Handmade Special Delivery Garden Card

 

I made this card for Mother's Day, but it would be appropriate for many different occasions.

This card features the digital stamp "Delivery" from Maurie J. Manning of Mo's Digital Pencil. This image was a gift to Ms. Manning's Patreon supporters in March 2020.

The garden shed in the background is the digital stamp "Garden Shed BG" from Mo's Digital Pencil.

 The "Grow" sign on the shed and the potted plants in front of the shed are elements in the digital stamps "Potter's Corner (Separated)" from Mo's Digital Pencil. 

I colored the images on this card with Copic Sketch markers. I die-cut the clouds and grass and attached them to the card front. I then attached the completed design to a turquoise card base. 

I will enter this card in the following challenge;

Mo's Digital Pencil Challenge #303

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Let Love Grow Handmade Card

Click on the image to enlarge.

This card could be used for Valentine's Day, a spring birthday or just to let someone know you are thinking about them.

I used the digital stamp/image "Let Love Grow" from Mo's Digital Pencil. I colored the image with Copic Sketch markers.
The background digital paper is from "Paris in My Heart Printable Journal Kit" by EphemerasGarden on Etsy.

The base is a blank kraft card that measures 5" by 7". I embellished the card with a piece of red baby rickrack trim.

I will enter this card in the following challenge:
Mo's Challenge #288 - Love

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Book Review: Camel Lot; A Misplaced Adventure

My Rating: 4 stars out of 5

Camel Lot; A Misplaced Adventure, written and illustrated by Karen Jones, is a charming chapter book for children.  It is currently being offered as a FREE ebook on Amazon.
Three siblings created an imaginary kingdom named "Camel Lot" when they decided to spend the afternoon playing in their mother's forbidden flower garden.

About The Author
Karen Jones lives in Indiana with her husband, daughter and Chihuahua dog. Her family is a constant source of inspiration. She has written numerous poems, stories and funny lyrics. Ms. Jones wrote "Bermuda's Triangle; A Misplaced Adventure", another ebook for children.

An Imaginary Kingdom
When Artie, Lance and Gwen were instructed to go outside and play, they struggled to think of fun things to do. Five-year-old Gwen suggested that they play in their mother's garden. They were NEVER allowed to play in the garden without permission. They decided that the forbidden garden would be the perfect place to spend the afternoon.
The children decided the garden would be a magical kingdom named "Camel Lot". Artie was the king, Lance was a knight and Gwen was the princess. The children soon realized that they were not alone in the garden.  Gwen got an unexpected push as she sat on the garden swing. Gwen's brothers were determined to get to the bottom of this prank.  They were shocked when they found a lonely neighbor boy in Camel Lot.

My Thoughts
I read this book on my Kindle and took a look at the color illustrations on my Kindle for PC application. This book has six short chapters and 6 color illustrations. The illustrations feature scenes from around the garden.
This book is appropriate for children in grades 2 - 4 and could be used as a read-aloud for younger children.
I enjoyed the daring and imaginative spirits of these children. This is a wonderful example of kids having fun without expensive toys, a television or a video game. The mysterious visitor in the garden brings an element of suspense to the story. I would love to see a picture of the children in this story. The garden illustrations were good but it just seems like something is missing. A few more illustrations would make this good book a great book.
I encourage you to download this book while it is FREE and share it with a child in your life. You will be glad you did.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

How does your garden grow? I live in SE Texas so my garden has been in the ground for about four weeks. We planted tomatoes, sweet peppers, onions and some herbs. I am celebrating the spring garden season by entering this card in Mo's Digital Pencil Challenge #77 ~ "How Does Your Garden Grow?" The card must have something to do with flower or vegetable gardening to enter this contest.
This is how I made the card;
(1) I used a base card made from kraft card stock.
(2) The yellow paper is Bazzill embossed card stock.
(3) The image is "The Big Guy's Garden" from Mo's Digital Pencil Shop. I colored the image with Prismacolor pencils and mounted it on a piece of dark blue card stock.
(4) I embellished the card with a photo corner made from Bazzill embossed paper and a glitter sticker that says "Simple Joy".

My tomatoes are growing and some of the plants even have a few blooms. We really need some rain to keep the garden plants strong and healthy. I should be eating some fresh, homegrown tomatoes around the first of June. I can't wait!

How does your garden grow? Please post your comment below. I love to hear from you!

ReadyMade; Instructions for Everyday Life

I usually write book reviews but today I would like to share a magazine that I discovered on a local news stand. ReadyMade Magazine is a magazine about people who make things, and the culture of making. The magazine covers DIY, design, home, food, crafts, style, places and  projects. The ReadyMade community appears to be quite large and the web site includes a blog, a place for readers to post projects, the magazine and an opportunity to connect on Facebook and Twitter.
The cover of the magazine features two cute table lamps made from old recycled books. I am very interested in reusing old items to create new treasures so I opened the magazine to have a look. I was delighted to see a variety of ideas for reusing and repurposing old treasures to make brand new useful items for your home and garden.

Here are a few of the creative ideas that are featured in the April/May, 2011 issue of ReadyMade Magazine;

Credit Card Earrings
Have you ever cut up an old credit card and thrown it in the trash? What about those little fake credit cards that you get in the mail? You can cut the plastic cards into unique shapes, punch tiny holes in the top and add some French wire earring hooks that are available at most crafts shops. These dangle earrings are cute and unique. 

TV Shelf
What do you do with your old TV sets? Many of these old relics from the 1980s and 1990s end up in landfills or thrift shops. One crafty lady designed a unique storage unit by taking the insides and the screens out of the TVs and bolting them together. She then filled them with books, shoes and decorative items.

Old Record Albums
I have seen quite a few crafty ideas for using old vinyl records, but this one is truly unique. Matt Glassmeyer used more than 100 vinyl records as a roof for his porch in Nashville, TN. The records were left outside in the rain, heat and snow for two years. They were still the same - no brittleness or warping. Mr. Glassmeyer explains exactly how to arrange the records on the roof for the best waterproofing effects.

This magazine has encouraged me to think outside of the box. There are so many ways to recycle, repurpose and reuse items that are no longer needed. The magazine and the web site will provide inspiration to all who are ready to get crafty and start some new projects.

I invite you to check out these resources and let me know what you think in the comments below.