"Those" cards

 

Our theme this month was my choice, and, just like everyone, although I don't like to think of it, there are times in our life when a not so jolly card is required, so I thought I'd bite the bullet & choose sympathy, thinking about you & get well.

 

I opened Liz's parcel first & found some lovely bits & bobs, including this poppy image, which is one of my favourite stamps. All I added to this was the glitter strip, the sentiment & the three red gems.

 

 

Everything on this card came from the parcel. Because I decided to use the flowery background paper, I didn't want the image to be too fussy, so I used very few colours on the flowers. I love this little girl stamp, she's very versatile.

 





 

This butterfly is one of Liz's favourite dies :o) Because it was cut with 2 tone paper, I wanted to keep to that & although you can't see it very well, the white card is mounted onto a dark green card. All I added to this was the silver gems to give it a bit of a lift.

 

 

Another card using the little girl image. This was hard to photograph because of all the different shades of green :o) Some look more like yellow or mustard in the pic, but in reality, they're all various shades of light green. Again, all I added was the green gems & I used a die to cut the image & its background .

 



Now on to Terri's parcel :o)

 

This lovely bouquet just shouted *get well card* to me, so I just matt & layered it onto a purple paper that was in the parcel & then used vellum for the top left & another purple for the bottom.Also in the parcel was the lovely black butterfly sticky ribbon & just to continue the theme, I stamped black butterflies in random places. Not too sure if they go, really, but it's too late now :o)

 

Terri is a great advocate for reduce, reuse & recycle, so she often includes old cards & pictures & as well as the flower bouquet above, she included the following two flowers :o)

 

Lilies, to me, are rather like chrysanths - they are traditional on sympathy cards and for funerals. I used a die to cut this single lily from the card front Terri had included & decided to keep it as simple as possible. I think simple cards for sad occasions are much more suitable. But maybe that's just me :o) I just added black glitter strip & gems from my stash.

 

And lastly, the other flower from a card front, the beautiful poppy. Nothing, in my opinion, can really improve a poppy, so yet again, plain & simple was the order of the day.

 



 

 

Now onto September's parcels, where the theme is:

 

MEN !!! ::o)

Heavenly Hollyhocks

and other beautiful flowers :o)

 

Over the past few days, I've been taking photos of the flowers in my garden. Even though it's a big garden, it never really looks better than in the Spring, when the trees are in blossom & the daffodils and Aquelegia are out.

 

I love old fashioned, country cottage type flowers & have been lucky enough to grow quite a few from seed, including one of my all time favourites, Hollyhocks :o)

 

I only have 3 colours -  a burgundy,a deepish pink & a most gorgeous pale pinky white one - but I'm positive I used to have a yellow one. Gawd knows where it's gone, though. I'll have to look out for one next year, I think, to replace it.

 

Anyhoo - when I was taking some photos, I managed to get 4 of a buzzy bee, doing what he does best - collecting pollen from my Hollyhocks :o)

 

 

 

 Here he is on the start of his journey in this particular flower.

 

 

 

In this pic, he seems to be having a good old rootle around.

 

 

 

In this one, he seems to have disappeared right deep inside.

 

 

And here he is again, almost completely covered. I bet he weighed a lot more going back to the hive than he did coming out :o) A good job jobbed, as my Mum would say :o)

 

 

 

This is one of the taller Hollyhocks - you can see it's taller than the fence between us & next door & that fence is taller than me :o)

 

 

I adore this one - the colour is just so beautiful & delicate.

 

One of my jobs this week is to tie them back to the fence. I can't get in the greenhouse because they are so unwieldy :o) I also need to tie the honeysuckle back because it's fallen off the top of the fence & is blocking my way into the veg cage. I have to bend double to get under it & being a PeaJayKay of the well upholstered variety, it isn't easy !! :o)

 



 

I love the colour of this Caen anemone.

 

Now this is one of my all time favourite flowers - Hemerocallis, also known as the Day Lily because each flower only lasts a day.  It's in the top 3 of my *Top Ten Must Haves* in the garden :o)

 

The delicate looking Dog rose. As much as I love the colour of this, it's not in my *Top Ten* :o)

 

 

A definite in my list - Japanese anemone. I only have the white variety but I would love to have a pink one, too.

 

 

 

 Poppies are a must have. Not only for their delicate beauty, but for what they signify.

 

Lest We Forget.

 

 

I  just love this peach coloured Gladioli.

I've always loved Gladi's - maybe when I was a kid, I had a premonition that I'd marry an Australian. If so, it sort of came true - Shaun's half Australian  :o)  

 

A red gladi :o) 

I'm not a lover of the colour red, but red flowers & red at Christmas are a must :o)

 

This beautiful little red rose is in my little memorial garden, known as Kit's Korner. This rose is in memory of Peg, a dear friend who died a few years ago.

 



 

And finally, this rose is also in Kit's Korner. It's in memory of Johno, who, once he'd learned to Trivvie hug, didn't want to stop :o)

 

I have a long list of things to do in the garden this week & I'm pleased to say that after the appalling weather we had last year, things are growing well in the veg cage. Even the courgettes have survived !! :o)

 

Here's to a happy harvest :o)