FLOWERS & CACTI

Have you had enough rain yet????  It's hard for me to decide because with all the rain, the tree foliage is so vibrant and full that I am nothing but mesmerized when I'm sitting here looking out my window.  My laptop PC sits in front of a window looking out to the back yard and all the oak trees, the pond, and woods behind.  This is one of my favorite spots to sit when I am in the house.  My studio and PC is in the lower level of the house and we are on a hill so the view is gorgeous.  I wish I could paint a picture or Stampin' Up would create an irregular oak tree stamp (you know, one of those big gnarly ones with all the imperfections).  Boy oh boy, can you imagine all the different scenes you could create? 

And that leads me into one of my pictures I'm showing today.  This comes as no surprise to everybody that knows me, but I am known for killing all plants and flowers (i.e., I do NOT have a green thumb).  That is why I love looking at trees obviously, but also why I buy so many flower stamps for my cards.  I may not be able to grow them, but don't get me wrong, I love to look at them.  All that being said, I can't believe that I have found a plant that I can't kill:  CACTUS!!!  One of my customer friends brought me a few pieces over, and I just dropped them in between rocks (no dirt added or anything) and they just stay alive.  Don't ask me what they are called, because there is no reason for me to know the names of flowers/plants when I can't grow them - LOL.  I am so proud of the fact the cacti are still alive that I had to share.

This same customer friend who gave me the cacti, gave me some pansies she had crocheted.   For me, anything that is not Stampin' Up product (when crafting), can be duplicated.  I told her that SU sold beautiful crochet flowers and they could be colored to match our card stock, and promised I would do this technique to show her the effect.  So one of the cards uses her hand-made pansy and the other is Stampin' Ups'.  This is just to show you how awesome they are and how Stampin' Up makes it easy to shop for all your crafting needs in one place (one-stop shopping).


This is the flower my friend crocheted that I used with Stampin' Up product (see below).  The colors came out beautiful with my Classic Ink Refills.

  

This is the same card with different colors using the following product:  Happy Greetings and Flower Fancy Stamp Sets; Daffodil Delight, Concord Grape, Melon Mambo, and Whisper White Card Stock; Concord Grape, Daffodil Delight, and Perfect Plum Classic Stamp Re-inkers; Aqua Pen; Always Artichoke, Concord Grape, and Old Olive Classic Ink; Daffodil Delight 1/8" Taffeta Ribbon; Fleurettes II, and Big Shot Top Note Die.

 

And here are my cacti  just starting to bloom.  Today there are many more that have opened up, but as usual, too much rain so I couldn't get a picture.  If anybody knows the name of this plant/cactus, please leave me a comment and let me know what it is.

 

This is a close-up of one flower.  Isn't it beautiful.   I can't even believe that it is growing in my rocks and isn't even in the ground.  Plus, they are still alive after more than 2 years.  So there is hope for me!!!


Have a wonderful weekend (even tho I believe it is suppose to rain both days)!

Sandi
"And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." -- Ephesians 4:32
"Lord, let the power of forgiveness be at work in my life today and always."  -- Eric Fellman