Keeping up with a Toddler

If you’re new to the blog and don’t know this, I became a grandma about 30 months ago. Amelia Lynn is my daily joy. I love being a grandma – the hugs, the kisses, the sticky fingers on my face – I love everything about it. I love when she sees me and her face lights up in a big smile. I love watching her eat ice cream for breakfast. (Ok, we don’t do that. At least, not very often. I think it was just one time because she had a cold.)

On the days Wesley and Stephanie are both working, I get to hang out with Amelia. Today was one of those days. Unfortunately, I was dealing with an issue with a non-profit I belong to, and I couldn’t spend as much time with her as I wanted. Still, we had several pretend picnics (she did all the work, from planning and “cooking,” to setting up. I did do the clean-up after. I thought it was only fair.) – and then she comandeered my tablet.

Amelia loves to watch her “shows” on the internet. These are, in fact, little commercials for toys, but they teach colors, letters, and numbers, and there are fun little songs. Her favorites have the Paw Patrol dogs and the My Little Pony ponies as the main characters. We watch the shows together, sing the songs and talk about what they’re teaching. Several pediatricians have the idea that kids shouldn’t be exposed to electronics until they’re five or so. I say, “Show me a kid who doesn’t watch TV or use a tablet, and I’ll show you a caregiver who hasn’t showered for five years.” I don’t use it as a babysitter, and we limit the time. It’s mostly to give me a break. I don’t know why small children are called “toddlers,” because they don’t toddle. They run everywhere. At least Amelia does.  She does like her electronics though. I read today that members of “Gen Z” (14-21 year-olds) are very tech savvy. I’m sure Amelia’s generation will pass them in “tech knowledge.” At two, she’s more tech savvy than most adults I know. It took me three months to tame Windows 10 so we could co-exist, and she destroyed my system in five minutes. Now it’s back to its original annoying self and she (and her dad) are the only ones that can get me where I want to be.

Anyway – Amelia’s outfit today was totally adorable, even though it made her look like she should be going to kindergarten, and that made me sad. But as I looked closer, I loved the flowers in the pattern of her dress, and decided to use them as the basis for a card.

First – here’s my gorgeous grand.

Seriously – can you look at that little face and not fall in love? (Ok, I’m biased.) And she’s as sweet spirited as she looks. Here’s the card that was inspired by her dress.

It started out as another “watercoloring with no lines,” but you can still see the lines a bit. I stamped the Birthday Blooms rose on Watercolor Paper in Smoky Slate Classic Stampin’ Ink and cut it out with Paper Snips. Then I colored the petals with Blushing Bride and Sweet Sugarplum ink using a Blender Pen. I went over the lines with Blushing Bride and Sweet Sugarplum Stampin’ Write Markers as well. I colored the leaves with Mint Macaron ink and a blender pen, then added some Emerald Envy ink over the veins and blending it a bit into the leaves. I was going to leave the center pink, like Amelia’s dress, but decided to add a blip of yellow and glitz. This is actually some retired Dazzling Details (hopefully the clear Details will come back in June! I miss it so much.) colored with Crushed Curry ink refill. I colored the entire bottle of Dazzling Details, so it’s always ready to use. Crushed Curry is a lovely color for flower centers, because it doesn’t overwhelm, but it won’t be hidden in the background either.

I knew I wanted to use a Basic Gray cardstock backdrop for this image, and Sweet Sugarplum worked wonderfully for the next layer. It was just so…plain, though. I didn’t want to stamp a background to take away from the simplicity of the rose, so I embossed the flowers from one of the Floral Affection Impressions Embossing Folders in the bottom corner. I added a bit of Sweet Sugarplum Ruched Ribbon and a card base of Smoky Slate.

Thanks for letting me gush about my granddaughter! Kudos for sticking in there until the end! And thanks for stopping by Stamping with Buffy. Have a wonderful day!

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