I'm travelling into a new way of working, a new country, a new language, and a new hobby which I'm passionate about. Come with me for some of the journey...

Tuesday 8 August 2017

A 100 Year Old Rose






Hello all!  Thanks so much for your lovely comments on my bright and dark posts - from the Sunshine Watercolour Dwellings to the Glint of Moonlight on Broken Glass.

We're moving from those brights and darks back into the gentle, natural colour palette which is more usual around here.  But the project itself is a rarity at Words and Pictures...  it's a card.

Not just any card, but the card I made for our next-door-neighbour, Rose, for her 100th birthday.

With a name like that, the choice of subject for the card is easy (just as well, since I find making cards really difficult for some reason).  If you follow Cestina's Dollshouses, you'll have seen the lovely miniature rose arbour she created for Rose's 100th birthday present.  And there's lots of rose-related music, trivia and ephemera in the post too.











Rose's favourite colour is green, so that took care of some of the decision making too.

The background panel is made with Tim Holtz's Floral layering stencil.  And it started out as a tag before I trimmed it.  (I've found that starting with a tag is a pretty good way of tricking my brain into card-making.)














I applied texture paste through the stencil and then spritzed some Tattered Angels sprays over it once it was dry... mainly English Ivy, but there's some Patina and some Shade in there too.















I'm pretty sure those are wild roses on the stencil (or dog roses as they are also known for some reason).














The paper roses are from my stash.  I needed the card almost immediately on my return from New York, so I'm afraid there wasn't time for handmade flowers.













But I did manage to squeeze the foliage punch onto the trimmed off top part of the tag to get a few leaves to add to the open bloom.














And I couldn't resist adding the Stein quote from my stamp set PaperArtsy EAB01 Trees and Flowers... well, it was inevitable really, wasn't it?!















It's stamped in Olive Archival to tone in with the background.













Tim's Simple Saying stamps earn their keep again, with the greeting stamped and embossed in Bright White Wow powder both outside... 














... and inside.











And plenty of white spatter finishes the whole thing off.

A fairly simple card, but I'm happy to say it's standing on the mantlepiece right next to the one from Her Majesty the Queen!

I'll be back in a couple of days with an exciting post, so I'll hope to see you again soon.

The first fact about the celebration of birthdays is that it is a good way of affirming defiantly, and even flamboyantly, that it is a good thing to be alive.
G.K. Chesterton




In a bit of pretty serendipitous timing, the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge is celebrating its 7th birthday by playing Happy Birthday this week, so I'd like to share Rose's 100th birthday card there

34 comments:

Dortesjs said...

sweet,and congrats to your neighbour Rose ;O))

Valerie-Jael said...

Gorgeous card, happy birthday to Rose! Hugs, Valerie

brenda said...

Different colour palette for you Alison but really quite lovely, the soft greens with the white Roses give a very calming feel.

B x

Amanda said...

Beautiful card and Happy Birthday to Rose.
Love
Amanda x

Helen said...

I went off to read Cestina's post before finishing this one - WOW!! and your card is wow too! what an achievement all round, not least Rose herself!!

chrissie said...

A really amazing card Alison as was the arbour Cestina made. Rose will be so thrilled I am sure and such a special birthday to be celebrating as well. You should make cards more often I think because this is so unusual

Love Chrissie xx

craftytrog said...

Congratulations & a happy birthday to Rose! You made a wonderful card for her Alison!

Dorthe said...

Yes a rose for Rose, what else could it be, Alison, and a most beautiful card - so love the stenciled background, so pretty, -do you know they try to kill all dog roses on the beaches in Denmark.... so stupid, as they do not do any harm along the coastline, for me to see.
Love your card.
xoxo

Lys said...

Such a delicate card (a so light influence of the tag...;)) for a treasured birthday. Roses will always be.

Annie said...

A stunning card for Rose and how wonderful to reach 100 years old. Love the details you have shared Alison and I am sure Rose will treasure it.
TFS and sending my best wishes
Annie xx

Patty O'Malley said...

