well, a few weeks later, as they tried to figure out what was causing the back pain, they realized that the back pain was just a symptom for a much more serious illness.  Our friend had contracted Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD), a form of transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs).  TSEs are a group of rare degenerative brain disorders characterized by tiny holes that basically give the brain a "spongy" appearance.  I am writing this and still cannot believe what I am writing.  I know that we will all die.  Yet I still find difficulty grappling with the realities of how and when each of us will pass.  I know that in our passing each of us lives on in the hearts of others.  That even when we die, we remain close to those we love.  I just reflect on this story and am reminded of the fragility of each and every moment we have - how precious the gift of our life is - how important it is to live our moments in ways that express love and our unique contribution to this gorgeous planet.  Please, reflect on the gift of your life - you are so precious and you have so much to give.
Today's card was made using a fun coloring technique.  I stamped the Just Believe floral image onto Marina Mist card stock using Whisper White Craft ink.  I then sped up the drying process with my heat tool.  I then colored over the white craft ink using colored pencils.  You can get very vibrant colors using this technique!  I then added a few tiny white dots using my white gel pen.  The greeting, from Vintage Labels (retired), was stamped with Rich Razzleberry and then punched using the small oval punch.  The card base was run through the Big Shot with the Elegant Lines embossing folder to create some fun texture.  I hope you like it!