The last few warm days have brought out some buds and blossoms at Highland Park. Tracy and I walked through the park tonight on our way to dinner.

On our way home, we walked through the Vietnam Memorial.

And through the Colgate Divinity School yard to our street.

Such a beautiful evening.

My friend, Mary, came over yesterday before we headed out to hear Robert Mankoff at Arts & Lectures. We spent a couple of hours chatting and making cards. I finished cards for two challenges and have a couple more to share.

First for CPS 111:

I used Lisa Johnson’s Life set from Papertrey again. I love how versatile this set is. The paper is from the new Basic Grey Marrakech paper pad I picked up a week or so ago.

Then for card*a*licious–19:

This weeks challenge–make a thank you card using stripes, polka dots and pink. This was all done with scraps from my scrap drawer. Where’s the pink? In the striped paper!

I made this card for my son-in-law. The tree from Papertrey’s Father Knows Best set reminded me of a tree Adam designed for Sarah’s blog. The card is a lift of Allison M. that I found on a World Cardmaking Day post. I can’t find a current link to it.

This stamp has to be one of the first I ever purchased. I’ve sold a lot of those stamps, so I’m finding I don’t have a lot of stamps with which to practice using the Copic markers. (I’ve now straightened the buttons which I didn’t notice weren’t even until I saw the photo!)

“60 Minutes” is one of the few TV shows I try to watch each week. About a month ago, there was a fascinating and inspiring piece on the reliability of eye witness testimony. A woman who was raped in her early twenties identifies her rapist. She and the police are convinced he is the man who committed the crime. He, however, steadfastly holds to his claim of innocence. He is convicted and sentenced to life in prison. Ultimately, DNA testing (not available when he was convicted) proves his innocence. After eleven years in prison, he is released and the identity of the real rapist revealed. Since then the victim, Jennifer Thompson-Cannino, and Ron Cotton, the man she incorrectly identified, have become friends and speak at conventions and rallies about the need for improved procedures for identifying potential criminals. When I was contacted by Authors On the Web to see if I was interested in reviewing the new book Picking Cotton, I knew I would be interested in reading the “rest of the story.” It’s a very well-written book, and truly is a story of redemption Each person tells his/her own story in alternating chapters. The chapters about life in prison are particularly moving. That someone can spend eleven years in that kind of environment, and create a meaningful life afterwards is a testimony to his character. Jennifer, too, show great courage in admitting her terrible error, and devoting so much time and effort to seeing that others will not have to go through what either she and Ronald Cotton have endured. It’s a good book with a compelling story and an inspirational message.

Wednesday a friend and I visited the Highland Park Conservatory which has just reopened after a major renovation. The Spring Flower Show is on, and we had a wonderful time taking photos. Here are three shots of orange and yellow tulips. There will be more flower photos later!

Two card challenges and a couple of others.

First, a challenge for the CPS 110:

I was anxious to use the new Life stamps by Papertrey Ink. I also used the Borders & Corners: oval stamps.

Next, a challenge from Clean and Simple:

An old Hero Arts Stamp which I used for some Copic marker practice.

And two cards for the fun of it:

A lift of Melissa Bickford, with my favorite Scenic Route paper.

Amuse stamps.

I posted all the March photos this morning for Photo-a-Day just in time for the new month. I hope the weather improves quickly. I really need to get outside with my camera! I’m anxious for some new growth photos to start with. For now I’ll have to settle with Wegman’s tulips on my kitchen table.

I’m two weeks behind in editing photos for Project 365. Part of it is that I have a stack of tutorials for photo editing I’m hoping to work through before I edit them. I think I need to shelve that idea for awhile. I was also really behind in creating layouts for each week. I did finally get caught up with that and here they are:

I was on a card making binge this week. I was lucky enough to attend a Copic Certification class in Buffalo on Monday which was a good source of motivation. I learned a lot about blending, perspective, and shadow. Now I need to find some practice time. Most of these cards, however, don’t use Copic markers. I bought some Making Memories paper a few weeks ago, and handcut the butterflies while watching the news one night, so I started with those.