Paper Crafters Unite Against Racism - April 2022

Hello!  Today I'm participating in the Paper Crafters Unite Against Racism Hop over on Instagram.

I thought this would be a good opportunity to share some of the things I've learned in the last couple of years.  I'll start by sharing the card I've created for today's hop:

I started this one by stamping and coloring that awesome image from the Hero Arts Power To The People stamp set.  I used various E Copic combos to color all of the hands.  If you are looking for good skin combos in all shades, go to Pinterest and search Color of the Day Copic Jennifer Dove and you will find a wealth of color combos including for hair and skin!  You can thank me later.

I decided to create a rainbow background using a cool technique I learned while at Jenn Dove's Coloring Bootcamp.  Here's a quick video:

Fun right?  There are lots of ways to use this technique!

I cut a brick background using this AJVD die and strips in rainbow colors using this AJVD die set.  I popped the sentiment/image up and added a few sequins.

And here are all of the colors I used to color the hands holding the sign.

Now for the fight against Racism part.  You may be wondering what all of the hubbub is.  Racism is going away, right?  It's only some individuals that are the problem.  It's not you and me for sure.  But did you know that the systems that have been constructed in this country... in the world... support bias against the most vulnerable.  And every individual racist could be gone, yet if we don't change our systems, racism will live.  It's up to each of us to work hard to push for the changes needed to make our systems work for everyone.

I'd like to suggest that regardless of what level of Allyship we are at, we can always learn more.  One of the best resources to get or keep you on your way is a podcast I found by NPR.  It's called Scene on Radio and particularly the Seeing White season addresses a lot of history that I know I never learned in school, but it happened, and begins to give an explanation of Systemic Racism-what it is-ways it started-how it persists.

I hope you'll give it a listen.  If you learn one new thing it will be worth it!  And please do stay with Scene on Radio and listen to all of its seasons.  There is really a wealth of knowedge and it's a great place to start learning about so many things that  you may have been wondering about as well as some really sweet stories.  There is a season on Men (great for men and women as well) and the newest season is on climate.  You can find the website here or find the podcast on your favorite podcast app!  And if you're new to podcasts, I highly recommend them.  You can listen while you craft!  I do every morning.

Thank you so much for stopping and be sure to head on over to Instagram to hop and maybe meet some new paper crafters and/or learn some things.

Come again soon!