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A Rose By Any Other Name

 

Time for another rose card.  I'm working on some Mother's Day cards, and I made this one for my mom-in-law, Brooke, who loves yellow roses.

{recipe:  A Rose is a Rose (SU), sentiment from SU, Bella Birds DSP, so saffon cardstock and ink, choc. chip cardstock and ink, always artichoke ink, choc. satin ribbon, ivory HPH, designer label punch, corner rounder punch, foam dimensionals}

Today is the last day of April, and the end of my blog theme, Pretty As A Poem.  I thought I'd feature one of my favorite poets and writers, Wendell Berry. 

The Wild Rose

Sometimes hidden from me
in daily custom and in trust,
so that I live by you unaware
as by the beating of my heart.

Suddenly you flare in my sight,
a wild rose blooming at the edge
of thicket, grace and light
where yesterday was only shade,

and once again I am blessed, choosing
again what I chose before.

Flowers for Mom

 

Poor mom!  She hurt her back just before her visit here, and she was suffering.  She was able to do some stamping while she was here, but missed out on her trip to Adventures in Stamping convention in Akron, Ohio. Bummer!  I made this card to give her a gentle reminder to take care of herself.  

{recipe : Vases in Vogue(SU), versafine onyx ink, prisma markers, tempting turquoise/green galore/white cardstock, circle punch, white eyelets, crystal effects, Cuttlebugged cardstock, polka silk flower} 

A Rose is a Rose

 

For years, I did not own a rose stamp.  That's kind of funny, when you consider that Rose is my middle name.  For some odd reason, I passed up the chance to own Cottage Rose, Regal Rose, A Wild Rose, and just about every other rose stamp set that Stampin Up put in its catalog.  Then SU showcased a new set in it's fall-winter 2008 catalog called A Rose is a Rose, and I knew I had to have it.  It's one of SU's pricier stamp sets (37.95...ouch!), but it coordinates with everything in the Bella line that I love so much. I purchased the set in December, and only recently got around to assembling and using it. I think it will make lovely mother's day cards.

{recipe: A Rose is a Rose (SU), Best Yet (SU), Canvas (SU), Frames with a Flourish(SU), kiwi kiss/ivory/ pink pirouette cardstock, Bella papers, riding hood red/kiwi kiss ink, scallop edge punch, circle punch, button}

Someone at my church told me recently "I think it's sweet how your name is Mary Rose and you always wear roses."  I do?  Yeah, I guess I do!  In the fall and winter, I wear my felted wool "roses" on lots of coats and jackets.  In the spring and summer, I wear a lot of rose jewelry.

I confess, I'm a bit of a rose snob.  I'm not overly fond of anything that is rose-scented because it never captures the complex fragrance of real roses to me. I did find that I like Crabtree and Evelyn's rose parfum, but that's the only one.

I'm also a rose snob in the garden.  I prefer certain varieties over others.  This past weekend, Ed and I were visiting a few garden centers, and I told him that I thought the oh-so-popular Knockout Roses were just cheater roses. Plant them in the ground and ignore them?  Forget it!  A rose is prickly and sensitive by nature, and demands a little time and attention.

Jackson and Perkins sells lovely roses.  My favorite varieties are the old English Roses of David Austin. I once had a variety that smelled like tea!  One of my favorite home gardens was an Englsih garden that I created using Abraham Darby, Graham Thomas, and yes, the Mary Rose.

My Indy home does not have a single rose. I'm hoping to plant a few climbing roses over my new arbor soon.  Anyone have a favorite variety to recommend?

Saltbox Sampler

 

The April issue of Country Living featured an article about Alphabet Samplers.  I thought the timing was perfect because a) I'd just found the framed sampler that I'd made years ago after digging through moving boxes, and b) I've renewed my excitement about needle arts recently.  The article showcased an antique sampler worth nearly $10,000, and then listed some cute samplers to order and make now.

It got me thinking...why not make an alphabet sampler with stamps?  As I was stamping this card, my son John looked at my work and said "Hey, that looks like the one hanging on the wall in the great room!"  Mission accomplished.

{recipe: House/Trees/Stars from the Saltbox Studio, mini alphabet, large Canvas background stamp (SU), Versafine onyx and sepia inks, prismacolor pencils, night of navy cardstock, mustard paper}

Arbor Day

 

Happy Arbor Day!  The trees in my town are celebrating Arbor Day today in their full blossoming splendor. My little Indy town is a Tree City USA, and it's never more obvious than in the spring. Lovely!

I borrowed this card format from ambouth on Splitcoast Stampers, who made the most adorable Christmas card using this stamp set.  Here's a link to the original:

http://www.splitcoaststampers.com/gallery/photo/1060429

{recipe: Season of Friendship, Sweet Little Sentiments (SU), pink pirouette/choc. chip cardstock, choc. chip/pink pirouette/ bordering blue inks, Bella Birds DSP, scallop edge punch, large and wide oval punches, felt flowers, rhinestone brad, taffeta ribbon}

And now, a poem appropriate for this warm and wonderful day!

