Grateful

I celebrated a significant birthday recently which was wonderful  - to be able to celebrate I mean!  I don't like the fact that I'm getting older but the alternative is much worse, so it's fair to say I'm feeling extremely grateful at the moment!  It was wonderful to be surrounded by loved ones even given (or perhaps because of) the recent loss of my mum.

After the party I sat down and started a bunch of thank you cards for all the friends who had helped me celebrate the occasion.  The house was full of the most exquisite floral arrangements (in fact I ran out of vases) and was inspired to create floral arrangements of my own.

Initially I started quite simple.  I cut six garlands from an old Sizzix Bigz die (Tim Holtz Regal Crest) from brown card stock.  I cut these in half and distressed them with green and red inks and sprayed with Mustard Seed Glimmer Mist.  Because I had left and right facing garlands, I had left and a right facing cards.   I cut a whole bunch of these small flowers (Tim Holtz Funky Foliage) from white card stock. I think they're supposed to be cornflowers, but I coloured them in the reds, yellows, oranges, pinks and purples from my birthday bouquets using alcohol markers.  Alcohol markers are great for colouring and blending seamlessly - though the flowers are so small, the blending is almost imperceptible.

When I had used up all the "cornflowers" I had cut, I was tempted to get a little more adventurous.  I don't know about anyone else, but 10 of the same design seems to be about my limit!  I started cutting other flowers from the Funky Foliage set and also from the Funky Nature set and colouring these.  I also cut a few of the MFT Sunflowers.  I also tried some foliage left over from a previous project and decided I preferred a more delicate foliage so cut a bunch of these.  Finally to finish the cards, I cut and stacked these Grateful sentiments (Winnie and Walter Big, Bold and Blessings set) which summed up just how I was feeling!  

Of the twenty or so cards I eventually made, this one was my favourite!

I'd like to enter the Four Seasons Anything Goes Fall Challenge for November.  

I'd also like to join the Shopping Our Stash Challenge #457 which has the prompt You Don't Bring Me Flowers.

And Little Red Wagon Challenge #626 - So Very Thankful.

And 613 Avenue Create Challenge #11 - AG with optional Twist Thankful.

 You may have noticed the wood panels I used for the initial cards.  I'd like to enter the Double D Challenge - A Walk in the Wood as this was exactly what I had in mind when I started these cards.  

Finally Day of the Month Club Challenge #33 which has the prompt Beautiful Day - I'm still basking in the glow of my beautiful day!

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your visit.  If you leave a comment, I’ll be thrilled!  I’ll also know you were here, so I can check out what you’ve been up to and we can get better acquainted!

Kate

You Got This!

 

 I wanted to create a card for Squash It Challenge #12 but Monsieur Mojo has been a bit elusive of late. Finally I managed to emboss and sand a piece of card I was happy with and decided to make a back to school card dedicated to all the teachers out there!

"May your Coffee be Strong and your Recess be Long"

Other Challenges I'd like to enter:

613 Avenue Create - School Daze;

Alphabet Challenge "M is for Motivational/Encouragement Sentiment";

Make My Monday Challenge #158 - Embossing -  Either (I've used both);

Simon Says Stamp Wednesday Challenge - Anything Goes

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your visit.  If you leave a comment, I’ll be thrilled!  I’ll also know you were here, so I can check out what you’ve been up to and we can get better acquainted!

Kate

Give Thanks

 

Two weeks ago I was on a roll.  I was working on this card (my third Autumn spinner card) while my sister was keeping my mum company in Australia.  We knew mum didn't have long, they had refused her surgery the week before because they didn't think her heart could take it, and my sister was very anxious that night, so I was trying to keep her calm (she hadn't slept properly for days).  I showed her this card I was working on and she said it was very pretty (she loves purple and I had added that purple cornflower for her).   She said she was worried about the noises mum was making and I suggested she get a nurse to turn mum and then try and get a bit of sleep.

I kept working on the card - strange how doing something like this can bring you comfort, even if only temporarily.  I had added more flowers and foliage to this card so was looking for a sentiment that fitted and using which label since I could no longer stamp directly on the panel (forethought is not my middle name).  In the end, I went with this simple "Give Thanks" sentiment embossed with WOW! Mandarin powder on Kraft card stock.  I just finished it when my sister called me back with the news that mum had passed.

As I sat there looking at this card I had just finished, I realised that the sentiment perfectly summed up what I was feeling at that moment in time about my mother!  And so this card is going into the glass cabinet and whenever I look up at it, I will "Give Thanks" for her and "Give Thanks to her"!  I'd also like to give thanks to my sister who was with Mum till the end.  My brother had come up days before but had to isolate so couldn't give her a break.  She was exhausted!  

It's been a difficult summer.  I had hoped that, being vaccinated, I could travel to Australia during the summer months (their winter months) and spend some time with mum.  However the delta variant soon put paid to that idea!  Instead, the weekly cap of people allowed into Australia was halved and most of NSW went into lockdown.  Mum only had a handful of mourners present at her funeral but the service was streamed live for those that couldn't be there in person.  I'm very close to my brother and sister.  We talk or text most days, particularly this year as mum's health had declined!  We worked on the readings and discussed points for the eulogy and I wrote and prerecorded the eulogy and it was played as part of the service.  It was so painful not being able to be there with my family but I kept thinking of those poor souls who died alone in hospital and were buried quickly during the early stages of the Covid-19 pandemic.  For me, it was particularly painful that I couldn't be there to sing for mum as I had for dad.  But in any case, due to current Covid restrictions, no singing was allowed.  

I wasn't going to blog about this card, but I was looking at challenges and trying to kick start my waning mojo, and happened upon some challenges that made me think someone was sending me a message.

Firstly The Day of the Month Club Challenge #31 is celebrating World Gratitude Day.

The Timeout Challenge #197 has this inspired by words prompt.   As I sit here surrounded by flowers which dear friends and family have sent me, I can definitely relate to this quote.  And the flowers I added to this card now hold a special meaning for me.

I'd also like to enter Inspired By Challenge IB188 has this lovely mix of leaves as inspiration;

Double D Challenges also has the prompt Leaves and this lovely inspiration board;

I'd also like to enter the Pixie's Snippets Playground Challenge #412 - I was determined to use up all of a distressed sheet of Bristol card stock I created for some earlier autumn projects and these tiny leaf dies from Tim Holtz Fall Foliage were perfect for this.

Thanks for stopping by, I hope you enjoyed your visit.  If you leave a comment,  I’ll know you were here and can check out what you’ve been up to and we can get to know each other a little better!

Kate