Why I Have Multiple Floral Stamp Sets (and a Little Sneak Peek)
You know, I hear from time to time that people are tired of floral stamp sets. While I am a HUGE fan of variety in life, I count multiple floral stamp sets as HAVING variety! If you read my previous post on "10 Big Questions to Ask When Buying Craft Supplies" (June 23, 2022), you will know that florals tick several of the boxes for me!! For example, florals are versatile - you can:
Use them for multiple occasions and seasons
Color them in an endless variety of colors, either real or imagined
Pair them with a multitude of designer series papers
Use them with many colors of cardstock
Send floral cards to the same people more than once without seeming repetitive (if you change your colors)
Use them as focal images for a variety of projects
You get the idea! Florals are especially GREAT for beginning crafters who have a limited budget and want to build their stash with products they can use in multiple ways.
Now, all of these are excellent reasons to have floral stamp sets in your craft room. But I have an even more personal reason why I do: they remind me of my family. My grandmother was a floral designer for 35 years. She did everything from wedding bouquets to Mother's Day flowers to funeral sprays for caskets. Her work was AMAZING! I was SO very proud of her - which probably made up for the fact that I hardly saw her in February (Valentine's), May (Mother's Day), June (weddings), November (Thanksgiving), and December (Christmas)! Well, I'm sure she came home every day, but I know she worked long hours. And I understood.
Then, my Dad jumped into the fray! He worked for a wholesale florist right next door to the florist where my grandmother worked. A wholesale florist buys flowers in bulk to sell to the retail florists. Some of my fondest memories are of going to the airport with my Dad to pick up loads of flowers. It was especially fun to pick them up at all hours of the night and day - and get one-on-one time with my Dad, who worked multiple jobs to make ends meet. We'd pack the big boxes in the car and head for the shop where he worked and take them all inside. Then, we had to take the flowers out of the boxes, transfer them to big five-gallon buckets of water, and place them all in the "freezer." Of course, they didn't freeze. They just stayed nice and fresh until they were bought by one of the retail florists. On rare occasion, I got to see specialty flowers, like peppermint carnations; those are white carnations placed in red dye that made red stripes in the flowers. That totally fascinated me! (Now, if you try this, I can guarantee no results. That was about 50 years ago, so I have no firsthand knowledge of the actual process!)
And, finally, flowers remind me of some of the best occasions of my life. My darling husband of 39 years has been so sweet to get me flowers through the years. They always make me feel special - and I'm sure many of you can relate to that.
Handmade floral cards have that power, too. I have had so many people tell me that they put my handmade cards in a drawer or a basket as a keepsake. Who ever heard of such a thing with a text, huh? In today's world, snail mail is almost obsolete - except for junk mail or bills. I personally feel quite special when someone sends me a handmade card. I know that a complex card can take me about 30 minutes (or more) to make. That's 30 minutes of my life that I have invested in someone else - and time is precious. So I always feel loved to know that someone gave 30 minutes of their life for me. :-)
Well, I could go on, but I won't. I will simply say that today I've been using my alcohol markers to color some flowers. Not just ANY flowers. The photos in this post are a tiny sneak peek for a Stampin' Up! bundle that will be released on November 1. I'll be posting again in a day or two with a little bit more. Hold onto your hats, my friends! You're not going to believe what else comes in this bundle!!! Color me happy!