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Welcome!

Saturday, May 28, 2011

13-Year Cicada's Are Back!


Reddish-orange eyes!




Shiny, irredescent wings

In my last post, I think I mentioned the cicada's are back, but didn't have a photo of them at the time.  Now I do!  I cannot tell you how much I despise these ugly creatures, not only for their ugliness, but also for the sound they make for a continuous 6 weeks, until they go underground again after mating, and most die above ground!  God has a sense of humor!  These bugs remind me of vampires, with their black bodies, shiny irridescent wings, and big reddish-orange eyes!  The only thing they don't have is blood dripping from their teeth!  The sound they make is deafening, and you can hear it well even if all the windows are closed.  The sound ebbs higher or louder, then lower, up and down, up and down.  It's as if they are sitting at a football game or something similar, and they are doing the "wave" around the colliseum!  There is a conductor who is conducting away, waving his wand back and forth in the air, as if he's directing traffic.  In the car, if you're not passing any trees, you don't hear them, but when you do pass a tree, you can here them as you pass by.  I don't know how to describe their lovely music!   Here's a good look at all my little friends.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Come To Me For Rest




Hello!  I haven't been able to sleep much due to my shoulder hurting, so I'm getting a lot of "playing" done.  I've got to get rested up though, and be in the best shape possible, because my hubby has to have his shoulder done on June 17, and then the other sometime in November or December.  Poor guy has never had anything done to him, bodywise.  He's actually been practicing his wining!

Mike asked me to make a card for a co-worker who's father passed away recently, and I hadn't broken out my new Our Daily Bread Designs stamps yet.  I have several from them that are good passages out of the bible for just such a reason.  They have so many though that would serve useful for any occasion - encouragement, love, illness, etc.  I wanted to try making a window in the card with the sentiment going behind the sides of the frame.  It came out better than I had planned.  I'd sure appreciate you clicking on "Follow", and for leaving a kind comment below.

Thanks so much for stopping by today - have a great one!  Oh, by the way, we're still here after some terrible storms, a lot of lightning and thunder and tornados all around us.  Please pray for those in several states that have been hit by tornados.  I also want to add that the 13-year cicada's are back, and what a noisy lot they are!  My goodness, it's deafening if you want into the trees!  They are so ugly with their red eyes!

Audubon Bookmark


Hello again!  I hope everyone has great plans for this Memorial Day weekend, unless you live outside the U.S.  We're going to a park near here on the lake, and swim, barbeque, and just have fun.  I can't wait to see my littlest grandson in his new Spongebob swim trunks!  (Of course, he'll have a "L'il Swimmers" diaper on).  I wonder if he'll like the water.  It's probably going to be too cold for him since it's not summer and the sun hasn't heated the water yet.

Here's another of Nicecrane Designs Audubon Series bookmarks.  I am really enjoying making them, and I love the images from Nicecrane.  Please visit the Nicecrane Designs store and check out all of the extra-uber goodies there, just waiting to be picked!




Friday, May 20, 2011

Walking the Babies Victorian Card

Hello, there!  Just a quick post to bring you up to date on a couple of things.  When I posted the blue-hued card previously of the little girls helping their baby brother and baby doll walking, I forgot to add the links to Nicecrane Designs where you could purchase the image I used and much more.  Please click on the links below to go directly to Nicecrane Designs to order the images if you desire.  I'm still learning little things about this blogging stuff, and things occasionally get by me! 

To go to Nicecrane Designs for this specific image, click here
There is a coordinating pack of images that go with this image that you can purchase, shown here
To go to Nicecrane Designs main page, to see everything, click here

Once you see them all, you'll want them all!  Please support Nicecrane Designs by purchasing one or more of her image sets!  They are all gorgeous, and so versatile!  You'll love them all!  I guarantee it!

Thursday, May 19, 2011

Remember When?

Hello!  Do you remember helping your little brother or sister learn how to walk?  Do you remember helping your doll walk?  What about all those Barbies that went to the prom, beach, shopping, car ride or on a date with Ken?  Someone had to help them walk!  I never had a Barbie doll, but my Grandpa Carroll gave me a 36" doll, with blond curly hair, all dressed in pink, with white shoes.  I helped her walk all over the house and the yard.  I don't remember what happened to her, but I know she's in doll heaven.

