niceandfancy: April 2016

Well it's that time of year again, time to get out your butterfly designs or maybe create a new one just for the occasion. World Lupus Day is held every year on May 10th and for the last three years I have organised a Butterfly Showcase here on my blog and Pinterest to commemorate this occasion and build awareness towards the disease. My aim is to create a gallery of butterfly designs to mark the day so it will be colourful and joyful even if we are celebrating a life threatening disease like Lupus. I will be making a small donation to Lupus UK for every design published. Although it is not compulsory if you feel you want to make a small donation along with your design please send the funds through my PayPal account, dawnclarkson@libero.it. I will sum all the donations to my own (you will receive a personal receipt) and publish the final receipt from Lupus UK here on my blog.

Why the butterfly? Lupus, or SLE is a chronic condition where the immune system attacks the body and can cause a multitude of complaints. One of the many symptoms of Lupus can be a malar rash on the cheeks which has the form of a butterfly. Many organisations use the butterfly as a symbol in their logo. You can easily show your support and help increase Lupus awareness by joining in on my Butterflies for Lupus Showcase 2016.

Harlequin UK

What you need to do.
You can participate by sending me a sketch, illustration, painting, pattern, paper or textile collage or basically anything that you have personally created using butterflies as a theme. There will be two different showcases, one for children up to 16 years old, and one for all the rest. The final artwork should be square if not it may need to be cropped.
Send me a 600 x 600 pixel jpg, 72dpi and rgb, of your final design.
Name your file, BFL_yourname.jpg (for example, BFL_dawnclarkson.jpg). Children's drawings, BFL_child'sname_age.jpg (for example, BFL_dawn_10.jpg). Please do not give a title to your piece.
You will be allowed ONE link to a blog or website and the order of the showcase will be as I receive the files.

There will be a series of blog posts featuring the designs received. On May 10th I will launch a board on Pinterest which will include all the designs.
The deadline is Friday 6th May so I will have the weekend to prepare the images and promote the event.
Please send your designs to niceandfancy@libero.it

Quilt by Tula Pink. 2013

The butterfly designs you see here are taken from my Butterflies - Farfalle - Papillon board on Pinterest, you may want to take a look and use the board for inspiration. Also it is possible to see all the designs from previous years on the following boards.

BFL-Adults and Designers 2015

BFL-Childrens 2015

BFL-Adults and Designers 2014
BFL-Childrens 2014
BFL-All 2013

Please feel free to promote the event on Facebook, Twitter etc... using hashtags #butterfliesforlupus #bfl2016 #mybfl and a link to this post. Help me make the day a great success, lets have fun, create some beautiful designs, and above all create awareness for Lupus sufferers worldwide.