Beautiful card!

simo said...

This card is absolutely beautiful, as the story behind it...wow...100 years...thank you so much for your sweet words, Alison...take care! Simona

My name is Erika. said...

This is a gorgeous card. I love the texture piece you used. And white roses. How pretty.

Mrs.B said...

A beautiful card and of course the perfect words, Thanks for the link to Cestina's wonderful post.
Avril xx

Julie Lee said...

What a lovely card for Rose! The roses and the white spatters are beautiful and the Gertrude Stein quote is just perfect - such fun! It's totally gorgeous in every way for a very special birthday. xx

Inkyfingers said...

Wow, this is such an enchanting card and I can see why Rose gave it pride of place with the Queen's card. Your stenciling technique is fabulous.

Corrie Herriman said...

Beautiful ! I love that stencil too !
Corrie x

Cocofolies said...

Simple, but really exquisite.
I have this Roses stencil (not your quotes yet, sadly), and you show me a delightful way of using it, in such green (or blue I guess) shades over the paste... Wonderful, especially with the words you chose to go with your tag panel, simple but so beautiful!
Just a question: thinking to that... do you have some samples of your stamps set to sell to friends maybe, at a reasonable price for the postage costs??
Otherwise, I think I can ask to a french retailer (Kerudoc) to order them too maybe (so far they were not in her shop, but maybe I must check). Should have emailed you Alison, but I have so little time to chat this summer... :(
Hugs xx

Redanne said...

That is such a great tip to use a tag to start off a card, a beautiful card it is too! Love the green and the sentiment, is of course, just perfect. How wonderful to get to 100!! Anne xx

Sue said...

What a gorgeous card Alison, just perfect for your neighbour. I'm not a fan of card making either, it's always 'needs must' xx

Meggymay said...

Its a gorgeous card for your neighbours special Birthday. It was a lovely stencil you used.
Yvonne xx

Jane said...

What a beautiful rose card you made for Rose Alison. Gorgeous colours, many congrats to your neighbour xxx

sarascloset said...

Alison, I had a good laugh at how you trick your brain into card mode! And I find it hard to believe you don't have confidence in your card making abilities--you are a natural! This one in particular is a beautiful design! The olive green and white splattering looks fabulous with the kraft backdrop and your quote stamp is PERFECT! I bet Rose loves this! Happy belated birthday wishes to Rose! Sending hugs!

Evelyn Walter said...

Hello dear Alison, sorry for being so absent here in commenting your glorious artwork. I didn´t have the best times lately and only did less commenting. Now I try to catch up.
Greetings to your neighbour Rose! Wow, such a long life! I love your birthday tag!
xxx Evelyn

Lauren Hatwell said...

How lovely!

pearshapedcrafting said...

You and your Mum are both so talented and Rose must be over the moon that you are neighbours! Chrisx

Jackie PN said...

WOW!! Absolutely Stunning Alison!
What a gorgeous card, especially from someone who says she has a hard time card-making! heehee are you fibbing?

I'll bet Rose just adored this! How wonderful to have a special friend to make it to that age! Thanks so much for sharing!
Jackie xx

Jackie PN said...

and when do we get to hear this exciting news?????

maj. said...

It is lovely card!!!!

A Pink said...

Beautiful card! Gorgeous textured wild rose green panel with the natural Kraft card and such a wonderful sentiment for the Birthday girl, Rosie. I bet she love it .
hugs x

Craftyfield said...

One word to sum it up: delightful! The soft colours and Vintage feel, the distressed look and the rose thread throughout the card, everything is just so...

froebelsternchen said...

A wonderful unique card for such a special birthday! WOW!
I so adore this poem and your creation is absolutely beautiful Alison!

Anna-Karin said...

Such a wonderful card for a very special birthday. Love the green, the perfect poem and the dimensional roses. Thank you so much for joining us this week at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Alison!

Etsuko said...

What a beautiful and I think your thoughts was soon communicated to your friends. xx