~Fun Fall Water Bottles..

Each year our local senior center hosts a craft faire to help welcome our northern winter visitors. One of my good friends asked me if I would help fill her table with some of my work so i got busy trying to come up with something colourful, unique, and fun. After I made a couple of these recycled from my hurricane disaster preparedness stash of water bottles I decided to forward the idea on to my niece who is always looking for cute and unusual handouts to her Senate friends. I AM expecting a photo of her handy work any day... *HINT HINT* The stamp sets and ink are from Stampin' Up!, the ribbon is from my ribbon stash, and the paper from my scrap drawer.

~Nature's Touch Guided by an Artistic Hand..

One touch of nature
Makes the whole world kin
~W. Shakespeare

Words that come to mind when I think of a talented lady with a warm smile and a big heart.

For months a simple choker made of jade and silver, strung on leather latigo, a necklace of no real value but that of a favorite piece of jewelry, lay on my dresser in pieces unable to be worn gathering dust. Not too long ago it was my good fortune to "meet" a multi-talented artist restorationist and poet from southern California. Not only does she create some of the most beautiful southwestern style jewelry but she also, much to my happy surprise, is a creator of cards as well. This is the card I made for Cynthia in thanks for the the restoration work she did for me on my little necklace.

Another Birthday Card .. that actually came first.. Happy Birthday Mom!

I'd run across some really nice cards while blog surfing that were made using the criss-cross fold technique and really liked the overall effect. I wanted something different and special for Mom's Birthday card and decided this would be the ideal opportunity to try one out. The colours in Stampin' Up's Designer Paper Outlaw had caught my eye from the first time I saw them so I decided to combine the Outlaw papers with the Season's of Joy flourish stamp and the True Friend floral stamps. A special thank you to Beate for the inspiration.

Baby Brother's Birthday Bash..

My little brother just turned sixty!! and what better stamp set to help him celebrate than MFT's Let's Hear It for the Boys! . I'd recently finished a criss-cross Birthday card for my Mom and had such fun making it I wanted to try my hand at a file folder card.

I love making cards when they come together so easily. Unfortunately, I was so excited that I neglected to put the romote in his hand and the bowl of popcorn in his lap. This card IS my brother.

Time Flies.. ammended..

Sometimes I wish I could just click my fingers or wiggle my nose and ~*~POOF~*~ it would all just happen. First, you have to come up with an idea, then you have to gather up all your materials and supplies, then you have to think.. create.. rethink.. create some more.. think again and hopefully finally finish your project. Ah.. but its not over! Then you have to locate the camera, make sure the battery is charged, set up for the photo shoot.. shoot.. reshoot.. download.. crop and resize.. enhance, adjust and readjust. Once that is all done then you have to upload the photo and come up with some half way creative jibber jabber to accompany the photo, not to mention documenting the recipe. UGH! and get it all typed in and proofed. It has become quite apparent that I am a textbook example of one who suffers from ADD! But, my blog from the onset was not an exercise in seeing if I could out produce all the other card making bloggers out there, but merely a way to share with my family and a few friends a little of my creativity when i felt inspired.

My most recent inspiration, aside from the card I just finished for my brother's birthday is noted at the top of my blog. I've successfully convinced two ladies I am acquainted with to accompany me on a Caribbean Cruise designed specifically for stampers! For more information click on the link above.

Time Flies..

No excuses.