CLEMATIS

BLOOMING:

I have two clematis that are in bloom; The President and Gillian Blades. 

Here is The President who is recovering from being moved when we revamped the garden.

Gillian Blades is a near white with a tinge of lilac and grows up the smoke tree.

Here is a close up picture of Gillian Blades:

IN WAITING:

I have several more to bloom and will show some past photos. Villa de Lyon is my favorite clematis.  Hardy and blooms off and on all summer.  I have her in two places in the yard.  This is at the lampost in front of the house with Stella de Oro daylilies.

And a close up of the blooms:

Hagley Hybrid or also known as Pink Chiffon is one of the first clematis I bought.

Comtesse de Bouchaud is another good grower:

A close up of the blooms, a real pretty shade of pink.

 I have Polish Spirit, Ville de Lyon and Henryi growing around the bell post in the backyard.  Polish Spirit is a smaller bloom andI a dark purple and Henryi is white. You have to look close to see Henryi on the backside.  Polish Spirit is the dominant grower in this grouping.

I also have Sunset who usually grows a few feet and then disappears. Niobe, Ernest Markahm and Rouge Cardinal have resented the garden revamping and are sulking.  Hope to see some bloom from some of them this year.

TONED DOWN DAISY

On the Try A New Technique Challenge, TLC270, we were to select a card we had previously made and  ramp it up or tone it down.  If you make cards with lots of layers-do less.  If you do more simple cards-do more.  The daisy card in the post below is the one I toned down.  Here is the toned down version:

This card qualifies as a Clean and Simple card or CAS.  I used the same stamp, ink and paper just less of it and no designer paper.  I used red jewels on this version instead of the diamond jewels on the ramped up version.  I think I may like the toned down version best.

UPSY DAISY

I have been spending most days outside getting the flower beds cleaned out and we have been having some wonderful weather for working outside. Plan to work outside awhile today. 

I haven't been stamping much but here is a card I made Sunday for the Featured Stamper Challenge and the Way To Use It Challenge, to use piercing on our card.  I love SU Upsy Daisy stamp and use it on a lot of cards.  I did some paper piercing on the white panel. I used Linen background stamp in red to make the background before stamping the daisies and sentiment in red. I added a butterfly using the Martha Stewart butterfly punch and added a jeweled trail.  The red flowered panel is a strip of Honey pie designer paper by Cosmo Cricket.

VIRGINIA BLUEBELLS IN MISSOURI

My daughter and I went to see the bluebells in all their glory this week.  These pics were taken in the Tinney Bottom which is Missouri Conservation land. No photos can do this sight justice-millions of bluebells cover the hillside and bottom along the Piney River-just an amazing sight!!  Click on the photos to enlarge.

Looking down into the bottom.  These were growing on the hillside and on down into the bottom!

Looking up the hillside and bottom.

A bottom view

BEFORE and AFTER

This tulip photo was taken a couple of day ago showing the tulips in bud:

This photo of the same tulips was taken today.  I think they are maybe prettier in bud than when the bloom is open.

Trees, shrubs, flowers are just gorgeous this year; loaded with blooms!  Click on the photos to make them larger.

POTPOURRI

I haven't stamped in over a week what with one thing or the other.  Spent 4 hours in the ER last Friday morning-all kinds of tests to see if I was having a heart attack.  Thankfully, not!!  Gave me Zantac for my stomach which they think was the problem.  Had visitation, memorial and burial for one of DH's cousins and family dinner on Saturday and then  to my sister's on Sunday for Easter dinner.  Tuesday was the day I play cards/games with some friends and yesterday morning was Weigh In Day and then out of town for some van parts.  In between have been trying to get taxes completed-they went to the tax office this morning-what a relief!! 

Here are some cards I had made earlier and never uploaded--

The next card is called a Shaker card.  Shake it and the glitter down in the corner moves around. I was going to take this for my sister Easter Sunday but forgot!

NOW THIS IS PERSEVERANCE!

