Spring Flowers!

Spring is suddenly in full swing here in Brooklyn, NY! To celebrate, I could not resist buying these flowering plants. This is a little out of character for me because I don't exactly have a green thumb. But I thought, besides being so fresh and pretty, they could also be some good inspiration for the spring season greeting cards I absolutely must design by the end of this month! In the greeting card industry, deadlines for seasonal holiday cards rarely coincide with the "season of the moment". For instance, I was designing Christmas cards this past July and August as the air conditioner roared. Makes it a bit tricky to get in the mood sometimes! But the weather this week is just perfect for spring card designing! The end of April is just around the corner so I guess all that sewing I've been wanting to do (just to torture myself) will have to be put on the back burner!

Speaking of flowers, recognize this one? That a flower from my Garden Party stamp set, which happens to also be my avatar in my Etsy shop. I consider it my main Yardwork flower. I think it helped to make a really great thank you card, if I do say so myself. Very cheerful!

Here is another little-less-cheerful, but very graceful, floral card. Sympathy cards are interesting cards to design because one needs to strike a balance between somber and uplifting. I like to design sympathy  cards because there is such a need for them. Hard to know what to say sometimes, so a card can be important. These and many other cards can be purchased at Great Arrow Graphics.

As far as those back burner sewing plans go, I'm still trying to work out what wonderful thing I can do with this hand-printed fabric swatch. Now I'm thinking of making a short table runner (more of a center piece "placemat") and possibly matching placemats. Can't decide whether to use my well-mastered  mitered corners or cut both the hand-printed and linen fabrics into strips and alternate them in a patchwork design. Could probably make the runner much longer that way. If you would like to place a custom order, better hurry before I make the cuts!

Possibly before I start my spring greeting card design marathon, I'll finish this very last placemat apron. This one was delayed because I needed to find the right thread for the top stitching. All set now! These aprons have done pretty well, I'm happy to say. Only two left in the shop and this indigo one will make three. I have photos for a how-to for these aprons which I hope to share with you soon!