TYME in my garden!!!

Finally as the days get longer and somewhat sunnier, I find myself looking over my garden vignetts

deciding  which ones need my PERSONAL attention. One of my favorites places are at the light at the end of the driveway. After pulling weeds to allow growth the uncovering begins.

My gorgeous NEWER hosta needed trimmed. A cousin gave me this a while back with such a vibrant yellow edge.

Next the coral bells rang out their song for me dress them and clean them up.

This year I wanted to spruce up the area with new color so I added an old birdhouse along with

The VERY NEW garden enamed spike. I am so into birds so you can see why this one is so appealing!

It brought l my colors together.

In the background I have polyantha roses in a pale pink , then greens around, the darker reddish coral bells and in the front planted pink bell flowers of which I have forgotten the name.

My Dalton gave me the red ones in the front. Arent they just the sweetest??

So after I planted all day and drew away winter gleanings, check out the next picture and think 

To yourself SERIOUSLY!!!! 

Enjoy my garden vignett today and I have only 13 more to go. Ugh!!!

Donna

AMAZING SPRING LINE UP CARDS

In this starting spring weather, one can find so many ideas for inspiration . At first I thought of the new butterflies we will be seeing shortly, so from this the first card imerged. I had never heard of a secret message card somit intrigued me. I chose an apple green from a previous year color and the card began to take shape. 

This is posted for your inspiration!! I made mine into a sympathy card!!

Next I remembered that graduation was next month so for a while I had wanted to use my owl punch

which made this a perfect time. Owl builder punch #118074 is used for the cutest little guy ever.

I used a piece of cloud paper from a package I had from SU. You may change the vest to the school

color of your choice. 

BUILD BUILDER punch 117191 was the leaf used  for under the letters. TYPESET ALPHABET BIGZ

was used for the letters which stand strongly. It is #127553 and is a little pricey. I happened to be lucky

enough to earn it once at half price. Wow, it makes impressive lettering.

Change up the back ground, the vest color to suit your personal needs along with a white , brown , or black owl. Is'nt it the cutest card ever????

Sorry the card went to the top but this app has a mind of it's own. But you get the jest! 

The next card is our 15 minute card truly. Seems like you always need an unexpected one, and this you could make in a wink of an eye.

HAPPY WATERCOLOR #133191 is the stamp set used . Such a versatile stamp set . We have already used all the sentiments and now all the floral components. Iceland Poppies come in all colors so we

combined the Coastal Cabana inkpad with our wonderful blender pens and thes poppies look so real!!

Simply tap the blender pen onto the wet ink pad and roll until the color goes on. Fill in your subject

And when shading add more color in edges or deep spots and the flower comes alive!!! I used Baked Brown Sugar for the strip along with twine to accent. Also added to the bottom edge was coastal cabana 3/8 ruffle stretch ribbon which will be discontinued from the new catty.

Now for the feminine touch ,I created this corset which was done in Blushing Bride. Going for the vintage feel, I chose a non SU stamp I  had forever that reflected the shape of the corset. What really made this card stand out was the unusual split in the card itself. I embossed the corset and added an edge of ribbon left over from last season. On the left edge I tucked in some tulle ribbon which has been in our clearance bin. I love it so I bought extra. 

Enjoy this months cards , try the great blender pens and above all "keep stamping"

Donna

The VERY FIRST SWAP created

Good morning everyone,

It is so exciting to be able to write to you to talk about the very first time doing  a swap here in my home. 

It was fun all month listening to the scuttlebutt about swapping. Ideas flitted and floated through the air. The girls that I thought would step right up surprised me, and the ones who wern't in the immediate picture came through. We had vintage with original ephemera glued on carefully and of course floral for a few.

Can you see the floral peeking through the back ground??? Also entered was a spring colored one and one done in watercolors she said??????? So ingenious!!!!!

They used ribbon, tags, pictures from magazines,tape,cutouts and vintage misc.

These girls were so ingenious in their design. A few are missing because they went home with the girls before I got to take the pictures. Thank you all for making IT happen !!!!!!!! We will do a different one in 2 months so stay tuned for new and exciting things to come. 

Only a month away is the unveiling of the NEW Catty so go through and make sure there is not something you can't live without. Also stock up on your favorite cardstock colors and don't forget your ink refills for those thirsty ink pads. They will be discontinuing some of the older colors and new TRENDYcolors will come in in JUNE.

If you need anything just call?

Thank you all for the EXTRA fun  this month.

