Vintage Mixed Bunch

Wow!  It's been too, too long since I've posted an actual project.  Here's what I sat down and created over the weekend.  Boy, am I really rusty!!!  Please take it easy on me.

Originally, when I perused the Stampin' Up! Mini catalog, I told myself that I was not going to purchase the Mixed Bunch stamp set or the Blossom Punch.  No, I didn't need either of them!!!  Then I went to the Stampin' Up! Regional in Columbus, Ohio this past winter.  Well, so much for that thought. 

I'm not usually one who creates using pastel color palettes, but you can't grow unless you push yourself, right?  And, staying true to my "embellishment overload" habits, I just kept adding and adding to my card.  In my defense, I super adore the Pearl Basic Jewels.  They call to me when I'm creating.  (I think they say, "Pick me.  Oh, pick me."  They just add a little something, something to any project.  I'd hate to see them retire when Stampin' Up! reveals the retired list in a few days.

Thanks for peeking in on me and hanging in there with me during my blog absence.  I'm never sure how much to blog about my personal life.  I'm afraid it will turn some of you away.  For those wondering about my father's health, I have an update at the bottom of this post.  I'll try to keep it brief.

Update on Dad:  Where do I even begin???  My father finished chemo and radiation treatments for esophageal cancer in mid-October.  The treatments were very harsh and my dad was in and out of the hospital over the fall and winter months.  In January, he had surgery to remove his esophagus and have part of his stomach stretched and reattached into the neck region to create a make-shift esophagus.  Surgery went well, but my father's desire to live is not so strong.  It's been and continues to be an emotional roller coaster ride for us all.  In March, my older brother, who's 46, underwent triple bypass surgery.  He has always been in good health, but after some questionable symptoms and a heart catherization it was revealed that he had a condition called the widow maker.  He was very blessed that it was detected early and his recovery process is moving nicely.  Thank you for all the prayers and kind thoughts over the last several months.  They have meant so much.