blue fan and small flower design

  

GINGERSNAP CREATIONS - GC99 RANDOM REDHEAD CHALLENGE - FANS

I made the small blue fan for my card after watching this demonstration  http://gingersnapcreations.blogspot.com/2011/04/juliet-arrighi-dahlia-fold-fan.html  It was a lot of fun to do!  I have submitted my card for the Gingersnap Creations C99 Random Redhead Challenge - Fans  here
http://gingersnapcreations.blogspot.com/2011/04/gc99-random-redhead-challenge-fans.html   The stamps that I have used on this card are from HERO ARTS:  the bird pattern on the background is from the Antique Engravings set and the flower pattern is stamped with one tiny flower from the All Occasion Messages stamp set.  It's difficult to see from my photo but I have added one amber gem at the base of my fan.
I have also entered this card in the HERO ARTS Hostess Same Stamp Challenge  http://www.flickr.com/groups/heroarts/discuss/72157626398755471/  .

Thank you for your visit. I hope that you are having a wonderful day!

old garden rose

I used the rose stamp from the HERO ARTS Two Birds (3 Images) Stamp Set. The image was stamped over a piece of patterned paper with old writing.  Distress Inks tattered rose, victorian velvet and tea dye were used. The pink button has some sparkle and string.  This card will be mailed to my sister-in-law Sheila ... both of my brothers married the sweetest girls ... it seems like we have known each other forever.
This card has been submitted in Lisa's MAKE IT & MAIL IT - CHALLENGE #1 http://sideoatsandscribbles.wumple.com/2011/04/25/make-it-mail-it-tag-youre-it/
and was also entered in the HERO ARTS April2011 Challenge http://heroarts.com/blogs/club/april-2011-contest-details/ .

Thank you for your visit. Have a safe and happy day!

Inspired by Franziska

I made this card  for the HERO ARTS Hostess Challenge Inspired by...  My inspiration came from this beautiful card made by Franziska

... and I am so very fortunate to have received this gorgeous card in the mail along with these beauties

What a wonderful surprise!

Thank you so much Franziska, I will always treasure these beautiful cards !

*sorry, it has been difficult to take photos today as it has been cloudy and raining all day

At the Garden Gate

At the Garden Gate was made with HERO ARTS stamps: Florish Grids and Messages. The Florish Grid was stamped onto printed paper. A small cut
out of a fairy from patterned paper and a flower with a large button and twine were added.

I love my Florish Grids stamp, it's wonderful for creating little gardens.

Wishing you a wonderful day and hope to see you soon!

springtime

It's Springtime ... and even though there was a layer of snow on the ground this morning ... it still feels like Spring to me!  There are buds on the forsythia bush, the tulips and  lilies are starting to come up and the birds are singing!

Last evening when I went for a walk to the old apple orchard in the back, the wind was blowing and the branches and the old leaves were rustling ... to my delight I spotted a beautiful red fox ... she spotted me too ... she looked behind and was unsure if she should proceed, then returned to the hill behind her. I know what's on that hill   :)   ...  the foxes den  ...  I know that because we have seen families of fox there in the past.  They are a sight to behold.  I have many photos of them but no longer have them on my camera so I'm not able to upload them to show you. I am hoping that we see a family of fox this year. The little ones are adorable ... they all have their own personality.

This Spring card was made with HERO ARTS stamps Misty Garden Pattern and Antique Background, the image of the birds and nest is from The Grapics Fairy.

Thank you for your visit. Have a safe and enjoyable day!

the lady of the house

I wanted to share these sweet photographs of 'the lady of the house' ... who looks like a kitten but is actually over 15 years old.  When I brought this little lady home 15 years ago, I named her Smudge because she reminded me of a palette smudged with oil paint. However, over the years I realized that was not an appropriate name because this little kitten was soft, quiet, delicate, independent  and very much of a lady.  She knows exactly who I'm referring to when I call 'the lady of the house' or 'little lady' ... and she knows how to get whatever she wants too... she just sits up straight as could be and stares into my eyes ... and I say okay tuna or salmon  and somehow I know it's salmon.  The Little Lady isn't a cuddly cat, but when she wasn't well a while back she let me hold her, cuddle her and wrap her in a blanket, I could feed her with a spoon and although we would both be covered with food, she tried her best. Somehow I think she knew I was trying to help her get well.

