Labors of love

This afternoon was spent in labors of love. Some of what isn't worth seeing was the cleaning of the refrigerator, mopping the floors, cleaning the bathrooms, taking out the trash... I could share the before and after photos, but not very fun to look at.

 I then made chocolate chip cookies to celebrate 2 weeks. After being out of work for a year my son found a great job that he enjoys and has been working there for 2 weeks.  They were also for my husband who works so hard every day for our family. And also maybe as a celebration that my other son may have found at least some temporary work helping a local farmer. 

 Another labor of love is for someone I don't know and will probably never meet. I saw a request for a 93 year old gentleman who is expecting his birthday next month but is having health issues. His family had requested cards for him because he loves getting mail.
I used this old farm set by MFP. I think I only used it once in 2013. I paired these rustic images with dp that had fancy Victorian looking chairs. The juxtaposition of these images made me smile. I could imagine the farm animals getting loose and finding their way into the parlor just in time for tea.
I mentioned tea because when I stamped the images, I stamped them on white cardstock but there was too much contrast with the kraft background. I then colored the pink areas and tea dyed them with a tea bag, after I made myself a cup of tea. I like how the tea dying looks because it gives it an aged look but doesn't have just one solid color there is a variation. When it was dry I colored the white with a white prisma colored pencil.

 The inside of the card I used the smaller images in the set and made 3 pop up panels and I also made a pop out panel.

Simple little things to try and bring a smile to someone's face. What little labor of love can you do for someone in your circle of influence today? You will be blessed. I know I was.