Thank you!!

Today's post is a really special one for me. I'm not the type of person who likes to make a big deal out of my accomplishments. I get embarrassed and I don't want people to think I'm full of myself. But I'm competitive by nature (totally at odds with this other aspect of my personality), and so when I joined Instagram on the last day of 2014 and started following some truly amazing crafters, I started noticing the sheer volume of their IG followers. I was so awestruck, thinking I'd never get very many followers or be on any design teams, and today, I'm here to celebrate the fact that I reached 1000 followers a few weeks ago, and I'm so incredibly grateful for it. 

My card today is not one that is particularly intricate or technique-y... just pretty watercolored flowers, some sparkles, and some sequins... You know, my usual ingredients for a card. I used the insanely beautiful Ranunculus Bouquet from Wplus9, heat embossing it with white filigree embossing powder onto some Montval watercolor paper. I colored it with my palest Zig markers: Sugared Almond Pink, Blue Haze, Emerald Green, Green Shadow, and Lavender. So many of my projects are intended to be super pale and delicate, but end up being far more vibrant than I initially intend, so I was really happy with how this one came out. 

To add the greeting, I die cut the Hand Lettered Thanks die (also from Wplus9) from silver glitter paper from my stash and added in "you're the best" from the coordinating stamp set in London Fog Memento ink. The last little finishing touch was to add some Sparkling Clear Pretty Pink Posh sequins.

I truly am so grateful for the support I have received over the last year and a half, not to mention the friends I've made. Okay, truth time, and I'm sorry if this is corny... I've always felt like I was kinda on the outskirts of most everything.... school, grad school, even my friends. I'm a shy person, and it's hard for me to feel like I belong. But over the last year and a half, I've finally felt like I found some people with whom I truly belong, and I am so happy to have finally found a place to be myself. So thank you. I know 1000 followers is not a huge amount, not compared to some of those wonderfully talented people in this industry, but it is truly a personal milestone and an honor for me to have that many people who want to look at my dabbles in cardmaking. :)

In honor of my personal triumph, I'm giving away a $15 gift certificate to one of my favorite crafty retailers: Butterfly Reflections Ink! I'm so grateful to Vanessa for choosing someone as unknown as myself to be on her Design Team (and now for a safe space in which to shop without judgment lol!). I'm going to be choosing from my Instagram post showing this card, as this is to celebrate my Instagram followers, after all, so head on over to my Instagram page: @eamidgett. One commenter on the IG post will be randomly selected to win the gift certificate!! I will choose next Monday, August 15, at noon Central Time!

Good luck, and THANK YOU so much!