Wordless Wonders of Spring Wednesday . . . . .

(You may click on the photo to enlarge.)

SPRINGTIME in the Rockies!

Harley was raring to go this morning for his first outing, so I didn't make him wait for me to put his coat on. . . after all it's not THAT cold outside today, despite the new fallen snow. And he enjoyed a brief morning sprint outdoors, while I ventured out in my robe and slippers to capture a couple of scenes with my camera.


Even though it's not at all unusual for us to experience wide variations in weather here in northern Utah this time of year, it always seems to take me by surprise. (How quickly we forget!)

And now that the daffodils, crocuses, and grape hyacinths in our yard have been blooming for at least a week and the tulips are beginning to open, it seems even more incongruous that Lee and I would awaken once again to several inches of snow on the ground this morning.



But, I have to reminding myself, this is what SPRINGTIME in the ROCKIES (the Rocky Mountains of Utah) is like. And before we know it, the temperatures will be in the 70s!

Thanks for visiting my little corner of the Blog world, and until we meet again. . . . . .may you all enjoy the pleasures of Spring, wherever you are!

Wordless Wednesday . . . . .

Wordless Wild Flower Wednesday . . . . . . . .

Wordless Wednesday . . .

BEAUTY is . . . . .

Today was the first day in almost two weeks that we haven’t had rain, usually accompanied by thunder and lightning. (Of course, there’s still time…the day isn’t over yet!)

Motivated by the relative warmth and sunshine of the day (along with a pretty strong case of cabin fever), I decided to spend a little time outdoors today exploring our yard from a slightly different perspective than I usually do.

Harley joined me, sometimes walking beside me, sometimes rustling around in the bushes searching for something of interest, and sometimes just lolling in the damp green grass, taking in the sights, smells and sounds of Spring.

It’s amazing what you notice when you’re open to possibilities and take a look at things a little more deeply than you normally do. . . . One thing led to another, I decided to go get my camera, I snapped a few photos, and the idea for today’s blog post (better late than never!) began to rattle around in my head.

Here's what came of it.

Beauty is . . . .

wherever you look for it.

whatever you want it to be.

found not only in the extraordinary, but in the ordinary as well.

Thanks for visiting my blog!

And until we meet again. . . . .may you delight in the beauty around you.

Sunday Shades of Blue . . . . .

Lee and I awakened this morning to one of those cloudy, rainy Spring days . . . . the kind that is just perfect for staying home and enjoying some activities that you feel almost “guilty” doing on a bright sunny day! Activities like curling up with a good book, spending time catching up on reading your favorite blogs, doing a little crafting. . . .the list goes on and on!

As for me, I hope to spend some time on this quiet rainy Sunday to work on a few new card designs, something which I haven’t had much time to do this past week. Inspired by all the spring flowers in our garden and our neighborhood, I have a few ideas for some new paper pieced flower designs rattling around in my head, and am anxious to bring them from concept to reality.

But before I settle into my cardmaking for the rest of the day, I thought I’d take advantage of a break in the rain and take a little walk around our back yard. There’s something quite special about the way an overcast sky seems to add to the lushness of colors in one’s yard, especially in the Spring when flowers are beginning to bloom.

During my little backyard stroll, what especially caught my eye today was the richness of the lavenders and blues of the various blossoms scattered throughout our perimeter and patio garden areas. And I was, once again, inspired to take a few photos. . . . . I thought I’d share them with you.





My favorite flowers have always been Irises . . .

And this Clematis is a Spring show-stopper this year. . . . .

A purple petunia, awaiting a more "permanent" place in our summer garden . . .


And some sweet little Myrtle blossoms, making the most of the rain . . . .


Happy Sunday, Everyone!

Wordless Wednesday . . . .

After the Rain . . . .

Sun shines once again . . .


Scents of blossoms fill the air . . . .


Flowers bloom crisp and bright . . .




Hope you're having a beautiful weekend, Everyone!

Wordless Wednesday . . .

Wordless Wednesday . . . . .

Happy SPRING!

"No matter how long the winter, spring is sure to follow."

~ Proverb from Guinea ~

Today was officially the FIRST DAY OF SPRING . . . And none too soon for me!

Seems like it's been a very long and very cold winter for us here in Utah (and I know for others as well). But, I'm happy to say that we're finally seeing signs of Spring!

