Beautiful Butterflies for Domestic Violence Awareness / End of the Week Technique #53 Faux Torn Paper / NAC #17

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Hey y'all. Happy Friday! I hope you've had a great week and are looking forward to a good weekend. We are bracing for Hurricane Sandy to arrive in what forecasters are calling a Frankenstorm. Hopefully it will not be as bad as expected.

For those of you that follow me here regularly, just an update to let you know my daughter J and Princess Tooey (Baby 2.0) should be released from the hospital today following her emergency appendectomy Wednesday evening. Both are well and Princess Tooey seems to have suffered no ill-effects from the surgery. God is Good and has truly blessed my family this week! Thanks for all of your prayers and well wishes. You are appreciated more than you can imagine!

On to today's card. For those of you that know me IRL or have followed me for any length of time here, you know I H.A.T.E. tearing c/s or DSP to make cards and projects. It literally makes me anxious. In fact there's probably only 2-3, max, cards on this blog that feature that technique. It's really only worse for me than crumpling. *Shiver* Know what I don't mind tearing? Computer paper. Or Post-it notes. No problem with those at all. Know what you can do with torn regular paper? You can make it look like torn cardstock. Woo-Hoo!!! Love it! I was looking for a technique for this week and still needed to come up with an idea for this week's NAC challenge and I decided to combine the two into one and save myself a little effort. Here's what I came up with-

Card with Faux Torn Paper
Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Here's the sketch I was working with from the great ladies over at Nacho Average Challenge.

 Seeing as I was surprised Tammy didn't use snowflakes for this, that was my original plan. Then I decided to go in just a little different direction. I decided to flip the card for my interpretation. I just now realized I'm missing the sentiment. I hope the ladies aren't too upset with me about that.

I'm going to go a little bit off stamping for a moment so I hope you'll bear with me. If not, feel free to scroll down to the tutorial but, I think this is important and goes to the reason for the card.

Many people know that October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Very few know that it is also Domestic Violence Awareness Month, unless of course you read my blog and then you of course know about this. Domestic Violence is an Epidemic in not only our country, but the world. Unfortunately, it is a Silent Epidemic. Its silence allows it to invade homes and communities and wreak havoc on the lives of everyone it touches. The silence of its victims and the people who know about its occurrences, or suspect it allows it to further grow. Only the light of awareness and an un-willingness to allow it to continue can begin to stop it's devastation. I did a card a few weeks ago and received a comment from a very nice lady thanking me for taking the time to shed some light on this horrific crime. She was strong enough to leave her abuser, Thank God, but lost a loved one who was not so fortunate. I figured if she was strong enough to tell me her story, I would tell mine. (Very Briefly)

This epidemic doesn't just affect those of a lower socio-economic group. It doesn't just affect the under-educated. It crosses all races, genders, educations and socio-economic levels. I like to think I'm a pretty smart woman. I'm college educated, have a good job, a good support system and yet I was in not one but two abusive marriages. Yeah, bet you're thinking I'm not so smart now, aren't you? Before I was able to get out of the second one, I took a college course on Violence in Society. I thought it would be a good elective and it was. I didn't however need it to tell me about the situation I was in. I knew. I was an E.R. Nurse and took care of victims  surviors all the time. I just wasn't in a place to leave. For this course I did a paper on Domestic Violence and listed many of the s/s / behaviors of abusers. My then spouse read it and asked "Is this how you see me?" DUH! Everyone's situation is different though and not everyone can leave just because someone else thinks they need to leave or even if they think that themselves. More people die from Domestic Violence when they are preparing to and actually leaving than at any other time. 

If you suspect someone you know is being abused-
1- Please, please, PLEASE trust your gut.
2- Ask them and listen to not just their words but non-verbal clues too. Just because they say "No" doesn't mean it's not happening. Most are so ashamed, they will not admit to it.
3- If they should surprise you and tell you of their abuse, I beg of you to please believe them even if you have never seen any evidence to support this or had any clue. Abusers are Master Manipulators of anyone they come into contact with. My best friends and family didn't believe me when I first told them. How could that be happening? It couldn't possibly be happening to me. I was one of the strongest people they knew, and certainly one of the least likely to tolerate that kind of behavior. They ate dinner with us, we vacationed together, they had never seen or suspected anything was amiss. You know what? Victims are often Mater Illusionists. They survive because they make sure no one knows what's going on. If they didn't, things would be even worse.
4- Be supportive. Let them know that you are there for them in whatever way they need you to be. You can not force them to be on your timeline, no matter how much you wish them to be.

It took me many years to get away from my abuser(s). It is un-fortunate that I wasn't smart enough aware enough to avoid my second one. However- you live and you learn. Besides that, I got a wonderful daughter from that relationship, and would not trade her for anything. Also, we have been very active in promoting Awareness together.

 Real Love Does NOT Hurt!

Ok- now for today's technique. Here's what you will need-
Cardstock to do your technique on (I used Glossy White although you can use it on any type of paper), paper to tear (I used computer paper, although you could use sticky or post-it type notes), ink pads in your choice of colors and either sponges or daubers.

Here's what you do-
1- Tear your paper. I decided I wanted a "strip of color" so I tore two different pieces of paper to lay down either side. However, this technique works equally well with just one "torn" edge.
2-Adhere your torn piece of paper to your c/s. I used Dotto Temporary Adhesive, but you could use SNAIL and remove some of the tackiness by tapping your finger on it. If you use post-it type notes make sure to leave a sticky edge to your paper. Here's what it will look like-

Yeah, I realize now that I should have put this on darker c/s for demonstration purposes.
Sorry. :(

3- Pick your colors and sponge them on. You can use separate sections of color or you can layer them on. I started by sponging Wisteria Wonder over my exposed c/s and then added Perfect Plum below that in the middle and then Elegant Eggplant to the bottom. This created a different depth of color and allowed me to avoid any rough looking edges.

4- Once you have your colors layered and blended to your desired effect, remove your paper borders-

5- Finish your card by embellishing it in whichever way you choose. I chose to use Butterflies that I cut out of matching c/s with my Butterflies Embosslet and Big Shot.

6- Smile when you see what you see what you've created and smile even more when you think of the joy it will bring to it's recipient.

Here's how I completed the inside-

I didn't add a sentiment, because I'm not sure what I want to put there yet. I sponged the edges with W.W. ink and attached a few of my left over butterflies with Tombow. I love how this card turned out. It was quick and easy and I love the effect I got from the technique as well as the beautiful coloring and layering effect that was achieved by using two pieces instead of just one. What I love the most is that I didn't have to tear any of our fabulous c/s to create it!

I hope you liked today's card and technique and I hope it inspires you to try something new today. If you liked today's card or have questions, I hope you'll take just a moment to leave me a message below. I read them all and they really do make my day. If you'd like to +1 or Pin today's card, I've put those buttons on my blog for your convenience. Friends and Followers are always welcome too! :)

Thank you so much for taking time out of your busy day to stop by my little corner of the world. You are very appreciated! Till next time-

Remember- Life is often more about the storms than the peace they seek to overwhelm. it's not about Waiting for the storms to pass, but Learning to Dance in the rain.

Please also Remember that October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month-
Love Does NOT Hurt!

Be Safe,
Shan

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