Last spring I dug some dwarf iris to move to a new location.  I put them in a plastic meat tray with just the dirt that was around their rhizomes. I put them by the garage door and never did get around to getting them in the ground.  I put them in our unheated garage over the winter and it was a cold one!  I noticed a few days ago they were green and growing.  Yesterday when I was in the garage I noticed they had a couple of buds and this morning they are in bloom!  Anything that wants to live that badly needs to be put in the ground-Soon.

HELLEBORE, HELLEBORUS, CHRISTMAS ROSE, LENTEN ROSE

 Photo of my Hellebore, Helleborus, Christmas Rose, Lenten Rose or maybe you know it by another name. It is loaded with blooms this year.  A google search shows several companies that  have some information about them and also sells them.  My daughter gave me a start from her plant and I do not know what variety I have-guess I will just call it Karen. It has self seeded over time and made a nice colony.  I am going to move part of it closer to the house.  It is now located in the back garden and you almost miss it if you don't do a regular walk around. I will be sure to wear gloves as the leaves has some sharp edges- it is not a favorite of deer! Hard to get a good photo as the flowers are hanging down now that they are mature.

SPRING BEAUTY

One of my favorite flowers to appear in the spring is Bleeding Heart (Dicentra spectabilis).  The bleeding heart above is an offshoot of my mothers.  I cherish it as she is no longer with us. I also have one of her columbines but haven't seen it yet this year and am wondering it the leaves smothered it out :>(

Everything else seems to be up and growing with tulips developing buds.  I haven't cut my clematis' back yet but it is on my to do list this week-lots of things on that list.  I need to take a photo of my hellebores-they were loaded with blooms this year.  Seems this is a good year for blooms; everything I have seen is loaded with flowers.  The forsythia, Bradford pears and some other early spring bloomers were just beautiful in town when we went to my sister's for Easter dinner.  Their magnolia and weeping cherry were just loaded with blooms and so beautiful.  Love this wonderful time of year.  God certainly knew what he was doing with so many natural and man made wonders for us to enjoy!

SPRING WILDFLOWER

Early spring wildflowers are beginning to make their welcome appearance.  I have a transplanted Dutchmen's Breeches blooming beside my dining room window.  If you will look close the flowers do somewhat resemble the puffy breeches of Dutch boys.  The foliage for this plant is the ferny looking leaves; the other foliage is columbine and hyacinth leaves. This photo is from last year as this year's bloom isn't fully opened yet.

My daughter and I took a backroads drive today looking to find what wildflowers are in bloom.  Not much in bloom as yet, but soon!!

Ecclesiastes 3:1

I made this card for SplitCoastStampers Color Challenge 263 to use colors: Pretty In Pink, Dusty Durango and Creamy Carmel. I used white as my neutral.  I stamped the image from Long-Time Friends on textured mat paper by K&Company using black Stazon ink.  I watercolored with DerWent watercolor pencils using a aquabrush.  The designer paper is Basic Grey Sugared and I used a Martha Stewart border punch on Creamy Carmel along the top.  The sentiment Ecclesiastes 3:1, is a sticker by EK Success from a package I bought at Wal-Mart.  The embossilet butterfly by Stampin Up' was given to me by my independent Stampin' Up demo in a 'goodie package' along with my last order. Thanks Patty!   I now want to order that embossilet die.

MY FAVORITE LUNCH

This is my favorite lunch to have when I am by myself.  Quick and Easy and I usually have the ingredients on hand.  A single serving pouch of tuna in water, cottage cheese, diced celery, tomato, onion and whatever else I have in the refrigerator, 5 wheat crackers and one ounce of medium cheddar cheese.  Add a sprinkling of black pepper and sometimes a little ranch dressing and enjoy. Now don't get the idea that I always eat at the bar (just when DH is home) with a placemat and cloth napkin.  I ate lunch today in front of the computer catching up on emails.

