Bringing Out the Old: Whimsical Wednesday Challenge!

Happy Wednesday, my crafty friends! I hope your February is off to a fantastic start! :o)

This week's Whimsical Wednesday challenge is to incorporate something that you haven't used in a long time to create a scrapbook LO, card, or project. It can be anything crafty related, be it a tool, cartridge, paper, or embellishment. (Tell us what it is, too!) My pretty ribbon and lovely weathered-green base are my old items. :o)

I combined old and new goodies to create a card inspired by my parents' 49th wedding anniversary, celebrated last week. :o) I tried a new-to-me fancy fold card: the diamond fold! I opted for the inside-out variation which moves the diamond inside.

Before the card springs to life, our little sweetheart is planting love...

Faithfully cared for, the love blossoms into all things beautiful... "All because we fell in love"

Forty-nine years later, my parents still love each other so much. Thinking about love that endures the tough times (and even becomes stronger from them) made this card come to be. I used three coordinating sheets of romantic papers full of vintage-y charm for the main theme, with each individual section machine-sewn to its cream mat. Those new patterned papers are from the gorgeous Kaisercraft English Rose collection, while the entire design is built upon my old and neglected green paper. The base may not show well in the pictures, but it's weathered and has sporadically-placed script. It is from the DCWV French Country stack which I needed when I saw it, thinking I'd use it oodles since I had nothing like it... and then only used it once. The same can be said for the neglected sheer pink ribbon, which is so pretty. I don't know why I've kept them aside for so long. Combining old and new seemed ideal to honor a love that began in the 50s and still thrives with each new day. :o)

On the front, our sweet gardener is a precious Elisabeth Bell stamp: Planting Some Love. Isn't she adorable? I received her as a gift for my birthday and I love her to pieces. I was trying to wait for Spring, but I couldn't hold out any longer. Plus, she's perfect for a card about planting love. :o) I had to leave off part of the stamp due to spacial constraints, so I guess I'll have to color her again soon... woohoo! :o) I colored her up with Copics, used three shades of Flower Soft for the flowers on her hat, and couldn't resist sparklifying her patches and the hearts on her gloves. (Her gloves are yellow because she's also planting sunshine into the lives of all she meets. She's sappy like that.) I also carefully dabbed some Star Dust on the Flower Soft. I made her a background of sky and Create-a-Critter grass, sewed it, and then attached it to the pretty Fleur de Lis Spellbinders base. My new flowers are beautiful roses and hip rosebuds from Wild Orchid Crafts, accented with touches of Star Dust. I inked the white lace to make it more vintage-inspired, tucked a pearl-accented Cindy Loo flourish beneath it, and tied the card together with ribbon.

For the interior, pretty triangles surround the key to the entire story... the sweet Whimsical Designs stamp from the With Love set: All because we fell in love. The oodles of triangles, diamonds, and rectangles and their bases indeed took a while to cut and sew, but it was worth it. It makes it almost like patchwork, symbolizing woven memories in their love's tapestry. Despite every section having a pattern of some sort, most are journaling-friendly to jot down a special note or memory if desired. The Copic-colored pot of flowers is from the same Elisabeth Bell stamp, but I tucked it inside to signify love blossoming. :o)

The diamond-fold card tutorial I used can be found HERE.

The entire With Love set, which I simply cannot get enough of:

I hope you'll join us this week by linking up your creation to the Whimsical Wednesday challenge post, where you'll also find information on this week's prize. I'm excited to see what old items you incorporate. :o) Be sure to dance on over to the rest of the Whimsical Designers' blogs to see their marvelous projects!

Thank you for fluttering on by! I hope your day sparkles with love. :o)

Challenges entered:

 * Die Cuttin Divas~ Anything Goes

 * My Craft Spot~ Anything Goes

 * My Sheri Crafts~ New Things (Technique, papers, flowers)

 * Winter Wonderland~ Swirls and Pearls

Key Recipe Components:

 * Cricut cartridges: Cindy Loo, Create a Critter, Storybook (branches beneath Wild Orchid flowers)

 * Cuttlebug embossing folder: Swiss Dots (on branches)

 * Spellbinders Nestabilities: Fleur de Lis Squares

 * Sentiment stamp: Whimsical Designs~ With Love

 * Image stamp: Belles and Whistles/Elisabeth Bell: Planting Some Love; Colored with Copics

 * Paper: Basic Grey, DCWV, Kaisercraft, Papertrey Ink

 * Flowers: Wild Orchid Crafts

 * Lace: American Crafts

 * Ribbon: stash

 * Miscellaneous: Flower Soft, Pearls (Recollections), Stickles