Raise The Bar Challenge #13

Today's challenge at Raise The Bar is called "Let's Spring For It"!  When I think of spring, I always think of Lilacs.  I have two large lilac bushes outside my one living room window and when they are in bloom ... Mmmm ... what a beautiful fragrance flows through the room!!  Hence, my card theme!

I actually gave this card to my SIL for her birthday on Easter and now have to try and remember what all I used to make it.  Actually, that shouldn't be too difficult because it's basically this lovely embossed K&Co designer paper, Stickles, sentiment stamp by Impression Obsession and this "oh so soft" silk ribbon I received as an RAK from Joan Fricker (Joan's Gardens). 

Edited to add:  The "perfect" bow was achieved by using the Bow Easy.

With the unexpected warm weather (80s) we've been having in N.E. Ohio, my lilacs are all in bud and I can't wait for them to bloom!!!  I just hope we don't get a late frost and loose them!  

For further inspiration, please pop over and check out what the other Bar-Tender's have to share with you on their blogs ... links are listed below:

Anita 

Sparkle  

Suzi

 Audrey 

Joni (Head Bar Tender)

Okay ... now it's your turn!  I can only imagine what amazing creations you all will come up in using this fun theme!!  Please be sure to add your direct link to our challenge blog so we can pay you a visit and ooogle over your creation!!

Things that make me smile ....

Happy Tuesday Everyone!!!

Today a have a couple cards to share with you.  

Not for any design team ... just playing and having fun creations!  

First I have the first of many Birthday cards I will be making for my Aunt Jenny.  She's the sweetest lady and she will be 80 next week.  My cousin Beverly (Aunt Jenny's daughter) called me over the weekend to ask if I would send her a card for her birthday.  She (Aunt Jenny) doesn't want any fuss or party so her kids thought they'd try to have her showered with cards.  WELL ... of course I said yes and clued my cousin in on the idea I had.  Not only will I send her a card for her birthday, but I intend to make a new card and mail it each day (started yesterday) until her birthday!  She will probably think I have lost my mind but I know she likes my cards and will enjoy the special attention!   Here is the card I made & sent today.

This Paper Pizazz is actually left over from another 6 card/box set I made for my Mom.  I knew it would be perfect for my Aunt!!

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Another card I made today is a fun Easter "card on a card" creation using my new Nestabilities Easter Egg dies.  I used the largest one for my "focus" image, covered it with Paper Pizzazz dp then used a smaller die for my sentiment panel. A touch of purple Stickles around the outer edge really helps make it stand out!! (even though that's hard to see in the photo)  The other designer paper is from the DCWV Nana's Nursery Baby Boy paper pack.  I can't believe my camera actually showed the true color ... purple is difficult to photograph!  Do you have that problem??

The corners were created using the Martha Stewart loop corner punch and dabs of purple Stickles.  I used a scrap piece of Offray sheer yellow ribbon for the opening handle.

This cute little image if from Great Impressions and I've used Prismacolor Markers for my coloring.  I wasn't thinking when I cut my egg out of Tempting Turquoise what I was going to put on the inside ... so when I colored my little duckie YELLOW ... it actually came out kind of GREEN ... Oooops!!  I still think it is cute and am sure the recipient will like it too!!

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NOW ... for the one thing that really made me SMILE today!  The sun is shining today although it's still a little cool ... (50's) ... but warm enough to make my crocus pop out in bloom  along my sidewalk!  What a delight to see spring flowers again ... it just warms my heart when I see Spring beginning to show up everywhere I look.

It's still early but it is enough to warm my heart and lift my spirits!!  Winter was fun but very long this year ... everyone is more than ready for Spring and these little lovelies give us great hope!

I hope you have a WONDERFUL day!  Tomorrow is a BIG day for me!!  I'm headed "back home" to get my hair done at my sister's shop very early in the morning ... then over to help Mom with computer work.  Isn't it awesome that she's 80 and still willing to learn something new on the computer!!  I sure give her credit!!

Now besides all of this, tomorrow is the CHALLENGE DEBUT over on THE SISTERHOOD and I will be your hostess!  WOW ... I sure hope blogger is kind to me and comes live when requested, LOL!!    AND ... it's another PENNY's CHALLENGE day ... Shew ... sure going to be a busy day!!!  I hope you come and join in on the fun!  See you then!!  Thanks for stopping by today!

Saturday Spotlight - Let The Sun Shine In!

Hello Everyone! Happy Saturday!

THANKS to everyone who participated in our challenge last week! WOW, what wonderful "snowflake" creations you came up with! So much inspiration out there ... thanks for sharing it with US!!!

NOW, are you ready to "Let The Sunshine In"? Well that's the theme for today's Saturday Spotlight with Hidden Potential Challenge #15. So get out those BRIGHT colors and create something that not only puts a smile on your face but mine too!!! And be sure to use the keyword: SSHP15 when you upload to other online galleries such as SCS, PCP, SNR, etc. We can't wait to see YOUR creation!!!

