Hello stampers and happy Thursday. Today I am participating in The Library Challenge and the book we are using for inspiration is Where the Wild Fern Grows. I loved this book so much when I was a child, so I was thrilled to see that it was the featured book for the library challenge.
The Importance of Books
I have loved books for as long as I can remember. One of my most vivid childhood memories is on grade one when I went to the school library for the first time. Oh, the wealth of books! I remember one book in particular because it was a different shape than all the others. It was about frogs I think and it was taller than the rest. Even now I always have at least one book on the go. Books are the only way I truly relax and do nothing. Ask my kids and they will tell you that I get so lost in my book that I hear nothing! I think they finally believe me when I say that I am not purposely ignoring them, I truly don’t hear them! My book transports me into another world.
Sometimes this time travel into another book is not a good thing. I feel so deeply that the book I am reading can really affect my mood. Where the Wild Fern Grows reduced me to a torrent of tears. I was a stoic child who would never cry in public or even in front of my family; I would go and hide to cry. At 52 I am finally learning to be vulnerable and let my tears show. Go figure.
Books are vital to mental health, to being more well-rounded as a person and therefore more open to other people’s ideas. Books help us to understand other people and other cultures. They can be a bridge to peace.
Where the Wild Fern Grows
If you have never read this book and you would like to know about the story line, you can check out the link here. The Library Challenge encourages us to make a card inspired either by the cover of the book, the title or the story. I chose my inspiration to be the story. Billy grows up in the Ozark mountains and trains two hunting dogs that are the love of his life. While several tragedies occur, I like to focus on the big picture. I know that there are many money that BIlly looked back on with joy. His heart will always be in the mountains and he will never forget his beautiful and loyal dogs Old Dan and LIttle Ann. Do yourself a favour and read this classic. If you have kids or grandkids or even elderly parents, read this book aloud to them. People love being read to, it is so calming and we could all use more of that in our lives!
My Card
I chose to use the stamp set Mountain AIr. This great nature set is a pleasure to work with! With mountains, tree lines and individual trees, birds, rocks and a moon you have all you need to create a gorgeous scene. I also used the water stamp from the new set My Meadow. The frame and the saying are from the Painted Poppies Bundle.
The card itself is quite simple so I added interest by adding texture and dimension. Simply winding the linen thread around at angles and tying at the back makes for a more interesting focal point and adds texture. The white panel is adhered to the mossy meadow panel which is popped up on the grey granite card. The sentiment is also popped up as is the smaller pine tree.
Only three colours were used on this card: mossy meadow, grey granite and balmy blue. By stamping off, also known as generational stamping, you get more colours for a more in depth effect. If you want to see another project I made that uses generational stamping, check out this blog post.
The Library Challenge
If you want to read more about The LIbrary Challenge, or if you want to take part yourself, you can find them here. I know you will be inspired as I was to combine my love of reading with my love of card making. What book are you reading right now? What was your favourite book as a child? I would love to hear from you in the comments. Thanks so much for joining me today, have a super day!
I just realized that I promised to tell you the story about my afternoon with my Tante Nel but it will have to wait until tomorrow. Enough stories for today.
Product List
I love to read. It has been my salvation on long Arctic nights, transporting me to exotic locales, plunging me into a web of mystery and murder…or taking me back in time. There is romance, knowledge to be gained, laughter and tears.
I can’t imagine life without books. I haven’t read the book you featured but I’ll look for it. I hope it has happy ending; they are my favorite.
The library will have it for sure. Thanks for your great comment Debbie, I love your writing.
I do want to hear about your tea, but am so glad you offered this up today. I just challenged my team to create a card inspired by one of their favorite books. Can’t wait to see what they create.
And books are so very important. One of my official duties (self imposed) as Grandmama is to keep my little ones well supplied with good books.
Looking forward to tea tomorrow.
Great idea Margaret. I read to my kids all the time and I am accumulated a nice stack for the grandkids now along with the ol favourites from my own.
My favourite books as a child were the Anne of Green Gables books, all of them. My friend and I would play out Anne scenes up in the hay loft of our barn. Even now, I’ll often be reading a book, or if I’m card making or knitting, I will be listening to an audio book, or even better, radio theatre. They really do transport us to a whole different realm, in a much more satisfying way than any tv show or movie ever could!
Thanks for your blog post today, Jackie!
I read all of those too! Loved, loved, loved Anne and all the host of characters. Little Women and Little Men were also great.
These words could have very easily been written by me. ” Books are the only way I truly relax and do nothing. Ask my kids and they will tell you that I get so lost in my book that I hear nothing! I think they finally believe me when I say that I am not purposely ignoring them, I truly don’t hear them! My book transports me into another world.” My best friend still doesn’t understand how I just zone out when reading. LOVE reading ever so much more than TV! About a 100 years ago, when I was in high school, I discovered and read a book about ” The World of the Trapp Family.” I think that may have been my all-time favorite, but there are are so many that I have enjoyed that it is so hard to choose one! Thanks for sharing your stories.
That’s a great book too Letha!
Right now I am reading “Where the Crawdads Sing.” Like you, I have had a passion for reading since I was a child.
That sounds like a great book too Kim!
Where the Red Fern Grows is a classic. My grade 7 teacher read it aloud to the class. That was over 40 years ago!! There were some very teary eyes in the group of 12 year olds. I’m glad it’s a book that is still around.
I’m glad someone else has great memories of this book.
What a beautiful scene you’ve created and a great card design. It really captures the atmosphere of the book . I’ve enjoyed reading about your love of books. Thanks for joining The Library.
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment Marina! I love “The Library Challenge” and hope to participate more often.
Gorgeous wood land scene you have created here!! Perfect reflection of the setting for the book!! Thanks for playing along with us at the Library Challenge!!
Thanks so much Deborah, your comments make me so happy. I love the Library Challenge as it combines two of my passions.