Celebrating Black Crafters - Adrian Mackey
Hi friends! Today we are sharing another installment of our monthly series, Celebrating Black Crafters, where we share artwork from artists who we'd love for you to get to know. Today our amazing guest artist is Adrian Mackey!
Hey y’all! My name is Adrian Mackey. I am a native Texan, a wife and mother, a librarian, and a paper crafter! Whew! That’s a mouthful.
I started my crafting journey back in 2017 to relieve stress and help me cope with anxiety and depression. I had never done anything like it before, so I was excited to try something new. I loved it! I only used crafting as therapy so once I felt better after a few months, I stopped making stuff… for nearly three years.
In 2020, everything changed. The global pandemic brought with it a new level of stress and anxiety. With the whole world coming to a screeching halt, I found myself stuck at home, with the walls closing in on me. I decided to learn five new crafts: wreath making, glass etching, paint pouring, knitting/crochet, and card making. Although I liked making wreaths and etching on glass, it was card making that really captured my heart! Card making truly tapped into my love language: words of affirmation. I could make cards that said exactly what was in my heart, and then share them with the people in my life. This was heaven on earth for me.
I am so thankful for my crafty friends, Dana Joy and Pocono Pam, for inviting me to be a part of their Hero Arts Unity family! I hope you enjoy these three simple cards, and you can see more on IG @handmade_homemades and my blog at handmadehomemades.com. Happy crafting!
This first card has a very special meaning to me. I made this card for an anti-racism campaign. I think about how many times I hear the phrase, “I don’t see color…” when the subject of racism comes up. Unless a person has an issue with their eyesight, we all see color. Color is a descriptive component of who we are as living beings. Seeing color is not a bad thing… misjudging and mistreating people because of their skin color is. I want this card to remind us that ALL COLORS ARE BEAUTIFUL and seeing color brightens our world.
This card features the United People Bold Prints background stamp, embossed in gold onto white cardstock. I used alcohol markers to color portions of the panel. The sentiment is from the stamp set from the 2021 August My Monthly Hero kit, also embossed in gold. Shimmery sequins in a rainbow of colors are used to finish off the card.
Just last month, I was thrilled to host the first ever “I’m Coming Out!” party in my public library! There were families and friends coming together to celebrate and support the people the people they love as they shared their truth with the world. There’s nothing better than being open about one’s own self. I was honored to present each person with this card.
I love using background stamps! The Love is Love Bold Prints stamp is clear embossed onto white cardstock. Over the embossed background, I ink blended a rainbow in Fruit Punch, Butter Bar, Creamsicle, Key Lime Fizz, Pool Party, and Grape Slush. The heart hands from the 2021 August My Monthly Hero kit are die cut out of the Colors of Earth Paper in light & dark shades. They form the perfect heart frame around the background sentiment “love is LOVE”. Onto a strip of pink paper, I embossed a sentiment from the Empowerment stamp set in white. The panel is centered onto a white A2 notecard. Iridescent sequins are used to embellish the card.
Let’s celebrate the Power of Sisterhood! “When we support each other, INCREDIBLE things happen.” Hero Arts knocked it out of the park with the Better Together stamp set! These women are my friends, my homegirls, my sisters. The image of the women, embracing one another, is stamped onto white cardstock, and colored with alcohol markers. I used the coordinating Frame Cut to cut out the image. I used a black marker to color in the white spaces between and around the image.
Onto an A2 panel of black cardstock, I heat embossed a trio of fireworks in multiple fluorescent colors. I also added some white pigment splatter to the background to mimic stars. The card front sentiment is from the Empowerment stamp set from the Unity Collection. It is heat embossed in white on black cardstock, then cut out and popped up with foam squares. The women are adhered to the card with liquid glue on the bottom edge and popped up with more foam squares at the top. White jewel embellishments finish off the card.
Absolutely beautiful, Adrian! Thank you so much for sharing your inspiration and talent with us!
Please be sure to visit Adrian on social media and give her a follow! She's on Instagram @handmade_homemades and you can also find her on her blog Handmade Homemades.
Thanks for stopping by today!
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11 Responses
Neva
November 11, 2021
Your cards are wonderful! I love the richness of the colors. The cards look like they are enameled.
Bravo!
Sharon Suske
November 11, 2021
Adrian! Your cards are as beautiful as you are! Wonderful!
Marisela Delgado
November 09, 2021
Hola, Adrian! Warm hugs from San Antonio, Texas! 💜💜💜 I just commented on your blog, but I will say hi again. 😂😂 It’s great to see a fellow Texan! Keep rockin’!
El
November 09, 2021
Love your cards. So very striking. Thanks for sharing your talents with us.
Adrian Mackey
November 09, 2021
Wow! I cannot thank you enough for this amazing experience and opportunity to share my budding passion with you all! To the amazing people at Hero Arts, thank you for your intentional and purposeful inclusion of Black creators and crafters in this space where we’re so often overlooked, underrepresented and even ignored. Your commitment to showcasing our work is unmatched and undeniable. Thank you to my crafty friends Dana Joy and Pocono Pam for offering this opportunity to me and all the other other artists that have and will be featured on this blog! You’re making sure that we are well represented and seen as the creative being we are ❤️🎨🥰
Sheila H
November 09, 2021
Adrian, your cards are so beautifully crafted. I love them all.
Kathy H
November 09, 2021
Wow Adrian! You really have a talent that went untapped all those years! Love your cards.
Teri Smith
November 09, 2021
Adrian, your cards are fantastic! The colouring, shading & blending is beautiful on each one. I admire Hero Arts for this series of stamps & sentiments they created. It’s SO IMPORTANT. I’m going to check out your blog as I don’t “do” Instagram. I can spend altogether too much time on my computer as it is. Instagram would likely mean I’d get nothing done all day. lol Blessings from the west coast of BC, Canada.
Barbara-Jean Kubik
November 09, 2021
Not only are these cards strikingly beautiful, the story of what’s behind them is wonderful, too!
Dawn V.
November 09, 2021
That first card is stunning! Really like the other two as well.
Melissa SunshineHoneyBee
November 09, 2021
Howdy from one who moved to N TX 30+ yrs ago.
Wonderful creations with grand color, heat embossing, meaning & more.
Melissa
“Sunshine HoneyBee”