This card is the culmination of a few different forces coming together in the perfect creative storm. Fall was abruptly kicked out of the Northeast on Thursday by a (rude and extremely disruptive) late fall snowstorm that virtually crippled our area that evening. That meant this girl was outside snow blowing the driveway (my most loathed winter responsibility) late at night, lamenting my snow-covered mums and silently cursing the freezing rain making the chore all the more miserable.
As I made my way through the snow, I found myself thinking a lot. I realized that fall flew by in an instant and that I had never made any fall-themed cards. Oops! But I also found myself thinking about my dad. My husband travels for work a lot, and before my dad got sick, he would always call me during a snowstorm to check on me and the kids and tell me that if I had trouble with the snow, he would come right over to help. Despite the fact that I think about and miss him every day, his absence becomes so profound at certain moments like these. Although I allow myself to be sad, I also try to remember my gratitude for the fact that he was such a profound influence in my life. I am so grateful that I had him as my dad... I couldn't have asked for a better father or grandfather for my kids.
I came inside, dried off, and couldn't sleep. Thus... this card. Nothing seemed more fitting than a fall-themed gratitude card. I stamped out Concord & 9th's beautiful Grateful for Everything floral arrangement on watercolor paper and used my Zig Clean Color Real Brush Markers to watercolor the images. I experimented with layering different color washes, first laying down a base color, letting it dry, then laying more washes of color on top. I was so pleased with the depth and interest you can achieve this way!
I originally intended this card to be a single-layer card, but I stamped my sentiment crooked. 😕 So out came the fussy cutting scissors! After cutting out the images, I stamped my "Grateful" sentiment (straight this time) on a piece of woodgrain cardstock and stitched over it in gold thread. I then layered the floral images up with foam tape and added the "for you" on top. Some Pretty Pink Posh gold sequins finished it up.
I think I finished this card at 1:30 a.m., but this is one of the only cards I have ever started and finished in one evening! It holds a special place in my heart. Yesterday, we celebrated our first Thanksgiving without my dad. We congregated at my mom's home and despite the fact that his absence was palpable, we have so much we found ourselves grateful for. We spent time together, ate a delicious dinner, and laughed and reminisced about old memories. And I gave this card to my mom... she was the most perfect recipient.
I hope you enjoyed this project as much as I loved creating it. Links to the products I used are below. I participate in the Scrapbook.com affiliate program, which means that I receive a small commission at no cost to you when products are purchased through the links I share. Thank you so much for your support!
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