Pears and Thanks

When we first moved into our current house 23 years ago, our neighbours planted a dozen fruit trees. Over the years, some of the trees died off or got sick but most of them are still standing and now bearing fruit. With age the fruit has gotten better and better. Each year they would bring over fruit from the trees and I would give her vegetables from our garden. Last year when I received my first large bag of pears, I returned the favor by sending over a pear gingerbread. I came across this fabulous recipe which is like an old fashion upside down cake but the flavor is so mild that you don't even know it's gingerbread.

I just received my first bag of pears from this year's crop and they are the best fruit that these trees have ever produced. I guess that age does improve some things. I just had to thank my neighbour once again for her thoughtfulness.

For the card, I cut the pear using my From My Kitchen Cricut cartridge. I added a lovely satin ribbon the same colour as the K&Company designer paper. Gold Stickles added to the stem added a little fun to the fruit.

Bridal Shower

I am invited to a bridal shower in Michigan this coming weekend for a couple who now live in Ireland. She is from Michigan and he is from Ireland. They met when they were both veterinary residents specializing in equine medicine. What an accomplished couple who have travelled all over the world to help with fowling season in the U.S. and Australia and with special surgeries for horses. Anyway, the wedding is in July, 2010 on the southern coast of Ireland and it is sure to be a fabulous event.

Now back to my project, the paper certainly makes this card what it is. The two birds which I thought resembled love birds are perched on a wild rose bush in front of a pastel background. I cut the image from a 12x12" paper pad made by K&Company called The Best of Brenda Walton. If you have read earlier blogs, I have used this paper successfully in several projects. I just love it. Some of the papers are very nostalgic and others complement the designs. In any event, I used another part of the paper for the inside where I printed a short verse that I found on the internet. The simple organza bow at the top adds a softness to the front of the card. I didn't know what type of sentiment to put on the card so I just cut a shower umbrella using my Cricut New Arrivals cartridge and wrote the date and the location of the shower. I think it works.

Cricut Cardz Challenge Design Team

I am thrilled to announce that I was chosen from many skilled crafters to join Design Team #2 at Cricut Cardz Challenge. I am really looking forward to working with some amazing crafters on both of the Cricut Cardz Challenge teams. Check out this blog that encourages crafters to test their creativity and use their Cricut machines to create cards. The results are amazing. Let's get in gear and make some fun cards. I love seeing what other crafters come up with. Come and join us each Wednesday when a new challenge is announced.

Olivia the Owl

I named this owl, Olivia. She is so cute with her yellow ribbon in her fur beside the sentiment that reads, Thinking of You. I started this card with a lovely designer paper in an orange houndstooth pattern from K&Company. The card was cut using the Wild Card Cricut Cartridge. What a wonderful image! I curled the paper up to give more dimension to the card. Then I gave her some big blue eyes. I think she turned out well.

I made this card to enter into the Cricut Cardz Challenge which was a color challenge to make a card using only orange, yellow, black, blue and white. However, I missed the deadline - silly me - so it's going into the next challenge #38 which is "Anything Goes".

Really Cute Card

Is this not the cutest card EVER??? K&Company has a designer paper in the The Best of Brenda Walton collection that has little girl's dresses. I used twine to resemble a clothes line and hung the dress on the line with simulated clothes pegs. I cut the cloud from paper that had several glossy cloud shapes on it. I think the scene is clean, simple and brings back memories of times gone by. The only sentiment that I thought suited the card was, "just for fun".

Back to School - soon

I just love this card!!! I started it by making my own stack of books. I started with linear patterned paper and then glued my own handcut deep U shape out of plain cardstock for the book covers. I stacked the books onto kraft colored cardstock to resemble a desk. I cut out the apple from the Plantin Schoolbook Cricut Cartridge which I think had the best apple image of all my catrdiges. The background black cardstock was used to resemble a blackboard and by adding lines and the words 'back to school' my white gel pen, I think I created a cute card that I know my counsin will appreciate receiving. She is in her second year at teaching and in few weeks, will resume teaching her grade 2 class at a new school.

I entered this card in the following Back to School challenges:
1. Paper Cutz Challenge
2. Our Creative Corner
3. The Sisterhood of Crafts
4. CCMC #111 (Create with Mary and Connie)
5. Stampin' for the Weekend Challenge #44
6. My Creative Time, Throwback Thursday Challenge #9
7. Catch the Bug - Use Primary Colors.

Argyle Anyone?

Argyle is really an old fashioned pattern that you usually find in tennis or golf attire or in men's socks. It's popularity has come and gone but I personally find the pattern fascinating I guess because it is so complex. There are really three layers of pattern which you see in my card. The first is a background layer which I chose to be green. The next layer is more visible - mine is the mauve patterned paper and the top layer is the overall grid which in my card is white. When all assembled, the layers form a cohesive pattern that is pleasing to the eye. This card was cut using the Wild Card Cricut cartridge. I also cut the matching envelope which has a green, mauve and white lining. I edged the card with moss green and antique linen ink. I made this card for my great aunt who is 99 years old and until last year had lived in the same house for 55 years. She is still a healthy and vibrant senior in her retirement home, she had all her marbles and goes for walks about the complex 3 or 4 times daily. She is truly a marvel.