What shall i gather today?

I gathered some blooms from the garden yesterday before any rain was to spoil them. The scent of them was so beautiful i think it even beat the sweetpeas that i had picked last month. How soft the pink of the petals is, both in colour and to touch. No one can really make anything more beautiful except for a baby. Flowers..life's little miracles all around us..so i stopped and took time to smell the roses and felt the more calm for it. Here they are for you, if you wish to do the same, though minus the scent via computer! and my usual closer up view... They are David Austen Roses which i think have something about them thats etra beautiful. Usually theyre more expensive because of this, but we got these on an offer last year where it was buy one get one free so that was more reasonable. I had been inspired to pick more flowers from the garden after watching the Gardener's world special on english flowers. And how much nicer those grown organically and arriving fresher in the select florists were. A bit like the way buying things on etsy that have been hand made with such care and have a great vibe about them. These flowers grown in britian and not flown(therefore creating a eco footprint and loosing their vibrancy after weeks travelling to a supermarket) in had such an energy and must have been what all flowers were like at one time. Our garden isnt all that big but i think we can squeeze a few more varieties in, and i'll persuade dad to plant some more for next summer that can be picked. I really like meadow flowers.  More free arrangements where some of the flowers arent perfect and you add grasses and wild flowers too. My least favourite are carnations and i'm not keen on Lilies.

I titled my piece today what i did because i wanted to upload the collage i made this week. It was a step for me into using acrylic paint on canvas. I compiled it like i do my cards, with a mix of vintage (wallpaper, fabric scraps, button and lace), vinatge images and modern background papers. It represents alot to me, about how i like to gather things and then make new things from old. And also how i like to pass on what i find. thats where the secrets part of my blog/etsy name comes from. Sharing things that at one time i wasnt able to and through this new way,blogging. The butterfly part comes from the representation of how a butterfly spends time in a cocoon but does transform and re-emerge to fly free. As you will guess this resonates,as thats me, after a period of confinement, spreading my wings and learning to fly bit by bit.