Aunts are awesome, aren’t they? Well, my Aunt Kat is for sure. She is my daddy’s sister who mainly raised him. Their mom died when my dad was 4, and his dad died when he was 11. Aunt Kat and Aunt Ruth took on the responsibility of raising the younger siblings. My dad was blind due to an accident caused by him lighting a stick of dynamite, so Aunt Kat took extra care of him.
We were somewhat poor growing up, but Aunt Kat always made sure we had everything we needed. She and her first cousin were professional shoppers, and they used to come to our house after their escapades and share their goodies with us (all kinds of unseen candy, cookies from TJ Maxx, Chinese food, etc.). They often bought us school clothes and church clothes. When I became an adult, I joined the professional shopper league and would take my aunt Kat out of town to shop. Even after she required oxygen 24-7, she would pack up her tank and off we would go. Once, we got lost trying to find Hanes Mall in Winston-Salem, NC. We kept riding around in circles in residential areas (before GPS capabilities on your phone) looking for it until she actually ran out of oxygen! We gave up then and stopped to ask directions to head back home. Scared us both just a little, but it didn’t stop us from heading out again and again.
Aunt Kat’s health is declining fast, and it makes me so sad. She’s been unable to shop for a couple of years now, but she would scan the newspaper for sale ads or coupons to give me. I’ve been sending her cards that I make, and she absolutely loves them! Usually when I’m making a card, I know “this one is going to Aunt Kat” as I’m making it. I want it to be special, beautiful, and something to make her smile like this one.
I used the Basket Weave 3D embossing folder and Sahara Sand card stock as the background for the Pierced Blooms dies. These dies have many different flower shapes and sizes along with varying sizes of leaves. I used Purple Posey, Pool Party, Soft Seafoam and White card stock to crop out many images and layered them up then decided which to use. I used a scalloped square from the Layering Squares dies to stamp my sentiment. I thought it was perfect for Aunt Kat.
Below is the first card I made, and while I liked it, it wasn’t “Aunt Kat” worthy. I used the same card stock colors for the blooms, but I used the beautiful Love You Always DSP as my background piece. This lovely paper is still available until June I believe. I also used a scalloped rectangle die from Stitched So Sweetly dies for my sentiment. I decided this was too much white space, so I tried again with the square above and nailed it.
If there was ever a “bundle” that doesn’t need the stamp set to make it rock, this is it! This would be an excellent card to offer in an online beginner’s kit and I may have to follow-up on that! I even decorated the envelope with the die cut pieces.
Take away from this post? If you think back to people who were good to you growing up or people who had a positive impact on your life, send them a hand made card. It touches their heart and makes them smile.
Happy Easter!
Kim Webb
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