Greeting Cards: America

Happy Friday!

This week I set out to make a couple more cards and use up the materials cluttering my work table. Not only did I do that, but I also listed them in my Etsy shop just now. It has been a long time since I have made anything to list, and I all but forgot how to do it. Does that ever happen to you?

Anyway, here are the cards. They have a patriotic flair, but are not only applicable to July 4th, (I know...I'm a little late on that one!!), but I think that they would be nice to give to someone you know in the military.

The photo that I used in the card below was the very first

patriotic photo that I ever purchased.

It was on eBay, not up for bid, but at a

"buy now" price of $100.00. Gulp.

I fell in love with this photo,

but didn't want to run the risk of getting murdered

by my hubby if I ever paid that much for a photo,

so saved it to my favorites and hoped for a miracle.

Lo and behold, it didn't sell,

and then the seller opened it up for bid.

I did win the bid for a fraction of the original price.

To this day, this gorgeous photo is my favorite.

What a beautiful little boy this is...

Again, I made some use of those glittered stick-on stars

that I purchased in the Fourth of July decorating section

in Hobby Lobby.

The papers on the front of the card were from Bo Bunny, and...

...the inside was made of papers from Bo Bunny

and Picky Chicken's (Etsy)

digital papers...

I think that I showed the photo in the card below

to you not too long ago.

I used a copy of some old sheet music, and

the digital papers used on this card were all from Raspberry Road,

also on Etsy, plus they have their own website...

The words on both cards were Stick-A-Bilities from The Paper Studio,

and also purchased at Hobby Lobby.

**********************************

Well, my friends, have a lovely weekend.

Thanks for visiting!

Greeting Cards: Heroes and Football

Happy Tuesday evening. This will be a quick post.

I previously mentioned that I was going to wind up my card-making for a while, other than a few I would make to use the materials that I already had pulled out.

Here are a couple that I finished yesterday.

This is a one that I made for a young family member,

but I will not be able to give it to him for a while.

I got to use some of those glittered stars that I showed you

a few posts ago...

The digital scrapbook paper was from Picky Chicken

on Etsy...

...and the rubber stamp that I used was from

Stampers Anonymous, I think

(the lettering was worn off on the side of the stamp)...

And this one is for my grandson's birthday which is

coming up shortly.

He will be 10 and has been playing football for a couple  

of years now...

I really don't have a lot of  "boy" stuff,

so purchased this old photo on either Etsy or eBay

(I don't remember which).

The papers were digital scrapbook papers from

Studio 9 Illustrations on Etsy...

You may not tell from the photo,

but I cut out the footballs on the left,

and attached them with glue dots for some dimension...

As you can see by the little kids in front,

this photo was taken in 1939...

On the top panel of the inside,

I glued this line drawing,

and it was from Vintage Retro Antique, also on Etsy...

The sentiment I found during a Google search for

football quotes,

and I printed it out from Word...

I guess they came out OK,

considering I didn't even use any lace on them!!

Thanks for coming by!

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams...

Happy Sunday friends~

Have you ever had one of those days where you don't know what to do with yourself? Well, today is one of those days for me. This morning I hosed out and chloroxed our outdoor trash can, if that tells you anything. Beyond that, I don't know where I am headed for the rest of the day. So I will do a blog post! Lucky you. Ha!

Yesterday I had a burst of energy and started thoroughly cleaning our upstairs guest bedroom. It is a neglected room since no one ever sees it except me on my way to my studio. While I was at it, I redecorated. it.  For no real reason except that I was sick of looking at it and wanted to spruce it up. And it didn't cost me a dime since I "shopped" stuff that I already had. It's not done yet, so perhaps I will post about it in the future.

I am simultaneously cleaning up my studio. I have not been especially creative, likely because it is so messy up there. I think I will finish the few cards for which I have already pulled out all the materials, and then put my card-making on hold for a while. Once organized, I will decide which direction I will move towards. I still want to create some art and junk journals.

Yesterday I completed this card, which I am keeping to give someone special.

I adore the young girl in this photo and the way

that her shadow was captured by the photographer.

Judging by her hair style, I assume it was taken during the 1930s.

I purchased the photo on Etsy...

Paper flowers by Prima attached with a brad,

vintage velvet trim, old vintage lace,

adhesive embellishments from K and Company,

and Martha Stewart glitter

were added to the beautiful

papers downloaded from Origins Digital Curio

on Etsy.

The "fly" letters were from iralamijashop,

also on Etsy...

The inside features a beautiful old quote stamp from Stampland,

with lovely words by Eleanor Roosevelt...

Next for me is a boy card.

In case you might not be able to tell,

masculine cards are not really my thing!!

