On gardening

My firm belief is that gardening teaches you to believe in yourself and your abilities. Sure something might go wrong, and frequently does, but that's how you learn. Learn to water more, or water less, give some plants a richer soil and poorer for some. Learn which plants thrive next to each other and which ones waste away.

Well, enough said I think. There are several challenges that offer a garden related theme, and as I needed an encouragement card for someone, I found this an excellent opportunity to give my gardening stamps an outing.

Gingham makes a gardening scene look so wholesome, don't you think? I figured I could make a gingham with my diagonal strip stamps. I used a shimmery pink ink for that. After that I die cut the background using one of the whimsical rectangle dies.

I then stamped and die cut the flower pots and the watering can and placed them roughly where they should be. I stamped the flowers so that they would sit just underneath the pot rims and then attached the pots with foam tape.  Lastly I gave the flowers big blotches of ink (oxide), just to break the orderliness created by the other elements. The sentiment is from a TH sentiment pad.

 

Entering this in these inspiring challenges:

Alphabet Challenge: H is for Horticulture

Simply Clean and Simple: #scas August AG, optional Nature - I am playing with this option

Just Add Ink: #792 Choose Two (or more) - I chose gingham and flowers

 

Inkspirational: #374 Word prompt: Garden

Ellibelle's Garden Challenge: #18 Anything in or from a garden 

 

 

 

Enjoy your day

For today's card I let myself be inspired by several challenges. I thought the combination of flowers, butterflies, music and a sketch would be a good one to try, especially as I was asked to present a GD project @ Ellibelle's I Spy With my Little Eye - challenge. Please head over and join the fun!

So I pulled out  the supplies I thought I would need: a stamp with both a butterfly and flowers (Stampendous), a die set with a frame, butterfly and flowers (Studio Light) and some sheet music together with Oxides and Gansai Tambi watercolors. I stamped the background with Oxide ink on a wet background and saw the image almost dissolving. The color is just enough for a background, the flowers are still visible, but they don't take the center stage. (The butterfly was unfortunately covered but subsequent layering.)

I then applied water color on the die cut flowers and butterflies. I set the sheet music as a background for the frame. The sentiment reads: Enjoy the day.

 

I am entering this in the following challenges:

Freshly Made Sketches: #744 

 

Sisterhood of Crafters: July / Flowers

 

Little Red Wagon: #866 The piano man

Ellibelle's Garden Party: # 17 Anything in / from a garden

I Spy with my little eye: #39 ... something with wings

 

A lucky duck - ahem, goose

And then I just had to make another one with three of something. (Such a great challenge!) The goose and beets were staring at me...

 

This time I wanted to make a clean and simple card. I grabbed some paper snippets, stamped the goose and the beets, then colored them in slightly.

  

 

 I am entering this in the following challenges:

CAS on Friday: #336 Birds

Sparkles Monthly: #200 Trios (Three of something) 

ElliBelle's Garden Party: #16  Anything in (or from) a garden 

FarmQuest General Store: # 41Anything farm/ country (rural, outdoors)

 

Critter Crazy: #111 AG