Our Spotlight Sponsor this week is SUNSHINE'S STAMPS (Christina Bower).

(Click HERE to go to store)

**One lucky winner from our challenge in Mister Linky this week drawn from random.org will receive 3 images from the store!! How cool is that?!**

NOW on to my card for today. I chose to use one of the adorable images from Inky Impressions ... this is "Flower LiLi". Isn't she adorable!! She certainly makes me yurn for the springtime, picking posies, and enjoying the sun shining down on your face!! What do you think?? Have I succeeded in bringing a little "sunshine" into your life today??? I did!! GREAT!!!


Here are the other items used on this creation:

Stamps: Inky Impressions
Papers: Whisper White, Garden Green, Paper Pizazz dp
Inks: Versafine Black
Accessories: Nestabilities Labels 4, EK Success Tag Punch, Prismacolor Markers, Hobby Lobby ribbon, Prima flowers, Hero Arts gems, Martha Stewart picket fence border punch, Creative Memories letters/numbers stickers, dimensionals

I hope you are inspired to join in on the fun. AND, if you need further inspiration, please check out the creations by my Diva Sistah's ... listed below...

*Vicki Parsons (Creator/Coordinator)
*Chris Olsen (Coordinator)

Boni Boutelle-Jones
Crystal Irwin
Dawn Burnworth
Erin Bailey
Jessica George
Jodi Ann-Lee
Maria Matter

We are SO THRILLED to see so many of you joining us in the challenge ... THANK YOU!!! Enjoy your weekend!!! And remember ... Spring is right around the corner!!

SPRING ... glorious spring

Doesn't it make you feel "alive" when Spring is in full bloom????? For those of you who live in areas that don't witness a change in seasons, you may not know what I'm talking about, but here in NE Ohio, U.S.A. after a long, white, cold, drab winter ... the colors and smells of Spring are WONDERFUL!!

I would like to share a few photos with you today of the lovely tulips that are in bloom around the property as well as a peek at how gloriously green the surrounding yard/picnic area have become ... I just love springtime ... it makes me feel rejuvenated!! Oh yea, I have a little story to tell you about a ride I recently gave a little Mama Chickadee.

The spring flowers have done so well this year with the nice rains we've had & those suprise 80 degree days we had a few weeks ago. I have various colors of tulips sprinkled around the property but the purples are my favorites. As you will see through the year when I share photos with you of my outside flowers ... most are in shades of purple & pink. Of course I did have red, yellow and white tulips but they have already shed their petals for this year.

My father (who had a wonderful GREEN thumb) taught me years ago to plant flowers together that bloom at different times of the year and that way you'll have color from when the snow ends until the snow begins again. Perennials are wonderful becuase you know they'll always be back from year to year but of course you can sprinkle annuals here and there to give an additional splash of color while the perennials are doing their thing.

For instance, in my flower boxes on the back deck and in the huge pots on the front porch, I always pot various shades of pink & purple petunnias in early May and as long as I remember to FEED them once and week and water them often during the really hot summer days, they will spread and last throughout the summer. I love it when they start to drape down the sides and fill out ... and the smell is is sweet!

Now for my little STORY ...

The other day I was finally able to get outside and start some of the much needed cleanup. Since I live at the end of a cul-de-sac, the wind blows all kinds of debree up and into my area ... leaves, papers ... you get the idea. Well, the wind had also put quite a "lean" on the little wren birdhouse I have nestled into the viburnum bush at the corner of the deck. [This lovely little birdhouse was made for me by a friend/neighbor back in Pittsburgh several years ago. He had it all decorated with flowers painted around the sides and even a window box with flowers painted above the "door" (entrance hole) in the front. Over time and with all my moving around, the weather has washed away a lot of the floral decorations but I still make sure it gets placed somewhere in the garden for springtime occupancy.] BACK TO THE STORY ... In my hussle-bussle of clean-up, I reached over and pulled the birdhouse back into an upright position WHEN ... out popped the head of a little mama chickadee. Not knowing it was "occupied", I don't know who scared who the most!!! LOL She just popped her head out to see "what was going on" since I'm sure she went for quite a ride with my hasty movement ... sorry little mama!! Needless to say, I gently moved over to the other side of the deck and did clean up so as not to disturb her nesting any more than I already had. I watched her fly in & out of her new little home several times so I'm confident things have been restored to normal and I will be hearing the sound of new little baby chicadees before long. (click on any photo for a larger view)

ISN'T MOTHER NATURE WONDERFUL .....

