Cheery Projects

It has seemed like spring through most of the winter here in Kentucky with crazy high temps and mild weather--- with a few tornadoes thrown in!  But now we are deep into spring.  The lilacs and tulips have just gone and the irises are starting to bloom.  Dogwood trees have been gorgeous this year!  And... we have been mowing the grass for a month and a half now!  My battle with the dandelions has been a tough one, but I am clearly the victor in the front yard (thank goodness for the privacy fence in the backyard because that's a different story!)

The flowers have cheered me out of my gloominess this year and I started crafting again.  Yay!  Today, I wanted to share a couple of cheery projects I made, hoping to bring smiles to someone else.

I tried out the Giant Flowers cartridge for package decorations.  Wow!  Love this cartridge.  My humble request to Provocraft:  Please come out with Giant Flowers II:  Holiday Blooms!  I would have loved Easter lilies as I decorated the Parish Hall for the Easter Vigil and I know giant poinsettas will be a must-have this winter!

I used hot glue to create mine.  Both of these were cut at 4" on the Expression using colored paper.  I hot-glued them directly to the boxes to attach them to the presents and used strips of card stock instead of ribbon for color match.

I had fun with a bit of brown inking and Sun Sister Glimmer Mist too.

Next is a card I made for a crafter in the Cricut Circle who has managed to break her ankle in three places.  Wow!  That is thorough!  

I wanted something fun and colorful for this card.  I used the flowers to bring in extra color and interest.  I worried that the design was too juvenile but I learned that she will be recovering from this injury for quite some time and hoped that the silliness of the card would make her smile.

The crocodile and palm trees are from Crocs Rule, cut on the Expression at 5-1/2".  I double-cut the palm leaves so that I could pop some up after inking them.  The tree trunks were spritzed with Glimmer Mist.   I added a little yellow dress, a shoulder, a leg cast, and pointy teeth that I hand-cut.  I popped the bottom of the hammock with 1/4" pop dots, but adhered the top flat in order to make it looked filled with something.  The bird with bouquet is from 3 Birds on Parade, cut at 1-1/2" and is popped up 3/8" (the wing is popped up and additional 1/8").  The flowers are from Mother's Day Bouquet, various shapes cut at 1/2" and combined.  The stars in the sky were cut with a Martha Stewart edge punch from metallic paper (this was the negative space from the cut).  The grass was cut from a Fiskars edge punch.  I used Liquid Applique for the crocodile's eyes and bouquet centers.

I like to decorate my envelopes because I use manufactured ones and I want to make them relate to my cards.  (Plus, I just think it is more fun for the recipient!)  I used the single palm tree image from Crocs Rule, cut at 4-1/4", cutting extra palm leaves in a lighter color for interest.  The "Get Well Soon" sign was inked and hand cut and the flowers were ones left over from the card.  Text in the card and on the envelope was printed using Microsoft's Liorah BT font.

To see all of my previous projects, including my other flower projects, click here to visit My Project Gallery.  My next post will be April 23 where I will share my just-completed "Welcome to Provo Craft Card" contest card featuring the new Paper Dolls Teen Scene.    Thank you for checking out my post today!  I hope you are finding ways to enjoy spring wherever you live!