A favorite project...

We all have favorites among our work...this is one of mine. I LOVE this ATC tray decor and I'm sure more than a few of you have seen this one before;). 

I usually like my creations but I LOVE THIS ONE! It was delightful to make and it is super special to me because the buttons that I used for the flower centers...they belonged to my grandmother. I've been missing her so much lately. She died from Breast Cancer so October is always a tough month for me. I wish I could just sit down for one cup of tea with her but since I can't I like to use some of her treasures to surround myself with her presence. Grandma collected buttons. She had what seemed like MILLIONS of them. I remember running my fingers through them as a child, that smell, it is still in the tins of buttons that I have now. 

Every once in a while I take one or two out for a project, like this one. I began this flower by inking it until it had that "antiqued" look and then I placed one of Grandma's wooden buttons in the center.

Then I used this green and cream polka dot button, it has such an old-fashioned country look to it. I sure wish I knew what kind of outfit it came from...there is still a bit of thread on the back of it so I know it fell off of something...

This last  button is actually affixed to the flower upside down. I used some green Karen Foster floss for the tie and I curled the floss by wrapping it around a pin. Yes, it is that small!

The papers on this project are all from Cookbookin's Sweet Summertime line.  The flowers are mostly Prima, including that gorgeous vine there on the left. The pins are Maya Road, milk caps are Jenni Bowlin, the tray is 7Gypsies and the ticket is Tim Holtz.

Here is how the Tray looks hanging on my kitchen wall:

So tell me about your favorite projects. What are they and what is it that makes them a favorite.