Why I do this

I make cards. You make cards. Beyond the addiction to it, and the satisfaction in the creation process, there's a real reason I make cards. You all get this. You all know why you make cards. Yes, it's fun. Yes, it's cheaper than buying ready-made cards. Yes, winning challenges, peer recognition, and even being published are all meritorious reasons to make cards. My reason? The real one underneath all the other reasons? Hard to put into a description, but let me tell you what happened this morning.

I was making a card for the Inskpirational Challenge, where dear friend Carol has just joined the design team, when I got a text message. My nearly 21-year old granddaughter, Jessica, asked if I had a baby card in my stash. A friend of hers just delivered a baby boy, and she wanted to give the family a nice card. Now, she could have gone to the Walgreens or CVS and picked up a nice card, but she chose to text me and ask if I had one. I had a couple actually, so I texted her back and included photos of both. A bit later she came and got the card she liked best. It didn't have a sentiment on the inside yet, so while we were talking, I quick made up an appropriate sentiment all decorated to match, and even added a matching sequin. She said to me, and I quote, "I love your cards." That's the simplest way I can tell you why I do this; why I make cards. Because they delight the people I love. I give bunches to all the grown up kids at Christmas, and I always hear things from them like, "Oh good, I was almost out of cards," or "Whenever I give one of your cards to someone, they are thrilled to get it." Ego stroked, yeah, but my kids actually LIKE getting a stash, and that means so much more to me. Jessica has asked to be put on that "grown up card stash list" this year for Christmas. Sometimes I'd much rather she were still a teeny-tiny little girl who would come and sit on grandma's lap and cuddle, but I'll admit she's grown into quite the wonderful young lady. She's got Berkeley in mind for Law School, where she can get a J.D. and a Ph.D in Social Justice. Smart girl. All grown up now. And she likes grandma's cards.

Moving right along.... I finished the card after Jess left, and like the way it turned out. The Word Prompt is:

I went all literal with my card. Found some Echo Park cut files for flowers in my Cameo's library, and found the perfectly colored scraps for them. And while digging in my sticker stash, hoping to find something appropriate, I found perfection. Take a look:

Thought about adding stems and leaves, but decided I liked the floaty look of them. Can you see the little sticker on the bottom? Yep, it says "bloom!!" I added a Michaels blue bling to the center of the little flower to pull a bit more blue into the whole scheme. The base is Neenah white, but all the rest of the papers are scraps. I put some Wink of Stella in the flower centers, but it's hard to tell in this photo.  Now I'm off to get a card sent to Belgium, then who knows, since I don't feel like fighting the crowds at the garden centers, I just might skip gardening today and work in my craft room! Happy dances everyone!