Vellum and Blossoms

Welcome back, Crafty Friends! I am sad to admit, I’m very sore today. I’m always distressed to realize how totally out of shape I’ve allowed myself to become, and then I always promise to get back into shape. Maybe this time…

A couple months ago, I was on a roll. I was exercising, eating right, and then I got shingles and didn’t want to move because of the pain. I was finally feeling better, and then CoronaQuarantine hit, and I didn’t want to do anything except craft and snack. But now, I’m thinking I need to get back on the program, because, eventually, we’re all going to see more than each other’s heads and upper torsos, and friends are going to say, “Wow, did you eat a whale, or what???” But back to today…

I promised my mom to finish weeding her flower beds and plant a lily for her. Back story – my dad had a stroke last spring, and it caused him to lose the peripheral vision in his left eye. He was recovering very well, but their gardening was neglected while he was healing. She started weeding their more than a year long neglected flower bed over the weekend, but it was difficult work and she’s 87. I offered to finish the weeding.

I am not 87. I’m not 77 or even 67 yet. There was only about 1/4 of the bed left to weed. Oh, my gosh, I am so sore! Some of those clumps of grass in the bed were incredibly stubborn. This was hard work, and I’m am even more impressed with my mother. My generation is totally weak compared to hers. But I did finish, and I planted the lily, dug up a few thistles from the yard that would have caused my dad to maybe have another heart attack (yeah, that happened last fall), and did a few other gardening things for them. We also fertilized and watered the roses – all with my dad’s verbal supervision. It’s very hard for him to let us take over the gardening duties, but we’re hopeful he’ll recover his strength and be back at it eventually. (Currently, he’s recovering from an infection from a dental procedure that caused an infection that turned septic. Bless his heart. This has been an awful year for him. He has never been sick, so this sickness/recovery/sickness/recovery cycle is hard for him.)

But even though my body is screaming at me for neglecting it for too long, I have a gorgeous card for you. I think it’s totally fitting that it’s a floral card.

First, I cut a 4″ x 5-1/4″ piece of the Perennial Essence Vellum, then embossed with the Parisian Flourish 3D Embossing Folder. I love the look of embossed vellum, and it’s even more gorgeous on the colored vellum.

Next, I stamped the floral image from the Forever Blossoms Stamp Set using Soft Suede Classic Ink on Very Vanilla Cardstock and die-cut with the Cherry Blossoms Dies. Because I used a water based ink, I colored the flowers with Petal Pink and Call Me Clover Stampin’ Blends. (Remember – stamp in a solvent/alcohol ink – color with water based inks. Stamp in a water based ink – color with a solvent/alcohol ink.)

I cut a piece of Very Vanilla Cardstock using the Painted Labels Dies, then stamped the sentiment from the Beauty Abounds Stamp Set using Soft Suede Classic Ink. I added the embossed vellum to a Soft Suede card base, making sure to only add adhesive only to the area that would be covered by the flower and label. Finally, I added the floral die-cut, and the stamped label to the front of the card.

I’m super happy with my results today – the flower garden and my card! What a sense of accomplishment.

Tomorrow the Stampin’ Up!® retiring list for the Annual Catalog will be released, and I’ll post it for you. Remember, retiring products are only available while supplies last, so be sure to check in to see what you need to order now before it’s gone forever!

Thanks for stopping by Stamping with Buffy. Have a lovely day!

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