Donna

The making of more altered art

Well hello again,

I so wanted to share with you all today some fun I have been having. Below is a page in my ART JOURNAL I have completed. Since I love the color orange I chose to do this page in it. The sweet child like figure is done in gelatos which I then wetted with water making them watercolor like. The look I was going for was childlike and innocent and was done on regular cardstock. Dylushion sprays were used on the back ground to create the soft effect. These sprays are all water soluable so if they get wet again they move and reactivate. This is the reason I cut the girl out and used matt medium to adhere her on the page. Next I drew the heart, and colored in many shades of crimson, burnt orange, orange and reds, being very careful not to lift the underspray. Then I used a pen to stitch all the pieces of my life together. Love it!!!!! Do you?

Well now onto the mess we create when we make altered mail. One must get out the washi tape, glue,envelopes, pages from a book, pictures, downloads,stickers and whateve else you can get your hands on. Below is how clutters it can get but fun.

This month we are doing swaps so I cant wait to show you those on the next post.

This last one was one I saw on the web but had to share for Easter. Look closely as it is hand painted 

and machine stitched around the outside. So precious!!!!  See you soon and Happy Easter!!

Black and white Occasion card

There is something so special about simple black and white creations , whether it be bedrooms or luggage, or a dress but it's simplicity is rewarding. So a month ago I wanted to address this combo.

I struggled with an idea totally SU and it just would't come to me. So this is the card we created using 

Su designer paper in the black and whites.

 The flower was created using the PUNCH BLOSSOM punch #605203 cutting 3 layers of different prints. Using a spray bottle to wet the cut petals,scrunch them in your hand and put a hole in the centers for the upcoming brad. Let them dry while  you put your card together. Leave the birdcage until last. This was a 5x7 card this time. I believe the picture will give you the combo easily combining dots and stripes along with prints, all coordinating easily. The inside birdcage was a simple stamp I had picked up some time ago which was appropriate.

Now the delightful glittered birdcage happens to be a TIM HOLTZ die ,one which has the little bird in it as well.

I then cut the birdcage from a black glitter cardstock. And the bird from plain black cardstock so the cage would be  the focal point. Last I cut a small white banner using WISHING YOU A WONDERFUL DAY so it would  be more general. Gently tucking it in the cage side made it more whimsical. So remember do not glue all of the spines down or you cannot slide it into place. 

So time for the flower now. I used a SU antique brad which comes in different shapes all in one round box, and inserted it through all the flower layers. I then used glue dots to adhere because of its small size. Then you are able to scrunch the petals  around until it suits you.

This card would be beautiful foe a wedding or get well or birthday. 

So enjoy this posting and let me know if you love it.

Have a wonderful day.

WATERCOLOR IS SO TRENDY RIGHT NOW.

Did you know WATERCOLOR is SOOOOOO in right now. You will find it in sheets, decor , clothes and art. Stampin Up is right on  track with Watercolor Wonder on page 23 in the mini. The pics don't do it  justice so here are closeups for you to see how gorgeous the DSP is. April workshop will showcase a card  using the beautiful prints.

They are light and airy working gleefully in our next spring cards. Here are a few more.

There is a matching stamp set on page 22 in the mini and is called HAPPY WATERCOLOR which is a perfect coordinate.

In April we will showcase the paper and the stamp set so if you love it put it on your WISH list.

A few sunny days finally has helped to think in terms of fresh color. Hope you can come on the 14th or the 16 th to be inspired.

Sunny days ahead

Donna

Filling up family time

Hi everyone,
Spring has arrived and with robins everywhere, new life is springing up. So last week my girls were antsy to do something FUN. Since. I am chairman of FUN, I decided to offer them a papercraft.

We do tend to make a mess and spread way out but in the end we are SOOOO blessed by our creations. So let me show you how much fun we had making MORE ALTERED ART. I truly hope a lot of you girls will be in the SPRING swap in April.

Ok here is our mess first and then the ones who made it! Ha ha

Some of our art was sent to Maryland now to uplift spirits and for myself another anniversary for my kids so another Chinese GC inside a handmade ART ENVELOPE. Also gave a package to a friend to uplift someone else's spirits which she delighted in. Hope you enjoy our fun with us and learn to use your scrapbook paper in different ways. Chloe has discovered WASHI TAPE and its merits.

This a great way to use those odd papers which just dont fit any particular thing you are working on.

Sorry the top picture went it wasnt supposed to go but in your mind in goes with the one above. Darn I  pad.

That is all for today but I will have another post soon with the class we just finished DOING OUR easter card and a gorgeous black and white combo one. 

Spring Blessings