This image by Nicecrane Designs is one of my absolute favorites, and brought back those memories for me when I looked at it for a while.  I was too little to help my little sister learn to walk, but I did have the doll.  This picture is just wonderful, and I can see the little girls helping the littler ones in my mind's eye.



There are little pearl sprays coming out from under the main flower.

I love this pearlized beaded lace I found!  Just the right Victorian touch!
The way to a great card or project is a wonderful base, and that's what Nicecrane Designs provides!  Please visit the website, and peruse through all of her wonderful images. 

I appreciate your visit and would love for you to leave a comment before you go.  Have a wonderful day!  May God's blessings be with you always.

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Another Beautiful Audubon Bookmark!

Hello, everyone!  Thanks for visiting on this fine, stamping kind of weather day!  It's not cool out, but overcast and we're supposed to have more rain!  It's already flooding parts of Tennessee.  You should see the water coming out of the dam nearby!  It's a great day to stay indoors, and stamp, color, cut, glue, ribbon, stamp and play some more!

I've fashioned another bookmark for Nicecrane Designs, and I hope you like it!  You can find out more about these wonderful creations by clicking on the link of their name.


This card was made so that the bookmark can be pulled out and
 used.  The swirly paperclip, the white sentiment panel and the
peach-colored swirl and bird hold the bookmark in.  One just needs to
remove the paperclip and pull the bookmark out.

I'd love for you to comment on this card in the space provided below!  I appreciate your comments!  Come back soon! 

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Audubon Bookmark for Nicecrane Designs

Hello, blog friends!  I hope you've had a good Tuesday.  It was pretty warm here in the Nashville today - only 2 degrees from matching the high for this date on record.  It's supposed to be even warmer tomorrow!  Is summer here already?

Today, I have another bookmark from Nicecrane Design's Audubon series.  I absolutely LOVE these new Mother Goose images!  You will too!

Jack and Jill are going up the hill...

Monday, May 9, 2011

Vintage Mother Goose Birthday Card

Hello, blogger friends!  I hope you're all doing well, and enjoyed your Mother's Day weekend!  Last Friday was my youngest child's 30th birthday!  I can't believe it!  Do you know how old that makes me?  Yikes!  She had a good day, off from work for three days in a row, and Mother's Day on Sunday!  I had made homemade spaghetti, meatballs and sausage for supper on Saturday, and there was enough to make homemade lasagna on Sunday, which is a favorite around this 1/2 and 1/4 Italian family.  No offense meant, but our three kids are "quarter woppers"!  I wanted to share with you the birthday card I made for Julie, and the fabulous Mother Goose image I got from Nicecrane Designs!

I had fun experimenting with some Prima flowers that I got at a craft show. 
These roses weren't hard to make at all.
Thank you for visiting, and tomorrow I'll have another bookmark to show you, using another of Nicecrane Designs Audubon collection!

Victorian Trading Cards by Nicecrane Designs

Previously posted was the history of trading cards, which I really found to be very interesting.  I hope you did too.  Nicecrane Designs has some gorgeous and very vintage-looking Victorian Trading Cards that are just waiting for your name and information to be filled in on them!  Below is a sample of what they look like.

Nicecrane Designs made me a calling card, and personalized it for me.  Below it are the ones I made. 

Here are the Victorian Trading Cards I purchased from Nicecrane Designs, and how I personalized them in my Picasa photo program. 





I know that Ignacio would love to hear from all of you on how you like her Victorian Trading Cards, and would certainly love you to purchase the set, or the even larger set.  But there is SO much MORE in her store that you would just absolutely love!  Please go to her website and visit, and leave her a message!

My next post will be of my daughter's birthday card, using one of the digital pictures that Ignacio carries in her Nicecrane Designs Store.  Her Peter Rabbit and Mother Goose images are absolutely out-of-this-world gorgeous, and I used one on the birthday card.