Thanks for your visit. I hope you are having a wonderful day!

beautiful butterfly

A small card made with patterned papers, some lace, a beautiful image from The Graphics Fairy , a butterfly stamp from Hero Arts and one large pink gem.

A late April Fools joke for us  ... snow!

TRUE LOVE

While walking through the forest path with my brother last year, we came upon a bag noticably tied to a tree.  Curious, we looked inside the bag and found a pencil and a journal written by someone who frequented the area.  At the end of the author's notes, he wrote a request for hikers to write a word or two about how they felt ... which we did.  I thought that was lovely.

Having said that, I took a  walk with my camera to the back of our house and came across this plaster casting of  hands that I had made over ten years ago.  I had made several castings of  the hands of my DH and mine, in fact it seemed like every time he walked by I was asking him to put his hand in the alginate one more time.  I would stain them and polish them up and put them in a special place in the house.  However, with this pair of hands I decided to make a plaster mold instead of using the alginate and wasn't able to remove the hands entirely from the mold ... I tried everything to remove them, soaking the plaster, putting them outside in the rain and the snow, dropping them on the ground ... nothing worked. I didn't have the heart to part with the piece so I left it outside leaning by the tree.   Years later, I started to look at this piece very differently, it became symbolic of true love.  Over ten years of being exposed to the sun, the rain, hail and snow ... no damage to these hands just a beautiful wear and patina ... I think that is so lovely.

Thank you for visiting. Have a safe and happy weekend.

A ROSE GARDEN

I tried to convey the feeling of joy and romance of a private rose garden with this card.

My father's garden was always over-flowing with tea roses, climbers, floribundas, grandifloras. My mother enjoyed that garden, we all did  ... memories like that are precious.  There is a lot of layering of different stamps here and the stamps are all from Hero Arts.

Thanks for much for visiting. Enjoy your day!

Beautiful life

                                                    It's a beautiful life! 

I made this collaged card (5 1/2" x 4") for Mary Green's April Challenge at the GREEN PAPER CHALLENGE.
   http://greenpaper.typepad.com/green/2011/04/april-collage-challenge.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+greenpaperpackages+%28Green+Paper%29 . A piece of art was to be created using at least part of each of the following 3 images :






Spring is here, the robins are singing ... it's a beautiful day for a walk in the fresh air.
Thanks so much for your visit ... enjoy the rest of your day!

THANK YOU WITH ALL OF MY HEART

I am sending a hug to each and every one of you lovely ladies to thank you for your kind thoughts and prayers and encouragement during my time of healing.  Bless you.

A MOST PRECIOUS CARD RECEIVED FROM JACQUELINE

I am so happy and excited to have received this most beautiful card along with the prettiest papers from Jacqueline http://myscrapbasket.blogspot.com/ !   I love this card so much! The deep aqua and rose colours are my favourites and I just adore that little chickadee in the nest!! This will always be so very precious to me!! Thank you Jacqueline for sending me this beautiful card and for your thoughts and prayers. I am so appreciative of all of the wonderful messages of support and kindness I have received from so many of the lovely ladies in our flicker family. I thank each and every one of you with all of my heart.

TWO FRIENDLY CHICKADEES

I wanted to share these photos of the two little chickadees who have been coming to visit me. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do. I'm so happy that Spring has finally come. The rain and thunder storm that we had yesterday has removed most of the snow ... yeah!  Thank you for visiting and enjoy your day!

Take care!

antique roses

These beautiful roses are rose red on the inside and creamy white on the outside. I have never seen any like these.

I received these roses with so much love and care from my dear friends Norma and Bob.  I wasn't able to photograph these until almost a week after receiving them and they still look gorgeous!

thank you for visiting