Iris Folding

My first attempts at iris-folding cards for graduating seniors and a birthday. The papers I used for the last two were thin glossy paper from a book of Japanese print giftwrap papers. The top one was origami paper. The addition of a thin gold line at the edges of the folds helped to define the pattern of the iris. I cut the frame shapes on the Craft Robo, though that would have been pretty easy with an x-acto. But these fancy gadgets have to earn their keep somehow...

Lilies in July

These are some lilies I bought and planted just before they bloomed. I tend to do that, as I want the immediate gratification, which I now understand is a rare thing in gardening. Once in a while I will get something that will bloom a month or two later, but never do I get a plant whose season is over. I don't want to wait 'til next year to see it. And then, too, in my garden the chances of it coming up the next year are 50-50 or worse.