Topiary Loveliness....

Sometimes...

I see a stamp..

and it's love at first sight.

Sometimes...

I love it so much

that I have to research the artist/designer...

and ultimately...

I find that I "need" more of their designs.

Finding this Michelle Masters design opened the door for me

to her gorgeous Topiary stamps...

and now...after seeing her designs...

I have a wonderful collection of Topiary stamps!

The topiary "Piano" was immediately at the top of my Michelle Masters "to-do" list

Although I now own quite a few of her stamps..

THIS one....the piano...was THE one that I wanted to create a card with....

ASAP!

(ASAP ...as in "immediately upon taking the box out of the UPS' guy's hands...)

This image represents gorgeousness to me....

It's so beautiful...

and makes me think about our piano...

We have a beautiful Rosewood piano in our home...

it was a birthday gift to me..the first year that my husband and I moved into our first home..

the first home that we bought together.

My husband and I both play(ed) the piano...

(as my daughter does now, as well)

Me?...I play the piano like a person who took lessons...

I'm okay...can turn out a tune as long as I have sheet music..

My daughter?..she is very talented...

and...my husband?..

well..

he was amazing..

he played by ear like a concert pianist...

never read music...

couldn't read music...

never took a piano lesson

yet he played like an accomplished classically trained pianist...

He would often hear a song on the radio...and run into the living room at high speed..

and within a moments time...

he would be playing the song as if he wrote the music and it had  come from his soul.

I was always in awe of his God-given gift...

My husband, David...passed away in 2001...

he was 41 years old.

His fingers haven't touched the keys on our piano in almost 15 years time...

yet I can still hear the music that he played...

as if he were playing it right now.

I cherish my piano...

it's made of the most beautiful wood...Rosewood...

but above all...I will always remember the times when David filled our home with music...

everything from Beatles songs...Billy Joel...

all of the songs of our time...the big band era...Broadway musicals...classical music..songs from movie sound tracks... Christmas songs...and even songs from The Barney show, the big purple dinosaur..

who my daughter loved as a little girl.

For me..

The most precious memories of David and our piano are memories of him sitting on the piano bench...

with Chelsea as an infant...toddler..and little girl...

sitting on his lap...

while he played.

Thank goodness for cherished memories...

They keep our hearts smiling.

Now that I've taken you down memory lane

(thank you for listening)

I'd like to share Michelle Masters Topiary Piano image with you...

It's so unique...

so beautiful...

I'm almost certain that you'll love it as much as I do...

So what do you think?

Do you love it as much as I do?

I just love the details in the image...

All of the coloring was done with Spectrum Noir AquaBlend Pencils...

The pencils were perfect for water coloring all of the tiny leaves and flowers.

(A nice sharp water color pencils is ideal for adding color to tiny places)

I'm so glad that I've discovered Michelle Masters designs...

I'm looking very forward to creating cards with the other stamps that I ordered, as well.

Card loving friends...this gorgeous card is now available for purchase at The Bellissima Card Shop

Card making friends....a brief list of key supply items is posted below

Have a great day...

and thanks for visiting!

Michelle.

Supply List:

Stamp: Michelle Masters "Piano"

Color: Spectrum Noir AquaBlend pencils

Card Stock: PTI, Crafter's Companion Watercolor Card Stock and LCI Metallic card stock