Ever since I was a little girl I have loved gardening.  I give all the credit to my grandmother who was always patient and willing to include me in her passion.  Her garden was always a delight to behold and I try to carry on that tradition today.

In the winter months I remember looking though her books of botanical drawings.  These were the “off limits” books that I was only allowed to handle when we would look at the pictures together.

The Simple Stories Simple Vintage Botanical Collection reminds me of those treasured books. The images of flowers and butterflies in this collection are exquisite and so life like.

The collection includes chipboard stickers, bits and pieces die cuts, stickers and washi so there are so many possibilities for greeting cards, layouts and more!   Everything is beautifully coordinated and a pleasure to create with.

I start my cards by arranging elements on pieces of clear plastic the size of my card fronts.   When I’m happy with the arrangement I can pick up the plastic and see how it looks layered over different papers.   The clear plastic lets me see the paper so I can choose the perfect one before I commit and adhere the images to the card.

When layering paper I try to alternate dark busy patterns with lighter more solid ones.   Simple Stories has added “Basics” to many of their new collections.  These are solid card stock colors coordinated to work with the pattern papers.  I used Basics papers to add matts as the first layer to each of my card designs.

This collection really is a feast for the eyes and will delight all the gardeners and flower lovers in your life.