them. Why do I care? I don't know, but I do. This old cemetery is in Idaho City, ID, population 100. They had their own Gold Rush in the 1860's but it is hard to imagine it today.
Definition - an admirer of France and everything French. That's my friend Jenny who just had a special birthday (you know the kind). She teaches French, and oh yea, she just taught a beginning Italian class as well! What a wonderful gift she has. I know a little French too. Very little. So with my limited knowledge I pulled together some stationery for her. 
It seems a few folks like my hangers. Who'd a thunk? Well, I thought "maybe", with a shrug of the shoulders, so I put them up on my etsy.com site and they've sold! I never thought I'd be found at a fabric store so often... and actually like being there! (My mother will not believe I just said that!) Touching the ribbons and fabric are almost as much fun as paper. I need a few more colors in my collection though so I'm off to the fabric store again to add to the rainbow!
If the weather is going to be all misty like this we might as well pretend to be in Ireland. My friend recently got back from a trip there and I've been checking out her blog for photo postings of the trip. Those Irish sheep are so darn cute that when I took Cory to the groomers this morning (so misty I had to use my windshield wipers!) I asked for a lamb chop. Or maybe I didn't quite ask for that, but Cory came out with a nice short 'lamb cut' and he reminded me of Sissel's photo of some lambs. Really, check out her blog Cory looks like a lamb. Oh how I'd love to go there!
Well, Ireland is out, for now anyway, so I'll just enjoy our hydrangeas which make me very happy when they are in bloom like this. I bet Ireland has hydrangeas too.
Back in 1980 my parents celebrated their 25th wedding anniversary and in 2006 my husband and I did the same. They had a big bash, we had a small gathering, but a special invitation is something both couples did. My mom had acquaintances that made stunning screen printed artwork for invitations and calendars and such so she went to them for something different, and WOW it's still fabulous 29 years later. (lower left) Printed on gray felt with lavender, fuschia, silver and white ribbons sewn on it made for a declaration invitation. I guess we share a love of lavender as I used the same as well as pink for our theme. I created our invitation in shades of gray with the purple and silver paper as a background.I asked our guests for their wedding albums the week before the party. As part of the table decorations I scanned some pictures from each album, printed them on vellum paper and matted them in silver and put three framed photos together with a votive candle inside to illuminate them. Then I printed out photos, one of each guest, and used them as place cards as well as favors. I asked everyone to sit at the place where their spouse's photo was. Gee, we were all so young!
The invitation by Marilyn Pace and Karen Wilson still inspires me almost 30 years later! Thank you ladies.
My newest project: beribboned gift tags. I think these are so pretty, cute, fun, elegant that you don't need gift wrap. Put some ribbon around the box and tie one on! "It's a Banner Day" begins.
Driving along the road the other day I spied a sunflower plant in full bloom. It sure seemed early in the season but what do I know? It reminded me of my great aunt Audrey's 90th birthday invitation that I created a couple years ago. It was sent to relatives all across the country. My husband calls her a "little pioneer woman" and the folks in her tiny town of Twin Bridges, Montana call her "L'il Audrey". And since she's L'il Audrey, I thought I'd dwarf an old photo of her with a giant sunflower and thus sunflowers became the theme.
