31 July, 2022

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
creative moments: ATG with optional twist "cute"
cutie pie challengeblog: little cuties
fabnfunky: ATG
intaas: happiness
love to craft: ATG 

18 comments:

  1. Such a pretty Butterfly card and perfect for our theme at Allsorts this week, many thanks for joining us.

    B x

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  3. Beautiful card and butterflies-really pretty
    Carol x

    Thank you for joining us at TTCRD
    Carol DT x

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  4. Lovely card. The butterflies are delightful and I'm sure they will make someone smile. Thanks for sharing at 613 Avenue Create's July, "Anything Goes with a Twist/Black and White" Challenge.

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  5. A beautiful and thoughtful gift from you for some young female and the card is very pretty. Thank you for joining us at INTAAS and thank you for writing such a thought provoking post. Hazel x

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  6. Tudi ta voščilnica je prekrasna. Obožujem metuljčke. Hvala, da se še enkrat igraš z nami v Veseli hiški. Valerija DT

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  7. Nič ni če je toliko modre, se strinjam , da so lahko modri odtenki tudi za dreklico. Metuljčki naredijo voščilnico tako nežno igrivo. Zelo lepa gesta.
    Lepo, da si jo prinesla v galerijo Vesele hiške. pozdrav Janja DT

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  8. Hvala za navdih - ustvarjalni ter navdih, ki se dotakne duše v zavedanju, da nismo sami ...
    V Veseli hiški smo zelo vesele, da sodeluješ z nami, prosimo le, da med vsem svojimi umetnijami izbereš le tri mesečno, saj jih več ne moremo upoštevati pri žrebu in TOP 3. Med občudovanjem vseh tvojih se je res tako zelo težko odločiti ...
    Prijazen pozdravček, Majda

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  9. WOW such a beautiful card. What a great card and I am sure it will bring a small bit of joy to the recipient. Thank you for sharing with us over at World Wide Open Design Team Challenge.
    Barbara DT

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  10. Know that the act of kindness will be greatly valued. Your card is beautiful. Thank you for joining the Butterfly/Bugs challenge at Allsorts.

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  11. Fabulous and beautiful card. Thank you for sharing at Allsorts.

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  12. Very cute card! Thanks for joining us at Krafty Chicks Challenge this past week for our All Occasions challenge theme :) Hope you join us again soon.
    Diane - DT

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  13. Really pretty butterfly card, and so thoughtful to send to a child who has suffered due to this terrible war. Thanks so much for joining us this week at Allsorts challenge
    Pauline xx

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  14. What a sweet card. Whoever receives this will cherish it and will love that you took the time to think of them in their time of need. Thank you for sharing with us over at World Wide Open Design Team Challenge.
    Barbara DT

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  15. Kako je lepa, te metulji in pikice naredijo voščilnico tako nežno... In hvala, da sodeluješ v Craftalnici, kjer sem tokratna gostja.

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  16. Zelo lepo si ustvarjala za gospodično! Hvala ker sodeluješ pri CRAFT-alnici

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  17. Simpatična voščilnica za gospodično :-))
    Vesela sem, da ustvarjaš z nami v CRAFT-alnici ❤️

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