Trees  by Sergeant Joyce Kilmer

I think that I shall never see/ A poem lovely as a tree.

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest/Against the earth's sweet flowing breast.

A tree that looks at God all day/And lifts her leafy arms to pray.

A tree that may in summer wear/A nest of robins in her hair.

Upon whose bosom snow has lain/Who intimately lives with rain.

Poems are made by fools like me/But only God can make a tree.

Recycled

 

Do you recycle?  Don't worry!  I'm not the green police here to measure the size of your carbon footprint.  ha ha! I try to reduce, reuse, and recycle whenever possible.  Last weekend, I bought a new (to me) vintage jean jacket. Voila!  I'm green!

Today, I found some elements to recycle and use on this card.  This large scalloped oval and chocolate ribbon were part of the gift wrapping from a present my husband gave me for my birthday.  It was too pretty to throw away, so I stashed it with my craft supplies for future use.  Who knew that green could be so pretty?

{recipe: Friends 24-7 (SU), Handbill Headlines (SU), choc. chip ink, baja breeze ink, Parisian Breeze dsp, Prima flowers, pearl}

More New Old Rubber

 

Here's another offering using my new old rubber.  This card uses the old stamp set, Wildflowers.

I tried a fun technique that is easy to do on a bold stamp image.  I inked the watering can in Basic Gray and then left it ink-side up on my craft table. Then I used an un-inked background stamp (Polka Dot) and stamped it onto the inked watering can to take away a little of the ink and leave a polka pattern onto the watering can.  Finally, I just stamped the watering can onto ivory cardstock, and it made the patterned watering can image that you see here. I like the effect...it makes it look like an old zinc watering can.

{recipe: Wildflowers (SU), Sweet Little Sentiments (SU), always artichoke ink, cardstock, Parisian Summer DSP, so saffron ink, elegant eggplant, regal rose, choc. chip, moss gingham ribbon}

In The Kitchen

 

When you are entertaining overnight visitors in your home for any length of time, you end up spending a lot of time in the kitchen.  Add five hungry boys to that recipe, and you're dishing something up every three hours!

I made this card today after the house guests left.  It was so quiet without them! For this card, I used some of my newest acquisitions...Love Bakes and Country Hutch.  I have a hutch a lot like this one in my great room, and let me tell you, it doesn't collect a lot of dust the way some hutches do.  We are constantly using our hutch...grabbing dishes, sorting through recipes, storing keys, stashing our glasses. It's always evolving depending on the need of the day.

I added a little framed needle art to this hutch...can you see it?  I drew a little frame around the "Love You" sentiment and stamped it in a Canvas background stamp to make it look like a sampler's cloth. I also colored the tea set to make it look like my traditional blue Longaberger pottery. We certainly used a lot of dishes this weekend!  My poor dishwasher and oven are worn out from overuse!  It was nice to sit around the table and drink coffee and tea with family.

{recipe: Love Bakes, Country Hutch, Canvas, Fancy Flexible Phrases (SU), not quite navy and kraft cardstock, red paper, versafine onyx ink, prismacolor pencils, heart brad, gingham ribbon, Martha Stewart punch}

Thanks for stopping by today...pour youself a cup of tea and sit a spell!

Watercolor Wheelbarrow

 

I've been having fun crafting with mom and my sister, Jenny.  I wowed them today with this card...my first attempt at watercoloring with Gamsol.  What fun!

{recipe: Little By Little (Stampin Up), versafine ink, old olive/ruby red cardstock, prismacolor pencils, gamsol, gingham ribbon, felt flower, flower button}

Poppies

 

It is nearly time for the Veteran's organizations to begin their yearly poppy sales.  It always touches my heart to buy a poppy from an older veteran.  I try explain the importance of our vets to my sons, and the tradition of the poppy.

Do you know why the vets sell poppies instead of, say, roses or daisies?  It is because of the famous poem, In Flanders Fields, by Lieut.-Col. John McCrae.  Here is the poem:

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow/Between the crosses, row on row/That mark our place; and in the sky/ The larks, still bravely singing, fly/ Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are The Dead. Short days ago/We lived, felt dawn, saw sunsets glow,/Loved and were loved, and now we lie/ In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe;/To you from failing hands we throw/ The torch; be yours to hold it high./If ye break faith with us who die/We shall not sleep, though poppies grow/ In Flanders fields.

Such a sad poem, isn't it? I love the way that poetry touches the heart.

{recipe: Oh So Lovely (SU), sentiment from Stampabilities, river rock/black, confetti white cardstock, black/ruby red/old olive ink for watercoloring, red brads, paper piercing tool}