Vintage Grapes

A friend asked me to make wine labels as part of a gift for her parents who make and bottle their own wines. She asked for grapes (She supplied the stamp set gladly, since I have none.) and vintage. The biggest challenge was not being able to add a single extra layer. Everything had to go directly on the label. I started with sticker sheets cut to 3-1/2 inches tall by 5 inches wide. I printed Java Wines using my computer and the Vivaldi font in Chocolate Chip coloring. The grape leaves were stamped in Old Olive with a bit of Close to Cocoa rock 'n rolled onto the edges. The grapes I stamped using Perfect Plumeria Versamagic chalk inks, so the color would layer over the green a bit better than classic ink. I used the corner rounder punch and drew the borderline with chocolate chip, using my paper piercing template as a guide. The background was done in Creamy Caramel with the Rough Texture wheel. I don't have many ink cartridges, so I just wheel it over my stamp pad, then over the paper. Lastly, I sponged around the edges with Close to Cocoa. Tah Dah: Vintage Grape wine labels. I showed her a very similar prototype which she liked, so I hope these work for her.

Recipe:
Stamps: SU retired definitely decorative Grapes, rough texture wheel
Ink: creamy caramel, old olive, close to cocoa, chocolate chip, versamagic Perfect Plumeria
Paper: Avery Ink Jet Sticker Project Paper
Other: corner rounder, paper piercing template

So, my mom just gave me a call to very calmly tell me that her doctor found a crack in her femur (top, thick leg bone) on the ball where it joins the hip socket. She had mentioned that the cancer in her bones causes them to be weak, so breaking is a concern. She's going to the emergency room of a very good hospital here in Pittsburgh to be admitted and have surgery to shore up that bone. I'm so glad we have excellent hospitals here in Pittsburgh. The hospital is probably an hour to an hour-and-a-half drive for her, then she (and my dad) will probably be in the emergency room for a while before she even gets a room. So, I'm going to try to get my lawn mowed and shower and get there in time for my dad to grab some dinner early this evening.

She's known she has cancer now for over three weeks. I don't know how this usually works, but I'm getting concerned that they haven't been able to pinpoint where the cancer is coming from and therefore haven't started treatment yet. They were planning on starting a somewhat generic chemo treatment soon, until they find out more specifics. I hope this doesn't slow anything down.

So, I'm a little busier than usual. Those of you who's blogs I usually visit, I do still stop by and scan over your gorgeous creations. I just don't have time to comment right now. But know that I appreciate your work.

{{{hugs}}} to you all. Thanks for being there.