Eastern Inspired Fabric Card

I am combining two challenges here, Artygirlz asked for travel/places, suggesting Asia or Africa, and Created by Hand asked for designs using fabric. The inspiration behind this design isn't travel, Asia or fabric, it's my multi-talented friend Phyllis. Last year we started messing around with fabric, I rushed out and bought small amounts of fabric with little pussy cats and cute monkeys, she found this fabulous fabric and created the most wonderful stuff with it. I tried and tried to find some, but couldn't, and Phyllis generously gave me a piece with 3 of the gorgeous Japanese ladies on. Did I immediately make cards? No, it went into my special stash box for me to gloat over. Until now....................

I coated the back of the fabric generously with strong glue stick, and stuck it to white card, smoothing out all the bubbles etc. Let it dry then cut it out. The cherry blossom spray and medallion are from a clear stamp set I got from Lakeland UK. I thought the round medallion stamped and embossed in red looked a little like the moon.

We have been visiting friends from the UK who are staying on Anna Marie Island, here in Florida. Today we all went canoeing on the Little Manatee River - something we have done many times on the river here in a place called Weekie Wachee. That river is clear aquamarine and you see a lot of wildlife. This river was a blackwater river, and the levels were very low, which meant that for the first two miles the canoes kept getting grounded on the bottom and we had to hop out and drag them into deeper water. I walked more than I paddled. There was a lot of vegetation in the water, and the logs looked suspiciously like alligators, so I abandoned my usual practice of dangling my feet in the water. We saw dozens of turtles, some pretty ducks, lots of herons, egrets, a wild boar and an alligator (well, it could have been a log, but I ticked it off in my mental I Spy book). It was fun and we had a great time.