The Blue Rose

My pal Erika Shared this lovely writing with me.  It was on a day that I really needed the revelation of a silver lining.  (Ever had those moments when you realize you've been waiting for REAL life, only to have to acknowledge 'this IS my life' ??  It was THAT kind of a day.)

It's too good not to share...so I will! 

A Blue Rose

Having four visiting family members, my wife was very busy, so I offered to go to the store for her to get some needed items, which included light bulbs, paper towels, trash bags, detergent and Clorox. So off I went.

I scurried around the store, gathered up my goodies and headed for the checkout counter, only to be blocked in the narrow aisle by a young man who appeared to be about sixteen-years-old. I wasn't in a hurry, so I patiently waited for the boy to realize that I was there. This was when he waved his hands excitedly in the air and declared in a loud voice, "Mommy, I'm over here."

It was obvious now, he was mentally challenged and also startled as he turned and saw me standing so close to him, waiting to squeeze by. His eyes widened and surprise exploded on his face as I said, "Hey Buddy, what's your name?"

"My name is Denny and I'm shopping with my mother," he responded proudly.

"Wow," I said, "that's a cool name; I wish my name was Denny, but my name is Steve."

"Steve, like Stevarino?" he asked. "Yes," I answered. "How old are you Denny?"

"How old am I now, Mommy?" he asked his mother as she slowly came over from the next aisle.

"You're fifteen-years-old Denny; now be a good boy and let the man pass by."

I acknowledged her and continued to talk to Denny for several more minutes about summer, bicycles and school. I watched his brown eyes dance with excitement, because he was the center of someone's attention. He then abruptly turned and headed toward the toy section.

Denny's mom had a puzzled look on her face and thanked me for taking the time to talk with her son. She told me that most people wouldn't even look at him, much less talk to him.

I told her that it was my pleasure and then I said something I have no idea where it came from, other than by the prompting of the Holy Spirit. I told her that there are plenty of red, yellow, and pink roses in God's Garden; however, "Blue Roses" are very rare and should be appreciated for their beauty and distinctiveness. You see, Denny is a Blue Rose and if someone doesn't stop and smell that rose with their heart and touch that rose with their kindness, then they've missed a blessing from God.

She was silent for a second, then with a tear in her eye she asked, "Who are you?"

Without thinking I said, "Oh, I'm probably just a dandelion, but I sure love living in God's garden."

She reached out, squeezed my hand and said, "God bless you!" and then I had tears in my eyes.

May I suggest, the next time you see a BLUE ROSE, don't turn your head and walk off. Take the time to smile and say Hello. Why? Because, by the grace of GOD, this mother or father could be you. This could be your child, grandchild, niece or nephew. What a difference a moment can mean to that person or their family.

From an old dandelion! Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God.

"People will forget what you said, People will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel!" ANON.

Making Art Challenge #46 -- YAY!

Finally managed to get one done before 11 pm on the due date, LOL!!  Lovely List-Mama Lori over at Everything Wendy Vecchi threw down gauntlet #46:  Using Page #33 of Wendy Vecchi's Third Making Art Book as our inspiration, MAKE ART!!  The gist?  Use a circle as a base, 3 buttons and at least one Wendy Vecchi stamp!  Here's what I came up with:

Started with a 5 inch circle art parts frame.  Covered the pieces with coordinating paper from 7 Gypsies' Lille collection.  On the base stamp, I used a bit of Antique Linen to darken the paper, then background stamped with the Bubbles from She Created Art in Tea Dye.  Topped that off with the Splatters from Ticket to Art in Wild Honey.  A few bits of the Queen Anne's Lace from She Created Art in Gathered Twig around the bottom edge and away we went.  On the outer frame, I went a wee bit darker:  dabs of Tea Dye ink and the funky square background from Optical Art in Rusty Hinge, all edged in Vintage Photo.  I spritzed the top frame layer with Perfect Pearls mist in Pearl.  Ummm...helpful tip...a LITTLE goes a LOOOOONNNNGGG way! (anyone have any thoughts on how to tone it down a bit, once it's done?)


The butterfly is from Tim Holtz, a grunge board die cut, inked in Rusty Hinge.  Same fun background from Optical Art stamped on there in Vintage Photo.  After it dried I topped it with Rock Candy Distress Crackle paint.  Didn't plan on it, but it ended up in the splatter line of the Perfect Pearls mist spritz...so super sparkly it is!  Butterfly's body is a tiny clock hand that I cut open at the end and bent the antennae. ;-)  Added another Timism with the subway token "Unique" to finish off the butterfly.  The bar sentiment is also from Tim.

Small flowers stamped & cut out from She Created Art.  The larger ones are cut from extra background paper and glassine paper with a Martha Stewart punch. Rick rack is distress stained in Tea Dye.  I used some Wild Honey and Dried Marmalade to liven up the flowers a bit, too.  Be Yourself sentiment is from A Form of Art. 

The rest of the random goodies are from my stash. 

So, there it is.  What fun!  Wanna play along?  Come join the fun, get inky and Make Art!

Challenge #45 to MAKE ART!!

Greetings & Salutations!  Lovely List-Mama Lori of the Yahoo! Everything Wendy Vecchi group challenged her groupies to Make Art, Wendy Style using page 17 of her 3rd book as our inspiration.  Basic theme?  Blue with green and dots.  Here's mine:

EWV MAC #45:  Blue & Green with Dots!

