The first blooms of spring!

I have to post these photos I took a couple of days ago. My crocus and daffodils recently started blooming...just a few so far. So, I had to get the camera out! I'm just an amature, but I love taking photos (ask anyone in my family). I especially enjoy photographing my flowers. Pay no attention to the leaves that didn't get removed from the flowerbed :/ I was too busy stamping......

There was rain in the forecast today, but the weatherman was wrong...thank goodness. It's a beautiful, sunny spring day! I hope you're enjoying it.

And, by the way.....Happy Birthday to my friend Kris!

A couple of months ago I created this decorated notebook. I us it to keep track of all of the user IDs and passwords for the websites I use. I got tired of looking through scraps of paper to find the right password. I'm usually a very organized person, so that was very frustrating for me! I got the idea for this altered notebook on Gina K's, StampTV site. She has so many great tutorials for papercrafters! This project was fun to do...and not too difficult, either.

I used SU! designer series paper and some of their Not Quite Navy card stock. I used my pc to print the title onto the designer paper, then punched it out with the SU! Curly Label punch. The CS behind the title was die cut with a Spellbinders die. I used SU's Spiral Punch for fitting the paper around all of the spirals. That task is a little tricky to do, the first time...but I've done this once before - so this time it went smoothly. The ribbon is So Saffron grosgrain ribbon (also from SU!). I created the A - Z tabs using a small oval punch. This was my first attempt at tabs. Making them was easy...aligning them on the page edges ~ NOT so easy! But it's for my use, and it works for me.

We're having guests for dinner today, and I'm really looking forward to it! An aunt of mine lives about 45 - 50 minutes away. Even though it's not that far, we don't get to see her very often. She'll be here today, along with her son and daughter - in - law. We don't see them often enough either. You know how it goes....everyone is so busy. So, it will be a fun day! Family...food...and lots of talking! I'd better get busy! Have a great Sunday.

This wedding card will go to one of my husband's co-workers, who is getting married this weekend. I knew that I wanted to use the Happy Couple stamp from Stampendous, but I was not sure if I wanted to color the image or not. I stamped the image using Staz-On black. On my first try I colored the bodice of her dress, the flowers and his cumberbund in blue with my Prismacolor pencils. Hmmmm....it just didn't look right. On the second try (and final) I decided not to color, but I did use some Diamond Stickles as accents on her dress and his tie and cumberbund. Much more subtle...I like the look. The first pic I've posted is a closeup that will (hopefully) show the glitter of the Stickles accents.

For cardstock, I used Whisper White and Going Gray (from SU!). The printed paper is from a the Making Memories Wedding Pad. The ribbon is SU's Basic Gray satin ribbon. I just received this ribbon in my recent SU! order and I LOVE it! I may have to order several other colors!

Well, it has turned cold again, here in Illinois. It's 22 degrees this morning...brrrrr. I wonder how my daffodils and crocus will handle these "winter" temps. I so look forward to springtime each year...I love watching the flowers re-appear after the LONG, cold snowy winters in northern Il.
Enjoy your weekend!

This "thinking of you" card was very simple to make. Even though it was simple, I like the way it turned out. I used SU designer series paper along the left edge. The stamps are all from a SU set, called "Kind & Caring Thoughts". The ribbon is from a local papercrafting shop. The pearls are Recollections pearl stickers from Michaels. This would be a card I could make in volume (with a few variations) and give as a set to someone that enjoys sending cards.

These are 2 framed projects that I made a couple of months ago. Matted in these frames are 4 crocheted items that I've had for some time. The bib and one of the dress potholders, I've had for as long as I can remember. One of the dresses was crocheted for me by my cousin Cheryl (she's VERY talented) and the last one I purchased at an antique shop. Not a lot of paper crafting was involved in these projects, but I enjoy doing framed pieces in addition to my stamping. These now hang on a wall in our family room.

Easter card

This Easter card will be sent to my Father-in-law. I used the Birds and Swirls CB embossing folder on the card front. SU Bordering Blue for the matting and my NEW (just received it yesterday!) Abundant Hope SU stamp set. The edge punch and the DSP (designer series paper) behind the punch are also from SU. This is a fairly CAS (clean and simple) card. I liked the card so much that I made a similar one for another family member. I won't post that one, since she might be watching this blog!
Well, my husband and I will be off to a huge farm toy show today (diecast collectibles). The weather is not what we hoped for...cloudy, cold, snowy...yucky. And just a few days ago it was sunny and in the low 60s. That's what you can expect in northern Illinois - the unexpected!
Hoping you have a great Sunday!

This is a thank you card that I made for a friend of our family, Carrie. She organized a benefit for our nephew, who's Leukemia has relapsed. Carrie amazed all of us with her ability to pull together so many people, resources, a band, silent auction item...the list goes on. The benefit was awesome! I sent her this card as a small "thank you" for all that she has done.
I used my Spellbinders dies for the ovals. The black & white patterned paper is from a pack that I purchased at Michael's. The cardstock is all from Stampin' Up! The sentiment is also SU.

Well, it's a cold snowy day here in northern Illinois...so it's a perfect day to stay indoors and stamp! Actually, any day is a good day to stamp, in my opinion. I'm posting a few of the cards that I've created recently. I hope you enjoy them. In the future, I'll add more detail about each card as I post. Since this my first blog post, I'm experimenting a little. Hopefully, I'll get better at this as I go along!!!