Today was a beautiful cloudless day with temps in the high 60s. And as Lee and I enjoyed a bit of sunshine outdoors today, we even found some crocuses blooming in the far reaches of our back yard.

Lee, who as most of you know, is the "real" photographer of our family, was kind enough to take this photo of our sweet little Spring crocuses for me.

Happy Spring, Everyone!

Cardmaking in Black and White: Variations on a Theme

Well, it's been almost a week since I've blogged, and as usual, I've missed it!

However, I'm a bit short on time (and words) this week, so I've decided to do a brief blog post featuring my most recent card creations.

It seems that I've been on a "black and white" card kick lately! I do love black and white together, and whenever I go to my local crafts or scrapbook stores, I'm always on the lookout for new and beautiful patterned papers in shades of black and white.

What I'm going to be featuring in today's post are several cards that I've made over the past couple of weeks, using a wonderful floral patterned paper (by Basic Grey), in shades of black, gray and white with just a hint of cream and gold. I found this paper a number of months ago during one of my frequent (and therapeutic) shopping trips to my local Robert's Crafts store.

I've learned over my years of paper crafting, never to pass up a paper that I really like, because it may not be there the next time I look for it! I had no idea when I first found this paper, what exactly I would use it for, but I just loved the design, so I bought it.

And as luck would have it, I recently found the perfect use for this paper.

A few weeks ago, I received a request from a fellow Etsyan for a customized 40th Birthday Card. She left the card design up to me, but mentioned a few possibilities for preferred card colors. Since black was among the colors mentioned, I thought of this paper that I had stashed for just the right occasion!

So I pulled out the paper, studied the bold floral design, hoping for some inspiration, and came up with the idea for a hand-cut paper pieced flower, specifically created to coordinate with the underlying patterned paper. And voila, a new card design was born!

On graph paper, I first hand drew a couple of large flower petal patterns, based roughly on the floral design in the patterned paper. Then from these two petal patterns, I individually handcut eight petals (four of each design) from textured black Bazzill cardstock.



I wanted to make the card particularly elegant, since it was for a special friend and a special birthday. So I decided to add a touch of gold to the card design, pulling from the cream and gold accents in the patterned paper.











The background of the card design is textured white Bazzill, over which there's a layer of shiny goldtone cardstock, then a layer of the "inspiration" paper, around which the entire card design was created.

I've embellished each corner of the card with a metal goldtone brad. And I pen-outlined each paper pieced flower petal with metallic gold pigment ink.

The numbers in the center of the paper pieced flower are purchased self-adhesive 3-D goldtone metal pieces.

I'm happy to say that my custom card client was pleased with the outcome! Whew!

NOW that I'd completed my first card using this wonderful black and white floral paper, I was energized to create yet another new card design. After all, I still had some of the "inspiration paper" left, a new paper pieced flower design, and all my coordinating papers spread out on my dining room table (read: craft table)!

So, here's what followed . . . . . . . .






I used my new flower petal patterns to cut eight more petals from textured black Bazzill cardstock. But for these petals, I actually cut them once again, so that there is just an outline of the black petals, allowing the underlying patterned paper to show through.

This one-of-a-kind Any Occasion card is embellished with silvertone brads and white eyelash fiber.

For the next card, I used the smaller cut-out petals remaining from the outlined ones in the previous card (whoa . . .does that make any sense?)

So what we have here, is a smaller version of the same paper pieced flower design, without the "inspiration" paper, but simply using black and white textured Bazzill.


I've added one of my favorite quotes to this Any Occasion or Note Card, "The best and most beautiful things in this world cannot be seen or even heard, but must be felt with the heart." ~ Helen Keller


And after these three cards, I was STILL inspired and had yet more of what had become my favorite-of-all-time black and white patterned paper, SO . . . . .


I created another one-of-a-kind Birthday Card design, this time without the paper-pieced flower, and with a slightly different variation of white and black textured Bazzill, silvertoned brads, and black eyelash fiber.

And here's my final card design making use of my "inspiration" paper.

This card embodies one of my favorite styles of card, which I term, "Simply Elegant."

Speaking from my own perspective, I'd say that this wonderfully designed black and white floral paper served me well, and gave me quite a run on "inspiration". What do you think?

Wow, guess I had more words in me than I thought!

Ciao!