Hello, crafting friends! Just recently I was asked to create a card welcoming new neighbors that moved in next to the property belonging to a friend of mine. My friend went to welcome them and introduced himself and discovered that they were a young Ukrainian family with a young son and another child on the way. He requested that I make a card that would welcome them so that he could present it to them along with a welcoming gift. Being Ukrainian myself and fluent in the language and culture I came up with this card.
Since I don't have Ukrainian themed stamps or dies (and don't know if I could even find any) I had to improvise to achieve the idea I had in mind. I wanted it to represent the Ukrainian culture in both symbols and language.
I began by creating the focal panel. I wanted to create a sentiment that wished them happiness in their new home. I personally composed the sentiment and printed it on white card stock. I also computer generated an image of a vase of flowers to add alongside the sentiment. Than I searched for Ukrainian embroidery images and chose the blue and yellow border strips. (Blue and yellow are the colors of the Ukrainian national flag). I printed them out, cut them to size and then adhered them to a the white card panel on either edge. This completed the front panel.
Next, I worked on the inside of the card. Ukrainians regard the round bread (called a korovai) as a symbol of hospitality. It is presented to visitors as a welcome greeting on an embroidered ritual towel along with salt which represents friendship. If you welcome people with bread and salt, this means you respect them for what they are.
With this in mind I found an image of a young Ukrainian woman presenting bread and used this image on the inside of the card. I added some red poppies as well. I created the sentiment above the image in Ukrainian. It interprets as: "We welcome you and wish you good fortune, happiness and memories in your new home"
With the focal panel and inside panel completed I prepared the base in white card stock, matted it with GKD Blue Denim and then adhered the focal panel and the inside panel. This completed my project.
I was pleased with how it turned out. I just wish I could find Ukrainian themed stamps and dies. I'm on a mission to see if these are available anywhere. If not, one can always improvise with what they have on hand.
Thanks so much for stopping by! Hope to have another post very soon.
Til then....make it a great day!
