After I posted yesterday’s card, I continued to play with the Green Thumb set and chalk inks. I loved the results and every time I would put a color combination together, I was thinking of all the flowers that my mother had at the river. She would start planting now, and always had these huge flower pots overflowing with beautiful flowers. If it stood still and you could put dirt in it, she would. There were always two whiskey barrels on either side of the stairs leading down to the docks, which were planted with a dracaena in the middle and then red and white impatiens all around. Under the river birches, liriope outlines the bed, hostas up to your knees and always heart shaped begonias in pots. On the decks, pots upon pots of red and white geraniums, some impatiens thrown in for the fun of it, and hummingbird feeders. On the deck off the master bedroom, was a lattice piece that held clematis, more pots in front with impatiens and caladiums. There were twinkle lights that would come on at dusk and a plague that some dear friends gave her when my dad passed away, always sat off to one side. There were also three more hummingbird feeders on this deck. My mother has moved now, and is in a garden home. She has a huge patio that wraps all around her home and is enclosed by brick walls. It will be a fabulous garden area for her when she gets started. There is a lot to pull out and replace, plenty of area for her existing pots and outdoor furniture. I can’t wait to see what she does with the new place to turn it into her garden oasis. Of course, she still owns the river house, is in the process of cleaning out my dad and grandfather’s tools and junk from the sheds and basement, with the intent of selling. She has worked at the river a few days over the last week, actually stayed over the weekend, and my sister said that mom told her she might not sell. It would be so nice in the summer. Yep – more work! Which is why she bought a new home and moved, so she wouldn’t have all the steps, the huge yard to maintain, and the river bank to keep clean. I’m sure we will all miss the river! The view is magnificent, it’s quiet and we had fabulous family get togethers there. We will all remember the days we played on the wave runners, took boat rides, and just swam around and floated. My girls grew up there. They are river rats. They had water fights with their granddad, laughed and had fun! My dad made the river special for all us! The night he passed away, there was a big storm, thunder, lightening, blowing rain. When the storm passed, and my mother and I were sitting on the screened in porch having coffee and baileys, the sun came out and the river was red. I’m sure it’s something we will never see again in our lifetime. The river was a magical place!

Today’s card is for the Ways to Use it Challenge on Splitcoast. The object of the challenge today is to use Orchid Opulence. I made this card for mom for Mother’s Day – remembering her flowers, the river and my dad! Once again, I used Green Thumb by Papertrey Ink. The flower pot was inked in Close to Cocoa and then rocked a little in Mellow Moss. The flowers were stamped in Orchid Opulence, Pixie Pink and Brocade Blue. The leaves and stems were stamped in Certainly Celery. In the center of each flower I added just a drop of Tulip Crystal Sparkles Glitter paint. Instead of drawing doodles or piercing around the flowers, I decided to sew a line of stitching on the sewing machine. The DP is SU Just Delightful simply scrappin’, which was also sewn on the sewing machine.

Stamps: Green Thumb by Papertrey Ink

Ink: Orchid Opulence, Certainly Celery, Brocade Blue, Pixie Pink, Close to Cocoa, Mellow Moss

Paper: Whisper White, Certainly Celery, Brocade Blue, simply scrappin’ Just Delightful

Accessories: Ribbon, Brads, Sewing Machine, Dimensionals, Tulip Crystal Sparkles Glitter Paint