Stampin! with Jaydee

Happy Friday.

It's another INSPO challenge across at Festive Friday and this week's challenge was the perfect opportunity to bring out a set I bought on clearance sale.  It's called Butterflies and it's from PinkFresh Studio.  This week's theme is also one that I hold dear to my heart, but more about that later.  For now - here's a sneak peek of how I used the Butterflies from PFS for my card:

Oh... and here is our INSPO list for this week:

Creating this card was easy.  I stamped the image with Versamark and then heat set it with gold embossing powder.  I used the matching stencils to color the image and then die cut it with the matching dies.  I needed something to ground the butterfly, so I brought out an old  stencil to add a little texture.  I popped the butterfly up using foam dots and added the sentiment.  Here's my card:

INSPO ELEMENTS:  White, Pink, Glimmer, Embossing, Supportive Sentiment

I hope you will join us and play along with our challenge this week.  We would love to see what YOU create.  As always the design team have some fabulous inspiration for you:

On a personal note:

International Women's Day is a cause I can absolutely get behind.  I've just retired from a job where, in the 80s, 90s and even in the 2010s, I was often one of the only women in a roomful of men - sometimes, the only one.  My step-daughter graduated from engineering school as one of  less than a handful of women in her class in the 2010s  - so not much had changed since the 80s.  I was really lucky when I started my technical career and was helped and encouraged by men who saw me for what I could contribute, and not as a woman who should be home.   Ironically, it was our hiring HR manager - a woman - who almost stopped me in my career.  She kept pressing me about what I was going to do when I got pregnant - and shouldn't that be where my focus was.   She made the mistake of asking me - so, what are you doing about getting pregnant?  My curt reply?  Enjoying practicing!

I grew up post World War 2 where women had joined the workforce to keep the country going whilst their men were at war.  Just like women two generations before them, those women often found themselves without a job when their men returned from war and were once again relegated to "keeping house".  My mother was one of those women who, at the age of 21, found herself working in the steel factory helping to keep the home fires burning.  Those women came from all backgrounds and were a vital cog in the nation’s war effort, producing everything from crankshafts for Spitfires and Hurricanes, to artillery shells, camouflage nets and tank treads.  It took 80 years for effort of those women to be recognized.  Thousands of women took up those jobs during WWI and WW2.  A statue was finally erected to honor them in 2016.  Part of the money for the statue was raised by selling medallions to the living workers or their relatives.  In total, 400 relatives (including me) and 100 surviving women, contributed to the monument.  Although my Mom had been dead for decades, I wanted to honor her contribution to the war effort - even if it took 80 years.  I had to provide proof of her participation as a "Women of Steel".  Although she had never said much about it, my mother had kept her papers showing her time in the factory.  So, I was proud to accept that medallion on her behalf.

Doing my genealogy, I have realized that I come from a long line of strong women - when you think back over the millenia - they would have had to be strong to survive all that they did.  People often ask at dinner parties, if you could have dinner party with anyone living or dead, I inevitably say my GGG-Grandmother Sarah.  Sarah was born in 1793 - a time when women were owned by their men and could be sold or traded by their men.  However, Sarah inherited property in her own right from her father and, when she married my GGG-Grandfather, he made no claim to that inheritance and, in fact, literally left the farm and everything he owned to Sarah on his death.  So... kudos to my GGGG-Grandfather and my GGG-Grandfather for believing that women were equal in a time where equality was a long way away!  I'd love to have dinner with her and have so many questions for her.

So, today, a shoutout to all those women around the world - regardless of who they are - or what they do. Women really are amazing.  And a shout out to all of you, my blog readers.

hugs

Jaydee

Card recipe:

• Stamps, Dies and Stencils - Butterfly - PinkFresh Studio
• Inks:  PinkFresh Studio