Funny what shows up on film that doesn't look the same in person, LOL.  (like the escapee glue seepage! *sigh*)  I started with an Art Parts bookframe, inked in Faded Denim, which turned out a wee bit too dark, so I added a layer of Faded Denim Distress Crackle paint.   I stamped a few word snippets from Wendy stamps around the edges--"play," "discover," and "enjoy."

Background is a mixture of Salty Ocean (from the YUMMY new summer DI colors!!) and Tumbled Glass.  Script background stamp in Shaded Lilac tops that off.  Sentiment is Wendy's, embossed in black.  Made my own epoxy memo pin using Wendy's fabulous directions and a tidbit from one of her sentiment stamps "see."

Grunge paper shapes from Lord Tim of Holtz--flourishes and arrows--are also inked with the new summer DI colors in Picked Raspberry and Mowed Grass.  The arrows have "Life" and "Believe" snippets from Wendy sentiments stamped on them--easier to read in person, methinks.  Coated 'em both with Distress Stickles in Rock Candy.  Maya Road mini-ticket is stamped with "Love" snippet from a Wendy sentiment, too. Dots, are, of course, quite Wendy.

Flowers, brads & bling are from my stash.  Thanks for popping by...check out the group and join the fun when MAC #46 kicks off tomorrow morning!

Sneaking in Under the Wire...MAC #43

Whoo hooo!  Managed to sneak this one in under the wire for the Making Art Challenge #43 over at Everything Wendy Vecchi Yahoo! group.  The gauntlet thrown this time?  Use 3 circles, 2 hearts and at least one Wendy Studio 490 stamp.  List Mama Lori used Wendy's project on Page 28 of her Make Art, Studio 490 Style III book.  (if you don't have this one yet...GET IT!!)  She gave us 2 weeks to do this one...a good thing, too, since the last week went flying by.

And then there was the "Patrick cleaning incident"....let's just say that my beloved boy decided that he could earn some extra allowance by helping Mommy tidy up her crafting area.  A lovely thought, really, but his cleaning concept involved a large trash bag and scissors.  His creative cleaning drove a creative rethink on my part, so I started over just this afternoon.  Stuck with the same idea, but my poor froggy princess suffered for it, I think, LOL.

AGB Making Art Challenge #43

Here's my take on the challenge...more ZooCrew than Studio 490 style, but that's how we roll around here!  And boy did we ROLL...turned into a fun "Mommy & Me" project with my three youngest as advisers and helpers!  What a fun way to spend the evening!

My background is Distress Ink in Shaded Lilac and Dusty Concord using the Wrinkle Free Distress method.  Added a spritz or two of Espresso color wash just for fun.  Can't really tell too well in the picture, but I clear embossed a Hero Arts heart stamp randomly here & there in the background, too.  Overstamped the whole shebang with my fave splatter background by Wendy in CTMH Vanilla Cream.

My pal down in the corner is from Worried About Art, as is the "some days need a DELETE button" sentiment. ;-)  The larger sentiment I found at my favorite brick & mortar store, Angela's Happy Stamper.  (Figure I can get a LOT of mileage out of it, given the antics of the Zoo Crew!!)  Froggy Princess is a converted sticker from CTMH, improved by the addition of a very kissable pout from Wendy's Blossom Bucket embellishments.  Her crown and wings were actually Ben's idea...he said that adding 'em would "really crystallize the idea that she's a princess frog, just in case people didn't get the joke."  hee hee hee  All the kids were chock full of ideas this afternoon, trying to help my creation recover from the Trash Can Adventure.  My circles are topaz Swarovski crystals from my stash; hearts are random brads from my stash.

Thanks for visiting and looking at my insanity!  Lori will issue Challenge #44 tomorrow...think about getting inky, join the fun and find time to Go Make Art!. 

Everything Wendy Vecchi MAC #42

Since the slow return of my creative juices has continued, I ducked into my inks again for the Making Art Challenge #42 over at the Everything Wendy Vecchi Yahoo! Group.  Creative List Mama Extraordinaire, Lori, challenged the group to MAKE ART modeled after a project in Wendy's third book, page 36...make a tag with a house on it. Use of at least one stamp from the amazing Studio 490 is, of course, a must.

EWV MAC #42: House Fun

I just picked up my Spring seasonal Distress Ink set and I've fallen in love with the lovely colors!  Decided I'd ink up my tag with Peacock Feathers and Shaded Lilac, added in a wee bit of Tumbled Glass and "voila!".  Followed up with a light stamping of a Wendy background (from Celestial Art) in Broken China. Since the theme this week involves a house, I embossed the tag with one of Lord Tim's Sizzix folders that has great architectural details. Hit the high spots with some Dried Marigold and Gathered Twigs.

The house is a Wendy original from the Residential Art set.  Stamped it twice, once on a solid background of Dried Marigold and the second on a Peacock Feathers background. Reverse stamped onto some metallic brown paper to cut out a mat.  Then , I cut the door out of the marigold version and mounted it on the peacock one to create a 3 layer house.  I was playing with my Rock Candy Distress Stickles, so I outlined the roof and the door with it.  Stamped "Important Stuff" (Journal Art) on a little dried marigold scrap.  "This Side Up" (from Label it Art) stamped & embossed across the bottom--both directions. ;-)

Brads, spinner & metal flower from Tim Holtz Alterations.  "Family" acrylic from the $1 bin at AC Moore (SCORE!!).  Twill sticky words, sheer orange flower and ribbons from my stash.

Next Challenge will be issued tomorrow bright & early...join the fun and go MAKE ART!!