crazy spring weather

Just a few days ago we were enjoying such pretty spring weather here in Missouri. Trees and flowers were blooming. Buds were forming.


Our sunset maples were growing their little seedlings and getting ready to let those little helicopters take off.

Then Mother Nature decided to keep us from becoming too complacent about this whole spring thing and sent wind, freezing rain, sleet, and snow our way overnight.


We only got a couple of inches of the white stuff, and that was less than the original forecasts had predicted, but it still puts a bit of a damper on that spring feeling.


So, I thought I'd post a cheery card that I made a while back when I was playing with those new slim profile EK Success edger punches. This is the Swiss Cheese punch accenting the Hero Arts frog images and sentiment. The images were stamped on decorative paper, cut out, and colored. I left parts of the top froggy unglued and bent his arms (? LOL!) and legs out a bit to add some dimension. The embossing was made with a Cuttlebug border embossing folder.

Hope everyone is enjoying their Sundays. :-)

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celebrate spring

The grass is coming back to life. (One of the neighbors has already cut his yard!) Trees are starting to put out leaves. Flowers are blooming. Time to celebrate spring!


I'd been keeping an eye out for crocuses. Those are usually the first bloomers in our yard. Sadly, I think the bunnies ate most of the ones in the backyard. These are some that I found at the front of the house. They're usually late because they're on the north side and don't get as much sun, but at least they're there!


We have a lot of daffodils blooming, too. I particularly like the soft color and delicate look of these flowers.


And last but not least, here's a card that I made to acknowledge the arrival of spring. The tulips aren't blooming yet, but they're getting close. I made this quite a while ago. Yes, I was a bit overly optimistic at the time, but I love spring! :-) I'd have to check to be sure, but I think I made this using some stamps from Michael's dollar bin that were stamped and colored using Memento inks and markers. The chipboard shapes are by Maya Road and were colored using Adirondack pigment inks. The die cuts were made using Spellbinders Nestabilities dies.

Double 'Bossing on the Cuttlebug Challenge Blog

I just wanted to quickly mention here that I was invited to do another Guest Designer spot on the Cuttlebug Challenge blog. I revisited double 'bossing, which I described here recently, but I worked up some new examples and new cards using this technique. My post over there is called Guest Design: Double 'Bossing. Be sure to take a look at the other posts on the blog as well if you visit. Lots of neat ideas for using the Cuttlebug and its accessories.

Hope you're all enjoying your weekends so far. Ahhh, it looks and feels like spring here today. I love it! :-)

multi-challenge GW card

Things have been busy here, as you can probably tell by my lack of posting recently. I've squeezed some crafting in here and there, and I have a card to show for it. Some background first though--on the Gingerwood stamping forum, there have been a number of challenges issued. The first was to make a shaped card. I didn't get to it. The next one was to use an old stamp, I think, or some supply that hadn't been used in ages. I didn't get around to that one either. The most recent one is to make a manly card of any sort. Well, okay. I got tired of not participating, so I rolled those three challenges into one card, and here it is....


Here is my circular saw-shaped card. Doesn't get more manly than power tools, eh? LOL! I used the pinking circle, regular circle, and paisley Nestabilities dies to cut the die shapes. The "saw blade" is card stock covered with aluminum foil. The "Thanks" die cut was made using a Cuttlebug die--yes, this was a shortcut. The rest of the words were made using Sizzix Sizzlit alphabet dies--something that I hadn't used in ages!

I made the card so that it could open. I did this by folding my navy card stock before cutting it, and also leaving part of the fold intact inside the cutting edge of the die.


Here I've opened the card partway to show the rest of the blade. I also placed a smaller paisley shape behind the card front. Not traditional placement, but I hated to cover up the blade and I did want to have a place to write. I added the zigzag edge to mimic the blade--this was from a set of clear stamps by Inky Antics that I don't think had ever been inked, but that I've had for years.

So there it is--my three challenge card. :-) Oh, and my apologies for the play on words. ;-)