Crafty Secrets "You're My Inspiration" Challenge #67

Today Lori Lynn Washburn (aka Lucy) is hosting the Crafty Secrets Challenge over on the SCS forum. Lori's clues yesterday where quite interesting and even included a song clip from a Chicago song. GREAT clues but I still "Didn't Get It". Only today when she posted the actual challenge did I get the connection and what an awesome challenge idea. Please jump over to the challenge through the link and check it out ... you won't regret it ... it's an awesome group of talented ladies!



What I found as "my inspiration" today was Mother Nature herself. While Mark & I sat eating breakfast we enjoyed watching the birds at the feeder (cardinals, bluejays, chickadees, gold finch & robins on the ground) as well as the squirrels trying to get into the feeder. There was also a Mama rabbit searching for a place to nest to give birth to her babies. Doesn't look like I'll be cutting the grass under the bird feeders any time soon ... that's where she chose to build a nest.


Looking outdoors in the springtime is so uplifting for me. I love seeing everything turning so freshly green ... flowering trees all a bloom ... and the beauty of spring flowers sprinkled around to add that touch of color we've all been waiting for after a long white winter.



Card ingredients include:
Stamps: Crafty Secrets (Bird Notes)
Paper: Crafty Secrets (Earthy) dp, SU River Rock, Blue Bayou & Very Vanilla
Ink: Versafine Black, SU Blue Bayou
Accessories: Crafty Secrets Image from the Birds & Botanicals Booklet, Nestabilities (rectangles), SU double stitched Blue Bayou grosgrain ribbon, Martha Stewart branch punch, dimensional tape, detail clear ep, Fiskar decal scissors


THANKS FOR STOPPING BY TODAY!!!


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Edit to add another card for this challenge.




Another inspiration today came in the form of a kindness sent to me by another Crafty Secrets lover. A couple of days ago I received a card of encouragement from "a friend" and it included this image, sentiment and border. She cleverly noticed I didn't own this set and honored me with the basis for this card.


I am always inspired by my new found friends and am in awe of their generosity. This is not the first "encouragement gift" I have received and I really should share them ALL with you! As I have more time at home, maybe I can do just that!


My card base is Pretty in Pink with a Crafty Secrets Earthy designer paper matted in basic black as my second panel. The image is from the Crafty Secrets "Home Sweet Home" set and I've colored it using SU watercolor pencils & a blender pen. I used Fiskars decal scissors around the sentiment and matted all panels with basic black. The pink pearls are by Mark Richards and the flowers by Prima. This was quick & easy and I LOVE the outcome! Looks like my "California Friend" is also an enabler ... this set is going on my wishlist now. Hope you like it!!

The BEAUTY of Spring ...

While looking through and commenting on the over 180 updates on my Google Reader this morning, I came upon this lovely post by my friend, Joan Fricker and she has inspired me to share with you some of the outdoor beauty I too have the pleasure of viewing out my window. Please be sure to look through Joan's blog ... she makes some beautiful creations and shares some wonderful stories/recipes/etc. Also please note here request for prayers for her sweet cousing Melanie. This young mother just gave birth to her 3rd child when they discovered a brain hemmorage. You can read this touching story HERE ... please take a moment and say a prayer for this young woman and her family.

The story behind this crab apple tree is that it is over 100 years old and every year brings a smile to our faces in the early Spring when it goes into bloom. I know of it's age due to the fact that the gentleman who lives beyond this apple tree grew up here and used to play in this tree as a young boy. His grandparents owned the property (used to be a farm) that my house and the others in my housing development reside on today. He always remarks how happy he is that I pamper this tree with my constant prunning and care ... he was concerned that it might be chopped down. I assured him that would not happen as long as I lived here!!!

Mark so loved this big old tree when we first moved here 6 years ago, that we went to the local nursery and picked out one to be planted in the front of the house. It has settled in and done very well over the past several years. The first couple of years we had late frosts ... Mark & I made sure to take the time and cover this "young one" to be sure it wouldn't get damaged before it had the opportunity to show it's beauty! And with each passing year it is looking more & more beautiful!

This morning while looking out the front door, I noticed a pair of gold finch perched in this tree. What a beautiful sight!

It has been raining all morning so I didn't walk to the back picnic area but from my kitchen window I can see the "Bleeding Heart" are in full bloom out there and will no doubt need to be split out. Last spring a put a small part of them along the garage and this year they are just blooming beautifully so I thought I'd share a photo of those with you as well.

Usually by now I have my flowers planted in my pots & planters on the deck & front porch as well as preparing my beds around the trees in the picnic area for the impatients that will be planted in a couple of weeks. With DH being in the hospital for the past month, I'm a bit behind on my outside work ... but now that he can recuperate here at home, as soon as the rain stops you know where you can find me ... yep, getting dirty!!! Thanks so much for stopping by today! I can't tell you how much I enjoy you taking the time to stop to see what I'm doing and leave a comment! It truly "makes my day"! Wishing you all God's Blessings upon your weekend!!