A Big Ol' Texas Hug!

This is the card I made for this past weekend's shoebox swap up in Dallas. I figured a Texas-y event needed a Texas-y card! In case you haven't heard me ramble on about them before, the flower on the card is called a bluebonnet, and it's our state flower. We adore them. They bloom in the spring and are wildflowers, lining our roads and filling our fields. Ok, maybe the showing hasn't been *that* great lately thanks to our ongoing drought, but I did enjoy the ones we did have this past spring. Actually, did I ever show you our photos we did in the bluebonnets this year? Hmm... perhaps I'll have to post them down below for anyone who's interested (I can already hear the massive yawn coming from my readers! (All three of them!)). :-) Anyway, back to the card. Of course I completely stressed about this card. I have such a hard time figuring out cards for swaps!! The card is supposed to be made in no more than ten minutes. TEN MINUTES. The card I brought to the Austin swap last fall ended up being a little bit of a bottleneck. So this time I was determined to keep it simple. And I think I made it a bit TOO simple!! Especially when I got to the swap and realized people still did super duper complicated cards, but the kicker was that they PRESTAMPED or PRESTITCHED or PRE did whatever was needed. The amount of pre-work some of the ladies must have done, WOW. I am still in awe. So next time I'll know. And maybe I'll even start planning my card more than a couple nights before the event so I have time for all that prep work...!! But I hope the ladies at the swap liked my super simple Texas hug. If you want to check out some of the other cards I was lucky enough to make, there's a gallery for them on Splitcoast here. (not everyone has uploaded as I type this, though) Thanks for stopping by today and happy stamping!!

• Stamps: Deadbeat Designs
• Paper: Brocade Blue, Always Artichoke, Kraft, DP from My Mind's Eye
• Ink: Brocade Blue, Always Artichoke, Chocolate Chip
• Accessories: Ribbon from Hobby Lobby

And now, as promised (or threatened!), here are my favorites from the bluebonnet photos we did in April. It was a really windy day, and getting the kids to actually pose was pretty close to impossible. But some of the more candid shots are my favorites anyway!I just love this last one of Courtney because her dress was so fluffy and cute in the wind! And wow, it was only about two months ago, but she looks so little here! *sigh* My babies are growing up too fast!! Anyway - the bluebonnets are long gone now, but I know they'll be back next spring and I'll be happy to see them pop up once again when they are ready! But I don't want to think about how old Carter and Courtney will look then...! :-)