Sunday 11 May 2014

Fond Memories


My dad was a gardener by preference and a master butcher by trade!  I have fond memories of his Derbyshire garden - meticulously planned and  nurtured to maximum productivity, it was marvellous.  He worked in shirt sleeves, braces and a flat cap and there was usually a 'Woodbine' at the corner of his mouth. I remember watching him pricking out bedding plants, bent double planting seed potatoes, tying blown up paper bags around chrysanthemum flowers to protect them from the rain and appraising his geometrically arranged summer flower bed.  I remember the smell of freshly picked tomatoes and I remember being young.

The pocket envelope and the ATC and 'seed packet'  inclusions were made in praise of him and I was inspired by the latest challenge, 'fond memories on the ' A Vintage Journey ' blog http://www.vintagejourney.com/2014/05/challenge-5-fond-memories.html

I cut the pocket envelope using the TH die and paper from his 'Seasonal Stash'.  I added some texture paste, coloured with Distress Paint in Ripe Persimmon, through the Dot Fade stencil and inked the edges with Vintage Photo Distress Ink.  I finished the envelope with a photo of Dad, some torn dictionary paper, a little garden string and some brads as a fastener.







I cut the ATC using Tim's die and after covering it with printed tissue paper, I inked the edges with Bundled Sage and Vintage Photo ink.  I then layered on a flower card from one of the Ephemera packs, an old bus ticket, a larger photo of Dad in his vegetable garden and a word band tied with more garden string.  





 On the back, is a little more information about him. 




 I can't remember where the kraft glassine envelope came from but I filled it with seeds and layered it on a little more of the Seasonal paper and music script.



Really liked making this!



12 comments:

  1. Sue - your project is just delightful. What great "Fond Memories" you have of your father and your years growing up with him. Thanks for sharing with us here at A Vintage Journey. Don't forget to link your entry to our blog.

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  2. Love those gardening memories - multi-sensory memories of the smells and colours and activities - and your creation is a wonderful tribute to those memories and your father. Gorgeous collection of papers and ephemera, and the little pocket envelope is adorable. Thank you for joining us on A Vintage Journey - and as Sandy says, don't forget to link up, and you'll also need to add a link to A Vintage Journey within the post. If you have any problems - get in touch!
    Alison x

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  3. Oh, and officially you'll need to turn off Comment Verification too (where we have to type out a code word before we can leave a comment)!
    Ax

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  4. Lovely project. Its nice to see photos with the story makes you feel like you could easily have walked by & seen him bent over tending his crops.

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  5. What fond memories you do have and I can only imagine the wonder smells of such fresh produce! Thank you for sharing your lovely memories you have shared with us at A Vintage Journey.

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  6. I love your seed packet - all decorated with lovely memories of your gardener dad! what a wonderful project!

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  7. Thank you so much for sharing these fond memories of your dad. I love the wonderful details you have incorporated in to these fab projects.
    Great to have you on board at AVJ this fortnight
    Hugs Annie x

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  8. Such a fabulous project with so many clever ideas to represent your dad and his gardening passion. Thank you so much for joining us at A Vintage Journey. Jenny x

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  9. I love this memory of your dad, such a worthy tribute to him! It's beautifully put together with all those little special touches, that really make this stand out from the crowd! Reading your post and seeing this lovely project really gave me a feeling of what he was like....

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  10. Congratulations on your pinworthy mention this is a great tribute to your father and your fond memories of him with a lovely photo of him tending his vegetables. Mo x

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  11. Truly gorgeous make! Well done Sue on your pinworthy mention. Nicola x

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  12. Ps just noticed "I am retired but not dormant" - brilliant! Nicola x

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