PTI Anniversary Challenges: Take 4 & A Few of My Favorite Things

Hello!  I've been posting a lot lately....twice just today!  It's been fun.  Plus, the PTI Anniversary Challenges are pretty tempting, so I've been trying to carve out time to play along.  I made this card for the Honoring Mom's Challenge to create a bouquet with more than one stamp set and the Blue Skies Challenge to make a card with a blue ombre effect.  I knew just what I wanted to do.  I was a little disappointed in the white embossing powder.  Any one have a good suggestion on a true white powder?  I'm also linking this up to CASology's Love Challenge.  No better way to show someone you love them than to be there for them.

I love bouquets that have twirly twigs, neat greenery, and a few unique flowers, so I tried to recreate that.  My bouquet was built with PTI's Birds & Blooms, Bigger Blooms, Daydreamer, and Embellished Elegance.  The jar is from Friendship Jars: Summer Fillers and the sentiment is from Round & Round.  I watercolored with Aqua Mist, Hawaiian Shores, and Taken with Teal.

And for fun, I thought I'd show you where I sometimes put cards for a few days after I finish them (usually as a reminder to myself to mail them).  I have a little corner on my dresser dedicated mostly to my son.  This picture is 3 years old, but it's a favorite.  The hand print is from about the same age...see his cute chubby fingers?  The drawing in the back was my mother's day card from my son and husband, and the white dish holding the card was my grandmother's, whom I loved dearly.  In fact, my daughter's middle name is my grandmother's name.  And if you've ever wondered why I take my pictures on a beat up cutting board instead of a nice smooth piece of wood, it is because the cutting board was that same grandma's.  She only cut bread on it, and I inherited it when I went to college.  I never used it for cutting because other roommates had cutting boards.  The stains and holes are from some of my very first craft attempts with stamps and eyelets in college.  So there you have it.  I use a beat up old board because it is sentimental.  Phew...that was a lot, but I thought since today is a day to celebrate the things and people you love, this was a fun way to show you a few of mine. Oh, and since I don't want to totally leave my other little one out, here she is helping me take pictures the other day.  Have a beautiful weekend!