Memories.....

Dawn at Wplus9 had a wonderful tutorial and example of using stamps and distress inks to make a little watercolor vignette.  I fell in love with her example, and, though this falls far short of hers, I wanted to post it anyway.  

I know I say this about many flowers at various times of the year, but lilacs are so sentimental to me.  Living at home as a child, our long driveway in the country was lined with lilac bushes, and they were also here and there at my grandparents' house next door.  My Mom always takes a bunch of lilacs to put on my grandmothers' graves at this time of year, and as they usually bloom around Mother's Day, they were a frequent childhood bouquet for my Mom from me and my 2 sisters.  This year, they have just opened, a little worse for the hard winter, but still smelling of that gorgeous fragrance like nothing else.  Of course I have a few sprigs here in my craft room to inspire me.

Here I used Wplus9's Fresh Cut Florals, PTI's Garden Variety for the watering can, and a Hero Arts sentiment, along with some distress inks and Hero Arts Field Greens ink on the watering can.  I imagine those pink flowers to be peonies, which often open at the same time as our lilacs do.

Edited to add: soon after I posted this first card, our power went out, and so I decided to play some more.  Here are my results.  Practicing does help me improve; these are much less stamped looking and a bit mor watercolored looking!

Same supplies as my first card, but with an Avery Elle sentiment.

These are all from PTI's Garden Variety and Garden Variety II sets.

Want to see some more examples from some of my friends?  Visit Barb, Nancy here and here, and Dawn!  Just gorgeous, aren't they?

I want to keep working at this technique, because it surely does make me feel like an artist!  Thanks for coming by today - see you tomorrow for a Simon Says Stamp Wednesday challenge!