Boat Ride with the Girls!

We took a boat ride Sunday afternoon and decided that b/c it wasn't too hot that we would take the girls with us!!! So I put their sundresses on and packed up some water, snacks, pillows, towels and all the necessities you might need when taking your babies on a little outdoor adventure! We had such a great time! It got a little toasty at some points. Luckily, I had my little mini parasol to shade the girls! This was their first time on a river boat ride and they both LOVED it! Francie wanted to be right up front where she could see everything! Emma, as I expected, stayed very close so it was very difficult to get a pic of her as you will see below.

We saw all kinds of wildlife along the way. But the most exciting moment of the day was when we rounded a bend and saw a 10 foot alligator sunning on the bank of the river. As we approached it slowly eased into the river. I had my camera totally ready, but goofed and missed the shot b/c I simply couldn't believe my eyes! My whole life I've heard of gators being around the swampy areas of the river. But this was the first time I've ever seen one!! It was so exciting! Sorry I don't have a pic! =(

Wisteria & Baby Shoes!

The wisteria has been so pretty this year. It only lasts a little more than a week when it blooms then it's gone before you know it! I love wisteria b/c it's so colorful and vibrant, it smells so sweet, and you can hear it!! That's right!! It is swarming with big ol' bumble bees. Just buzzing and buzzing! For those of you who aren't familiar with wisteria. It grows WILD all over the south and can completely cover an entire wooded area with purple! On my Granny's dirt road it is completely lined in purple, from down in the ditches to the tops of the trees! To share with you how it smells, well, just think of lavender and add a bit more sweetness to it!

These pictures below are from our country ridin' we like to do on Sunday afternoons!

As I was photographing the wisteria on this old run down log cabin I looked down at my feet and saw this little baby shoe, as I looked closer I noticed there were quite a few of them hiding in the leaves and debris. In this photo I think I counted 1 dozen shoes. How many do you see? (click to enlarge)

Sales Galore at Tiffany Doodles!

Hi!  I just wanted to share with ya'll the sale that are happening at Tiffany Doodles right now!  Hurry on over! One sale only lasts through this weekend!  Oh and the Egg Hunt is happening now!! Go find the eggs hidden in the store and you could win a Level 3 membership to Tiffany Doodles!!

TD11 - Turquoise Challenge!

Turquoise is my favorite color (besides pink, yellow & periwinkle blue!)  So this was a fun challenge to use the various shades of turquoise on this palette here:

You should join us on this challenge and make your own card!  There is LOTS of inspiration from out Design Team to inspire you!  Check out their cards here.
For my card I used the Clouds set and the Lamb Digital Stamp.  It's hard to tell on this photo but the colors came from the palette!  This was the first card I have made that I colored completely in Photoshop.  I printed out some extra clouds to make them 3d!  I lined those with my clear glitter pen.  I used my grass punch for the grass! =)  Hope you like it and I hope it inspires you to participate in this challenge!

Caterpillars!

I snapped these photos of some caterpillars the other day at Granny's!  What'da think of these furry critters?

Flowers for my sister!

My sister, Laura, gave me this sweet little flower vase at Christmas time and I've been waiting for spring to come so I could fill it with little wildflowers from my field. I picked a couple of these lavender wildflowers (weeds!) and they looked so cute in this vase I had to photograph them, photoshop them, and share them!! Thank you Laura, I love you so so much.

Patchwork Pouch!

The next thing I have sewn is this cute little patchwork pouch!  You can find this pattern (by Sherri Falls) in the Spring 2011 edition of Quilts & More by BH&G (see pouch on cover pic below).  This was a fun one! Again, I had to read the instructions a few times to figure all the steps!  I still don't have a zipper foot yet, but I managed without one.  Making this pouch I learned how to do 'darts' for the first time.  By the way, if it wasn't for You Tube, I wouldn't know how to do half this sewing stuff.  You can look up any stitch or technique you want and actually SEE how to do it!

Owl Purse

This cute little owl purse is the 3rd things I've ever sewn!!  This stuff is really fun!  If you look close you can see the stitching around my binding edges is way off track!! hehe!  This pattern came from the Winter 2010 Quilts & More mag (BH&G).  You can see this purse (designed by Terry Atkinson) on the cover (below).  I can't even begin to tell you the instructions on how this was made, but I had to read the article several times to comprehend and understand what I had to do. Especially since I'm not familiar with sewing terms!  But I managed it!  I will definitely make another one of these - it will be much easier and faster this time!

Apple & Orange Dishtowels

Sew, I've been teaching myself to sew lately!  You may have already seen my Placemats, which was the first things I've sewed on my new Singer Simple sewing machine!  (it's really basic and easy!)  This time I tried some applique on a set of dishtowels!  I freehand drew an apple and orange on some yellow cotton fabric with a water soluble fabric pen.  Then I cut them out.  I sprayed the back with a temporary fabric adhesive (you can use this as an alternative to the fusible web stuff) - I'm just learning what all this stuff is!   Then I placed it onto my dishtowel and then sewed it on all around the edges!  I used a tight zig zag stitch.  I know it's not perfect and it's pretty un-even stitching but I'm still learning!  Then for the faces I hand stitched those parts with the 'stem stitch' which I've also just learned and haven't yet perfected it.   On the apple, I used the running stitch to demonstrate a "shine".  On the orange, I did french knots to demonstrate the dimply skin of an orange, with a little circle at the top to be the naval part.  Then I stitched on a piece of orange rick rack at the bottom.  That's it!  My first applique attempt!  If you have any questions, don't hesitate to just ask me!

Vintage Cookbook from Granny!

Granny gave me this sweet little cookbook yesterday while I was over there!  You can tell how much she used it just by looking at it!  I think she even left some ingredients on a few of the pages! =)  It is copyright 1947 by General Foods Corp.!  I just thought I would share a few snapshots with you today!  I just love the pink cover and the fonts they used in the design! I think it looks like a card I might make!!

Welcome Spring!

Hello Friends!  A sweet cherry blossom right from Granny's backyard!!  I'm so happy Spring is finally here!  Hope it is warm where you are!!

Blog Hop Winner!

Thanks to everyone who participated! I hope you found some great spring inspiration along the way!  And now, to announce the winner of the "cute birdy hugs" digital stamp set is....

MicheyMoo

Congrats MicheyMoo! I can't wait to see what you create with this cute stamp set!! Be sure to collect your winners badge! Thanks so much for playing along!

TD10 Photo Card Challenge

Here is my card for the newest Tiffany Doodles Challenge! It's a photo inspiration challenge and here is the photo! (from pottery barn):

I used the Forsythia & PussyWillow Digi stamp set!  I colored with copics and inked the edges with distress ink! I also distressed the edges with my scissors!  I hope you like this card and find it inspiring!!  =)