I hope you are having a great day. 

Our Yard in June

Happy Sunday my friends!

Here at Plum Tree Cottage the gardens are in full bloom with daylilies (mostly), and if you follow this blog you know how very much I love them. So, this post will be heavier with photos than it is with words! Well, maybe not.

In the spring I bought this little stone snail at our

local garden center.

You can't see it on the photo,

but his antennae are made of nails.

In him I have planted some lemon thyme,

and he sits on our table on the deck...

The garden below is in the center of our yard, and you see

the garden shed behind it.

The original garden was a small circle of daylilies

that surrounded the birdbath that you see towards the left.

It gradually expanded to a larger one over the years,

much of which I posted about on this blog.

It is now filled with daylilies and iris,

the latter of which bloomed in the spring...

Since the birdbath breeds nothing more

than mosquitoes, and had a crack in it anyway,

I filled it with dirt and placed a flower

pot on top if it.

The daylily in the pot is one that I

rescued in the fall.

It wasn't doing well in one of the outer

perimeter gardens,

so it wintered over here and is doing

quite well.

I will transfer it to the garden below in

in the fall.

In the birdbath itself I have planted

mint, where it cannot take over the rest

of my garden.

Been there, done that!...

Here is the left side of that same garden,

and you are facing the back of the yard,

including the rear border,

also filled with iris and daylilies...

Here is a view from the back of the area you saw above,

this time facing the back of the house...

And here is a long view of that whole garden...

...which up until last year was actually two gardens.

I was running out of space to plant all of my babies,

so joined the two together,

with Hubby helping me reset the concrete edgers.

There is a path between the two sections,

and we bought a sweet black iron bench to put

at the rear of the path...

The right side of this garden started out as a small herb

garden, and the little cat, mouse and bird whirligig

still resides here.

Towards the front you can see parsley.

Sage grows behind it, and wintered over from last year.

How nice!

Not seen in these photos are other herbs,

including rosemary, basil and thyme.

I love the look of herbs mixed in with flowers,

and the willy-nilly effect it gives...

In front of the whirligig,

notice the bright orange-red

daylilies in front.

These represent the fruit of my labors

back in 2012,

as they were hybridized by moi,

by cross-pollinating "Fooled Me"

with "Red Volunteer".

Five years later it is blooming profusely

and right now the star of this garden!..

Below are cone flowers on the left growing

alongside the sage.

The cone flowers are ones I bough a few

years ago in a pot from Walmart

for fall decorating.

They continued to grow nicely in the pot

in the middle of the garden,

and finally I planted them in the garden

in the fall.

I guess they like it here!...

Because I love the kind of daylilies

(spiders and unusual form) that

you will never find in the big box garden

centers,

I love the one below.

I purchased it from a local hybridizer

about five years ago.

It is called Wiggle Worm...

And what would be a tour without seeing a

couple of hydrangea.

Lacecap...

...and Oakleaf, now at the end of its bloom period

and turning a dusky rose color...

Below is the path that divides the two sections of

the one garden.

In the fall we hope to decide what to pave it with...

Have a peaceful and relaxing day!

A Little Bit of Creating: Two Birthday Cards

Hello to all and I hope that you are well.

We returned from The Nest on Tuesday, and I have finally caught up on my laundry chores, grocery shopping, and about everything I had neglected before we left.

We completed most of the interior trim work around the windows up there, and it is looking so much better. I will post more about that some time in the future. In a word, I am TIRED!

This month we celebrate both my daughter's and granddaughter's birthdays, so I created a couple of cards. I haven't had much creative time for more than that, I'm afraid!

This is the one for my daughter.

If it is vaguely familiar, that is because I created one

just like it for my Etsy shop.

It sold, and I really enjoyed making it,

so I made another...

Who can resist these beautiful little girls?...

Here is the inside, which was from some old scrapbook words

that I have had...

My granddaughter just made her high school varsity

cheerleading team,

so I couldn't resist making the card below.

I found this old photo on Etsy or eBay (I forget which),

and absolutely loved it.

The digital chalkboard papers are from an Etsy shop

called Kitty Papers.

I thought the 50s photograph needed some

pink!...

I cut out the cheerleaders

and gave them some dimension with pop-dots.

I also glittered the letters on their sweaters,

which doesn't show up well on these photos.

Remember when cheerleaders looked like this?

I think that these were even a little before my

days in high school,

(though probably not much!!).

I didn't want to make the card too heavy,

as it will go through the mail...

The inside I did with my computer...

Lately I have been using more digital scrapbook papers than paper packs.

In a future post I will share a couple of my favorite shops on Etsy,

and what I do with the papers when I print them.

Have a wonderful weekend friends!