History of Trade (or Trading) Cards

A trading card (or collectible card) is a small card, usually made out of paperboard or thick paper, which usually contains an image of a certain person, place or thing (fictional or real) and a short description of the picture, along with other text (attacks, statistics, or trivia).  There is a wide variation among different types of cards as to the configuration of objects, the content on the card, and even the material used to make the card.  In artwork, especially stamping, scrapbooking, calligraphy and graphic arts, the cards used to trade with others are called Artist Trading Cards, or ATC's.




Trade card, 1730-1742 V&A Museum no. 14435:60  Trade card describes small cards, similar to the visiting cards exchanged in social circles, or that businesses would distribute to clients and potential customers. Trade cards first became popular at the beginning of the 17th century in London. These functioned as advertising and also as maps, directing the public to merchants' stores, as no formal street address numbering system existed at the time.

The trade card is an early example of the modern business card. Some businesses began to create increasingly sophisticated designs, especially with the development of color printing. A few companies specialized in producing stock cards, usually with an image on one side and space on the other side for the business to add its own information. As the designs became more attractive and colorful, collecting trade cards became a popular hobby in the late 19th century, since color images were not yet widely available.

In its original sense, the "trade" in trade card refers to its use by the proprietor of a business to announce his trade, or line of business. By moving into the realm of collecting, trade cards gave rise to the trading card, the meaning now shifting to the exchange or trade of cards by enthusiasts. Some cards, particularly those produced by tobacco companies featuring baseball players, later developed into collectibles and lost their function as a business advertisement.


Lithographed trade card advertising Murray & Lanman Florida Water Cologne



Back of a german Liebig Extract of Meat Trade Card from 1885

File:Farinahaus1709-300dpi.jpg





Early 19th-century English-language trade card of John Maria Farina, cologne manufacturer, showing Farina Haus, Köln.



 
 
 
Trading cards are traditionally associated with sports; baseball cards are especially well-known. Cards dealing with other subjects are often considered a separate category from sports cards, known as non-sports trading cards. These often feature cartoons, comic book characters, television series and film stills.


As with playing cards, which they generally resemble, trading cards are often used to play various games. In the 1990s, cards designed specifically for playing games became popular enough to develop into a distinct category, collectible card games. These tend to use either fantasy subjects or sports as the basis for game play.

Trade card
From Wikipedia (See original Wikipedia article ») Last modified on 11 March 2011 at 04:57
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
I have been honored by Nicecrane Designs in that they have made me my own ATC, but after purchasing the card images, I have been able to apply my own text, just as Nicecrane's Trading Card page on their blog shows.  If you click on Nicecrane's name just above, you will see a post that further explains the history of the Trading Card.  You can purchase these beautiful cards for your own personalization at Nicecrane Designs Store.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Audubon Bookmark for Nicecrane Designs

I have the pleasure of designing for Nicecrane Designs now, and I am so impressed and blessed by the beauty and grandness of the digital stamps and images they provide me!  I hope you enjoy seeing what I have done with the ND images, but also leave a comment below!  Enjoy your visit, and I wish you well.  Until next time...

New Blog Name!

You may have seen my blog under the name Queen Teacup's Paper Treasures, but as things change, so does this.  It was too long anyway!  lol  Clare's Paper Works is shorter, and describes me more accurately.  I used to be Queen Teacup of the Red Hat Society chapter Rah Rah Ya Ya Gals, but then started another group as that one was quite full.  I became Queen Magnolia, then back to Queen Teacup of the Magnolia Marmaladies.  The ladies have been busy, and it's been hard for us all to get together at the same time, so the group has kind of fizzled out.  Maybe we'll start up again after taking some time off. 

I hope you enjoy your visit to my new and improved blog!  Please leave a comment below!  I appreciate you!

About Me

My photo
Mount Juliet, TN, United States
I am a child of God, wife, mother of three, and gramma of six. I enjoy stamping, scrapbooking, beading, photography, sewing, camping, fishing, hiking and life! I am a retired dog groomer. Denver, Colorado, is where I was born and raised. I miss the snow and drier weather.


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