wow YOU HAVE been busy! those are all so wonderful and your PC tiles are so unique - very COOL! yep I was afraid of resin too but Ronnies tut really did make it look possible

Thanks yall. Belle, the leaves are your basic double loaded leaf. I used Hooker's green and white double loaded on my angle brush. When you blend it on your palette let the green blend over to the white so the white turns to a light green. This keeps the dark to the middle of the leaf. I also tipped the tip of the leaves with the rose color and I brushed over the darker part of the leaf with the same color. Then when I was finished with the entire piece I came back and scrubbed in a bit of white on the leaf - but don't cover up your dark green. Then add the veins with a light mix of the green and white, very thin lines. The hydrangeas are really easy to paint - for the pink I used Plum Rose and Amythest, slapped it on in an oval shape, the rose on one side and the amythest next to it, and then while the paint is still wet I used my filbert and pulled in short four petal strokes with white paint. As long as the paint is wet it will blend in with the white. The ribbon was the hardest for me and took the longest. I started off with a sheer ribbon - ice blue and faux glazing medium, then when I tried to add the shading I messed up - then the color got too dark and I had to lighten it up. I finally said enough is enough, that is all I am doing to this box!! What I should have done was draw my pattern then transfer it to my box, but I am lazy and I always want to get right to the painting. Now that I am looking at it I think the design would have been better if I had put the flowers across the top of the box, that way I would have more room to write something in the blank area. The pattern - I used a regular pencil and drew where I wanted the leaves to be, then ovals for the flowers. The ribbon was free handed and as you can see I got a little crazy with the turns. I should also tell you the background paint is housepaint from the OOPS bin at Home Depot. It is an off white color and it only costs $1.00 for a full quart. I buy a lot of paint from that bin and it works great for basecoating. Usually I get the satin or flat. Luvs, I did add the ball feet. I like boxes that have a little foot on them. I did well with my piano lessons this morning - can you imagine it - I am 60 and I am taking lessons right along with the young ones. No matter, there are a lot of things I want to do before I die and learning to play with both hands in on my to-do list. I didn't realize this was so long, I am off to see what I can paint today - I really should be cleaning house - but no one is coming over and if someone should show up unexpectedly, I can stuff things in my closet. Later, B

Thank you all so much for your nice words. This was one of those extremely satisfying projects. My mother sewed and quilted beautifully for about 70 years and I don't. I always wanted to make a keepsake using something that was important to her. I really didn't have a design in mind when I started laying them out and think it's kind of interesting it looks somewhat like a cross. My mother was a very Christian person so I guess that maybe was guiding me. And, she would like the idea that it was useful. I am afraid of resin; maybe one day I'll get up the nerve to use it. I'm hoping I got the buttons on there well enough for them to be handled because some of them have wonderful texture and depth. The hardest part, as usual, was digging out the GEII, esp in the bigger holes.

I have been absent from GW for quite some time, so I apologize for the delay in responding. Thanks to everyone for the kinds words about the kitchen. It's been nearly a year since it was finished and everything about it has been great. lynn2006 - the pullout with lid is by Rev-a-Shelf. The cabinet itself is custom as are all of the cabinets in the kitchen. Barbarav - I am loving all of my appliances. I particularly love the wall ovens, but really all the appliances are great and I'd do it all again the same way. TrueBlue234 - the cabinets are all new nsuep - the paint in the kitchen is Benjamin Moore November Skies. It's really a beautiful color. The tiles are from Heath, color is Frost I think, they are glossy, not frosted. They match perfectly with the paint and the color variation in the tiles is fantastic.