Hydrangea Love and Hugs Card

As I was looking through my stamps, trying to decided what I wanted to use for a card to send to a special aunt, I came across this old, old hydrangea stamp.  My Aunt Jean had always loved gardening, especially her flowers.  Now that she is in an assisted living community, and has no yard for a garden, she misses growing her plants.  I know she loved her hydrangeas, so I made her this card......

The stamp is from Rubber Stampede (I told you it was an old stamp).  I stamped it onto watercolor paper with antique linen distress ink, for no-line watercoloring.  To paint the hydrangea, I used Kuretake Gansai Tambi paints.  I had put off buying these paints for a long time, and I'm here to tell you that they were certainly worth the wait.  They are creamy, smooth, and rich.  It is a joy to paint with them.  

Here is a close-up of the sparkly Sending die.....

 

For the background, I used my Clarity brushes and brushed a soft background with my TH distress ink squeezed lemonade.  Then  I dabbed water droplets on it and used a towel to pick up the ink where the drops were.  This created that mottled look and a textured feel to the background.  I layered the panel onto a purple card.

The Sending die is from Simon Says Stamp, as are the words 'you love & hugs' (from their Sending & Wishing set). I cut two of them from yellow card stock, and the top one from yellow glitter card stock, and stacked them together for dimension.  

Some amethyst Swarovski crystals finish the card. 

I am adding my card to these challenges:

Addicted To Stamps - Make Your Mark

Allsorts Challenge - Fabulous Florals

Thank you for stopping by.  I would love to hear from you.  Let me know you were here!

Blessings,

lynda