April Fool's has come and gone here in New Hampshire and Spring is here, actually it's mud season. The sun is out, the birds are singing, and the grass is now out in the open and the mud will hopefully dry up soon.  The snow has disappeared and there are only a few small piles left from the plow.

Along with Spring and the flow of the sap in the maple trees there is also a fresh flow of creative juices for me. Funny what the sun can do for us. I am in creative mode and was excited to join this hop.  I love posting alongside so many talented ladies and am always excited to see what everyone comes up with. The hop is done in a circle if you will so you can go backward or forward. So you if you are moving forward you have arrived here from Kath R's blog 

 She is so creative.  I love her work.

Before I show you my work, I received a very special card from my 5 year old grandson as a welcome home after a trip I made recently. He stayed up past his bedtime the evening I arrived to present it to me. His Mama told me it was totally his idea and he even tore some of the flower shapes himself. The rest of the things he found in my stash and added to his card. 

He didn't provide me with a supply list so you will have to guess should you wish to CASE this.

I love this little man so much.

Now on to my contributions to this hop.

This card was created using Naturals White as my base and the layer is Soft Sky. I added the Sweet Dreams Designer Washi Tape for interest. The flower was punched using the Fun Flower punch and Typeset DSP which I colored with Hello Honey ink. An Antique brad supplied the flower center. The sentiment comes from the Big News stamp set.

My next card is totally Spring.

This card measures 5 1/2 x 5 1/2. The base is Pink Pirouette layered with scraps from Painted Blooms DSP. I added Venetian Crochet trim as accent to the layers. The flowers are from the Petal Potpourri stamp set with matching Flower Medallion punch. I watercolored the flowers on watercolor paper using Pink Pirouette and Rose Red markers. A combination of Crushed Curry and Hello Honey was used in the centers. The flowers were added using dimensionals. The sentiment is from Easter Blossoms stamp set.

I love boxes and this next project is a birthday box.

I used the tutorial from Linda Parker to make this box using the Envelope Punch Board.  I used the Birthday Bash Specialty DSP for the lid and the bottom is made from Bermuda Bay CS.  The Balloon framelits and Crushed Curry, Calypso Coral and Bermuda Bay CS were used to create the balloons. I applied a little Crystal Effects to the balloons to give them some shine. Using Thick Baker's Twine in Crisp Cantaloupe, Crushed Curry and Coastal Cabana I added their strings. The bow is created using the Bow Builder punch and more DSP from the Birthday Bash collection. The "happy" word came from using the Hello You thinlits and Night of Navy CS. Another piece of Birthday Bash DSP cut just so created the place for the sentiment from Celebrate today.

That's not all... it is not what it seems...this little gift box is a gift in itself.

When you open the box, it is a scrapbook for the birthday celebration. The accordion pages are decorated with more paper from the Birthday Bash DSP. There are places for photos, tags in 2 pockets (you can see peeking out) and some small areas for journaling. 

Now, your next stop is to awesome Buffy's blog.

Have fun!