Children of war

I visited my sister mid March and the train journey offered a glimpse of the ongoing refuge stream from Ukraine. People on the way to safety, each carrying the weight of the world while their actual world is falling apart. 

A woman with kids and an elderly grandma in tow, navigating Europe with a piece of paper with a single word written on it: the name of foreign city. Is it a stopover or a permanent home with friends/relatives who already live here? Who knows.

Babies crying from hunger and exhaustion on a train station as their mothers are trying to find an info point after being on the road for who knows how long. 

A family with several kids, all well behaved and quiet for hours as the train takes them further and further away from everything they've ever known. 

A woman with kids, each carrying their life in a small backpack, looking for a way to continue their journey despite the language barrier. Where are they going to and what have they left behind? Who knows.

Months have passed and the headlines have changed, but I can't help feeling more and more appalled by the evil that is being unleashed on Ukrainian soil. We might go on with our lives, but innocent people are still being terrorized on a daily basis. While we know of hundreds of children who have been killed and injured, we seem to forget that every Ukrainian child has been affected by this war in one way or another: by losing friends and/or family members, having teir schools and playgrounds bombed, spending nights in bomb shelters, feeling the insecurity of the adults without understanding what is going on, leaving their homes behind, ending up in a strange place surrounded by strange people. It doesn't take a physical injury to be injured, and I'm afraid the wounds of Ukrainian children will take decades to heal.

To make at least one child feel welcome and safe, I wrapped up a care package. Next to everyday items I included a "Welcome" card and a few girly things since the box would be sent to a girl. Not knowing any details of the child (age, interests), I tried to make a card as fitting as possible for anyone. First, I picked this wonderful polka dot background paper. It might be very blue for a girl, but I think it's a fun one nevertheless, and besides that there's no reason why blue should be attributed exclusively to boys. 

Once I finished the background, I started wotking on the main motif. I thought about using a digi, a picture, or a "Welcome" sentiment, but I went with butterfly stickers in the end. I like how they're made in 3D which gives the card a bit of a depth. They do add more blue to the card, but there's also a bit of shimmer, and I figured a bunch of butterflies would be a nice gift to a child who ends up in a strange country far away from home. I placed the stickers onto a plain white cardboard and that was about it.

As I tried to reflect Ukrainian colours on my creation, I decided to add more yellow in form of a light yellow card board which enhances the butterflies. Once I placed the motif on 3D pads, the card was done. There's no sentiment because I thought I'd let the butterflies shine without any additional embellishments.

challenges:

- krafty chicks: all occasions

- 613 avenue create: ATG  

- allsorts challengeblog: butterflies/bugs

- craft-alnica: for a young lady

- craftyhazelnutspatternedpaper

- creative moments: ATG with optional twist "cute"

- cutie pie challengeblog: little cuties

- fabnfunky: ATG

- intaas: happiness

- love to craft: ATG 

- pennys papertake: ATG

- through the craftroom door: ATG

- vesela hiska: summer
- wortartwednesday: ATG
- worldwide open design team challenge: ATG