a tribute to melissa lane

It's incredibly sad. To be taken so "young". They'd finally gotten away from military life, back to the US and settled down to start their farm life. And now a year later Melissa, my STAMPlorations teamie, is gone. Much too soon.

I know how much she loved nature - flowers, fruits, veggies, beautiful snowfalls, sunrises... I'm sure she's very happy to know that those things all continue on as if nothing's changed. Baffling, isn't it?

I can't even begin to imagine how much has changed for Melissa's family. But they share an amazingly strong faith in God and I trust this will help them get through.

To help all of us "get through", Shery from STAMPlorations has organized this tribute today so we can share our sadness but also celebrate Melissa's love for this vibrant, colorful life.

I chose a card of Melissa's from a recent post of hers which I think is incredible. I don't claim to understand how she created this beauty, but I decided to try my best to create something similar.

Here is my version as a sympathy card for her family but also in celebration of Melissa's life.

 STAMPlorations Shower of Flutters stencil

STAMPlorations Honeycomb Delight Reversed stencil

STAMPlorations With Sympathy die

Artemio Insekten stamp

acrylic paint

Distress inks

I started with a gelli plate background I'd created with orange and yellow acrylic paints. I put the butterfly mask down and applied red ink. I also applied dark blue ink up top but then switched to blue acrylic paint to get the vibrancy I wanted. When all was dry and in a nod to Melissa's blog name "Honeybee Lane" I used the honeycomb stencil and applied white pigment ink. I also stamped the bee in the lower right. A die cut sentiment backed with a white shadow finished my card.

I hope you like it. I hope Melissa would like it. I hope it captures nature's beauty and vibrancy that she so appreciated. To appreciate the hard work and passion Melissa and her family put into their new farm as well as the beauty they were already able to reap, check out their instagram grid.

And if you'd like to join our tribute, you will find the details here. (As well as 15% off  stencils thru Oct 21 should you feel like getting inky.)

I'm sharing this card at:
STAMPlorations Mixed Media - October
Hiding in my Craft Room - Super Scraps Saturday
Tuesday Throwdown - Missing You
Love to Create - Anything Creative/Mixed Media
Inkspirational - Comfort