HAPPY FIRST DAY OF SPRING

Today, March 20, 2010 is the first day of Spring in our part of the world. Twice a year, around March 20 or 21 and September 22 or 23, the sun shines directly on the equator and the length of day and night are nearly equal in all parts of the world. These two days are known as the March(vernal or spring in the northern hemisphere) equinox and the September equinox. These are my two favorite times of the year-Spring and Fall.  To honor Spring (although it is supposed to turn colder this afternoon with rain, sleet and snow after almost 70 degrees yesterday) here are a couple of cards I recently made.

Seems I have needed several Get Well and Sympathy cards lately and these will do for either occasion. Both are Challenge cards, the first for Color Challenge 262 to use Rich Razzleberry or Elegant Eggplant, Old Olive and Orchid Opulence.  The second card is for Featured Stamper 162.

UGLY CRITTERS

I belong to the American Hemerocallis Society (Daylilies) and we have a Daylily Email Robin.  Jane Mahan from NW Arkansas had an interesting post and link to a photo a few days ago.  Seems she was doing a walk-about in her garden and found the soil and some daylilies heaved several inches out of the ground.  On investigation this is what she found ina a nest about 12" below the surface.  Check out their front feet!

I had never seen baby moles that I remember.  Jane has a very nice photo album with photos from clouds to orchids and lots in between especially daylilies.  Check out her album here.

Happy St. Patrick's Day

This is a really cute St. Patrick's Day post-check it out.

Went to a birthday luncheon today for two of my game playing friends.  One was 84 today and the other one will be 70 on the 22nd.  Had a nice lunch and then played games this afternoon-always have a lot of fun so we have to play something that doesn't require too much concentration. Today we played Phase 10 and three of us was on the last phase but I didn't win as someone went out before me, but we are all good losers!

BLOG CANDY ALERT

Jovial Judi over on her blog http://paper-rose-petals.blogspot.com/search/label/Blog%20Candy%20Alert%203/25%20Drawing is having a drawing for what you see in the above photo Plus she is adding great stuff all the time-so click on the link and go check it out!

NATURES ORNAMENTS

Nature is amazing!  DD took these photos where the pods look like ornaments on a tree.  Enjoy!

Sycamore Tree

Sweet Gum tree

Sweet Gum tree balls on left and Tulip tree cup upper right.

A FAIRY TALE

Today's F4A3 Free For All on SplitCoastStampers is Fairy Tales. We were to make a card based on a fairy tale.  I couldn't think of any stamps I had but happened to think of this paper after I read Anne's grandson's version of the Princess and the Pea on her blog.  http://www.inkinginred.blogspot.com/ So Thanks Anne, your blog post jogged my memory that I had this Sweet Little Pea dp from ProvoCraft. My card is to depict the reward of a happy marriage beween the prince and the princess. I cut the paper so little sweet pea could be my sentiment. Used a round and a round scalloped punch for one of the little pods and popped it up on dimensionals. The embossing along the side is made using a Cuttlebug embossing folder.  The card base is Stampin' Up Bashful Blue; my camera shot it a little on the green side.  Another baby card for my stash!  Here is the completed card:

CROCUS TIME

These pretty purple crocus  blooms were a welcome sight this morning when I looked out the back patio door.  I am not real sure how they survive.  They are around a maple tree with lots of tree roots for competition. Poppies, orange tiger lilies, hosta, columbine, Virginia bluebells are also around that tree!  In the 70's today but supposed to be back in the 50's tomorrow with rain.  DH has a doctor's appointment in Springfield and we were hoping the nice weather would hold. 

WELCOME BABY

My husband's great-nephew and wife had a new baby boy.  He was in Springfield Cox Hospital ICU for about a week due to lung problems but is home now and growing like a weed.  Had supper last night with the grand and great grandparents and they all think he is special-naturally. 

Here is a card I made for him-need to get a gift card from Wal-Mart and get it in the mail.

The base card is Georgia Pacific White cardstock layered with Stampin' Up So Saffron.  The designer paper is some I picked up at Michaels.  Used a star punch and square punches for the sentiment.  Also cut out one of the little ducks and glued on the panel.  Added saffron colored thread to the purple ribbon to keep it from being too "girly".