How Does Your Garden Grow?

Hello my friends! I hope this post finds you well! I don't know about you but I'm SO looking forward to Spring! And even though it's "officially" time, it hasn't quite arrived here in Great Northwest yet but all this rain with breaks of sunshine are sure to make for beautiful flower and veggie gardens this year!! Until then, I have my own ways of reigning in this delightful season and the darling Mother Goose paper collection by Graphic 45 was just perfect for my crafty fling with Spring!! I made this on an 8x10" canvas board and used Faber-Castell Design Memory Craft Gel Medium to adhere everything down, then another layer over the top of the canvas as well to seal it down and preserve this keepsake for years to come. And since this project was inspired by the wonderful Mother Goose, I'm entering it into this month's Mixed Media Monthly Challenge #10-Birds of A Feather. Also entering it in the Scrap and Craft Inspiration Challenge #5-Flowers.

I had such a joyful time making this, especially because I used to adore Mother Goose nursery rhymes when I was a little girl. I had a big, yellow, hard-cover book filled with them, each accompanied by whimsically beautiful illustrations that I was completely enthralled with. I would get lost in detailed artwork that told the story of each rhyme and to this day, I know many of them by heart. All of those wonderful memories came flooding back to me as I created this canvas. Here's a few close-ups of the details...

You know that feeling when you finally find the perfect project for a longtime-hoarded embellishment? ....yep, that little baby chick hatching from her egg has been waiting ever so patiently for a quite some time to be part of something special and I think she'll be very happy here with Mother Goose in the garden. I also added a few additional elements to (hopefully) coordinate with not only the "Mary Mary Quite Contray" nursery rhyme, but also "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and "Hey Diddle Diddle"....the rustic floral heart-shaped button, wooden cow button, clock gears and golden time-piece are all from my stash hoard too and are all at least 5 years old. I love using up old treasures, yay!! :)

"Mary's" garden along the bottom was so much fun too! I painted a chipboard fence from Sa Crafters and distressed it to make it look a little more rustic and then loaded it up with pretty flowers of all kinds and spiral stamens from Wild Orchid then strung a sweet little banner that blows in the breeze making the butterflies flutter by and the birds sing a Spring song!

I also love how Graphic 45 paper collections always have fun add-ons like these cute chipboard pieces and tags. It really makes it super easy to put together any card or project your heart fancies!

Well now....are you feeling a spring in your step yet? I sure hope so!! I can't wait to plant my tomatoes, green and sweet peppers, jalapenos and herb garden. Just a couple more weeks, I think! And I can hardly wait for watermelon, mmm!!! ....Do you have a green thumb? I'd love to hear how YOUR garden grows! What do you and your family love to plant and eat each year from your own garden? Or perhaps from your local farmer's market? Please do share and don't forget to have a creative and very blessed day!!!