Going Green

Last minute today I decided to go visit a dear friend of mine.  She lives way out in the country toward the mountains and, though it is a bit of a drive, every time I go I come home with a real sense of peace.  We spent the day playing together.  I shared my new Sweet Stamps with her and she made the most gorgeous cards.  Check out her blog here.  She shared all her dies, inks, cardstock, and anything else I needed that didn’t come with me.  They own an organic farm and recycle so I knew I would find something I needed for a card using "Recycled" items.

This card was so fun.  I love Penny Black stamps and this little guy is one of my favorites.  I started with a white card base, then added a lovely cardstock that is close to periwinkle.  I fear that my pictures did not quite do this card justice.  I added a layer of lovely yellow floral cardstock from Basic Grey.  It is one of my favorites.

I stamped the image in black on white and colored with my watercolor pencils.  I sponged a little yellow around the edges and layered it on a periwinkle Spellbinder die using foam tape to pop it up a bit.   I ran some wide ribbon across the card and layered this image on top of it.

I tied the same ribbon into a lovely bow, then layered a smaller sheer yellow bow on top of this.  I added a small flower with a homemade yellow dew drop in the center.  I sued a Justrite charm stamp and added one of their messages, stamped on the charm in yellow.  I cut this out and adhered it to the bow.  I apologize that the sentiment is so hard to see.  It says “A Gift for You”.  This makes it perfect to use for Birthday, Mother’s Day, or any other special occaision.

For final touches I added some yellow embroidery floss to the bow and strung some homemade paper beads on the ends.  These are another item Bonnie was so kind to share with me.  They are made out of left over scraps of paper.  They are really quite pretty and a great way to recycle your paper scraps,  I added a cute little butterfly to the corner of the image and then some more homemade yellow dewdrops along the bottom left side of the card.  I found these really cute wired crystals at A. C. Moores the other day in the wedding aisle.  I cut one apart and tucked it behind the bow.  It actually has a very light lilac color to the crystals.

This card is entered in the following challenges:

Basic Grey Challenge #40 – Recycled

Penny Black Saturday Challenge Week 144 – Recycling

Aifactory Challenges AIF#074 – Bright as Day

Crafts and Me Challenges #28 – Use Yellow

Delightful Challenges – Flowers

Sentimental Sundays Challenge #48 – Cute & Cuddly plus a Sentiment