Celebrating Black Crafters - Robin Marshall Clark and Barbara Walker

Hi friends! Today we are excited to bring you the second installment of our monthly series, Celebrating Black Crafters - Honoring Black History Throughout The Year, where we share artwork from Black artists who we'd love for you to get to know!

First, let's meet Robin!

Hello everyone! I’m Robin Marshall Clark but you can call me The Delta Crafter. I have been a craft lover since I was a child and crafting has always been an outlet for me. In my 20s, I channeled my time and efforts into other things, which left me little time for crafting. In the early 2000s, I found myself right back in love with crafting through scrapbooking. That spun off into other fun things like vinyl projects, planning and bible journaling. As the years passed, I found myself doing less scrapbooking and more card making. I continue to do many of the other crafts, but card making has risen to the #1 spot on my list. There’s so much enjoyment for me in creating and giving the cards I make by hand.

For Robin's first card, a gorgeous and interactive pop-up card, she used the Kids United stamp set and coordinating dies from the Hero Arts Unity collection along with the Nesting Rectangles Infinity dies. 

Here's some information from Robin about how she created this card: I have been wanting to use the little girls on the swing image in the “Unity: Kids United” stamps and dies. So, when I was sitting in front of all the beautiful images in the Hero Arts Unity Collection, this one jumped off plastic. After some thought, I decided to create this card using a black card base with a pop-up frame that would allow the girls to dangle as if they are swinging. The frame was created using the “Nesting Rectangle” dies to cut out the window. I created a multi-layered Distress and Distress Oxide ink background. To add some glint and shine to the card, I brought in some Perfect Pearls powder in Perfect Gold mixed with water and flicked that onto the inked background. I stamped the image with Versamark ink and covered that with the same Perfect Pearls powder to complete the card.

Robin's second project features a vibrant gradient background.  For this card, she paired the Women Belong woodblock stamp with the American Women woodblock stamp.

From Robin: I love this quote from Ruth Bader Ginsburg! So, it was easily inclined to use this wood block stamp. But how? Enter the “American Woman” block stamp. These two were made for each other! I started by first heat embossing the “American Woman” stamped image on white card stock. I then inked up the background using Hero Arts Reactive Inks in Key Lime Fizz, Pool Party and Blue Hawaii colors. On a separate piece of white cardstock, I stamped the RBG quote using Hero Arts Intensified Black Ink and heat embossed it with clear powder. I attached the quote to the card with foam tape and this card was complete.

For Robin's third card, featuring a sparkly and geometric background, she  paired a powerful message from the Power To The People stamp set with the Every Which Way stencil.

Again, from Robin: When I think of diversity, I see all kinds of colors. That was my inspiration for this card. The “Every Which Way” stencil provided the perfect background interest, speaking to all the ways diverse people and cultures intersect. While the stencil was still on the card panel, I added a layer of Glitter Glitz Gel in Iridescent (we all sparkle, don’t we!). For the sentiment, I used the “Unity: Power to the People” stamp set. The set includes both the hands holding the card and the sentiment I stamped inside the card. I used Distress Oxide inks for the background and the sentiment. Once I popped the sentiment up on foam tape and attached it to the card panel, this card was complete.

Thank you so much for sharing your art with us, Robin!  

We would love for you to follow Robin; you can find her on Instagram as @thedeltacrafter, on Facebook as The Delta Crafter, and on her blog, The Delta Crafter.

Let's meet our next guest, Barbara!

Hello, Everyone! I am Barbara Walker and I live in a sweet little cottage in sunny California. I like going to the beach, listening to music and reading. I have been married to my high school sweetheart for 36 years and we have two adult daughters. I have been a crafter for a long time. Even as a little girl, I had a love affair with paper and I could entertain myself for hours with a coloring book and a box of crayons. I started creating my own stationery way back then, too. I had lots of pen pals and I loved stamping on plain paper to create my own unique look. About fifteen years ago, I discovered card making and I fell in love with it! I would say my card making style is a bit eclectic. I enjoy trying new things. Sometimes I create clean and simple cards and sometimes I pile on the layers! One thing is consistent on each of my cards though; sparkle and bling. No card leaves my studio without some sort of sparkle, even on masculine cards!

For her first card, Barbara used the Kids United stamp set and coordinating dies, and a sentiment from the Empowerment stamp set.  This easel card is so lovely!

Here's some information from Barbara about her inspiration and how she created this card: My first card was inspired by my daughters and my nieces. They are all grown up now but when I saw this stamp set, I immediately thought of them and how much fun they had growing up together. I decided to create an easel card to showcase this image in a special way. I stamped the image onto Strathmore Toned Tan sketch paper and colored it with Caran D’Ache Luminance colored pencils. I paper pieced their little outfits and used the coordinating die to cut them out. The butterflies are colored with Copic markers, embossed with clear embossing powder and given a touch of sparkle with a clear glitter brush. I used a stitched rectangle die to cut my focal panel. I created some clouds in the background, stamped and embossed the sentiment, then added a grass element to ground the image. To finish it off, I stamped and embossed a quote on the backside of the card and added some pink die cut hearts so that the card looks pretty and finished from all sides.

For Barbara's next pair of beautiful cards, she used the Color Layering Flower Power stamp set and coordinating die.  These items are also available as a  bundle.

Again, from Barbara: The next set of cards was inspired by my friends and the women in my family. I made a small stack of these, assembly line style. I did all of my cutting, then all of the stamping and coloring, then I assembled all of the cards. I colored the faces with Copic markers. The greetings are stamped in black ink and embossed with clear embossing powder. This adds a bit of shine, texture and dimension. As a finishing touch, I added a scattering of gems in their flowery crowns. These little cards are perfect for writing out a quick note of encouragement.

Thank you, Barbara, for sharing your inspiration and talent with us!

If you're on Instagram, we'd love for you to give Barbara a follow there where she's @1busyb. You can also find her on her blog, The Buzz.

Thanks for stopping by today!

CM481 Kids United - Hero Arts [ HA ] DI818 Kids United Frame Cuts (F) -... [ HA ] DI198 Nesting Rectangle Infinity Dies... [ HA ] H6455 Women Belong - Hero Arts [ HA ] H6456 American Women - Hero Arts [ HA ] CM482 Power to the People - Hero Arts [ HA ] SA113 Every Which Way Stencil 6x6 [ HA ] CM512 Empowerment - Hero Arts [ HA ] CM501 Color Layering Flower Power -... [ HA ] DI849 Color Layering Flower Power... [ HA ] SB273 Color Layering Flower Power... [ HA ]