As some of you may know, my 98 year old mom passed away in a residential nursing home in June of 2020 and although she didn't die of COVID19 she did die because of COVID19.
I know that sounds weird, however when older folks like my mom who are used to having visitors and going for walks and participating in activities are isolated in their rooms and kept apart from their friends and loved ones during a pandemic it breaks their spirit, causes depression and some just simply die as a result of it.
My mom was such a person. Her dream was to live to be 100 and I really believed she would do it. Her goal was to be the oldest surviving member of her family. She talked about it all the time. And although she was classed as a frail elderly person, she was a strong fighter and a determined woman who usually could make her way back from the brink no matter what. She was like the Ever Ready Bunny and because of that she was my hero in so many ways. Unfortunately because of COVID she gave up.
So mom this Valentine's day post is in your tribute and for all the love you shared with our family. You had so much fun and enjoyment making cards for your grand and great grand kids for Valentines and other occasions, so I know you'd be delighted to hear Heather and I made some Valentines cards for the nursing home residents where you lived, and we dropped them off last weekend. While we were there, we waved and blew kisses at the window to three of your very special friends - Pat, Lucille and Doreen.
Here's Some of the Cards I Made:
I don't know how you like to make cards but when I have a lot to do I like doing an assembly line instead of working on one-at-a-time. I gather all my supplies such as stamps, card stock, dsp, ink, dies, punches and whatever additional embellishments or accessories I'll be using, and then I get to work. I also like to have an idea of how many I need to make and a design.
This is what the top of my desk looked like as I started assembling my cards.
For my main images on most of the cards, I used the Kangaroo & Company and Darling Donkeys animal images as well as the tiny envelopes and sentiments for embellishments. The heart from my Dog Builder punch came in handy for punching out the tiny red, pool party and dsp hearts. I used a 3/4" circle punch for the Feb 14th sentiment and the retired Gift Bow Builder Punch and one of the stamps from that bundle for the little sentiments from Kangaroo and Company. |
I used Stampin' Blends to colour the mama and baby kangaroos and the little heart clusters. The Kangaroos, the heart envelope and the heart clusters are all components of the Kangaroo & Company stamp and die set which is currently in Stampin' Up!s January to June Mini Catalogue. |
For the ten cards I made for the nursing home I used a sentiment from the retired stamp set Lift Me Up that says "Just a Note to Lift Your Spirits". I thought that was very appropriate and meaningful for these elderly folks during COVID times.
Kangaroo and Company is a 20 image stamp set and has a coordinating 11 piece die set. It's certainly a versatility and fun set that can be used for almost any occasion. I love that the die for the mama kangaroo cuts the pouch opening so you can insert a variety of the images like the flower or heart bundles. Besides the kangaroos I stamped the envelope, some of the sentiments and the bundle of hearts for my Valentines Day cards. Love it! |
Darling Donkeys is a Sale-A-Bration 21 stamp set and is available for FREE with a $60.00 purchase from any of Stampin' Ups Current Catalogues until the end of February or while supplies last. I can't get enough of these cute little donkeys. So much fun! |