Little Black Scrap Cat

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

2011-11-23T05:26:00.000-08:00

A little blast from the past! Thankful for good friends and family! Wishing you all the best this Thanksgiving!!

For The Birds.....

2011-11-18T08:03:00.001-08:00

Spent a little time with friends a while ago. Hanging out, chatting, watching the birds.... Or were they watching us???

Goldfinches and hummers. Pretty cool. We were just hanging on the patio within 5-6 feet from them.

Have a great weekend.

Halloween Project

2011-10-26T09:54:00.000-07:00

Yes, I'm still here. Sort of. I was gone for a bit. Spent a week on the beach. Took a couple private shelling cruises. Had a great time!! Just can't seem to get back in step at home. We had so much going on that I haven't caught up with myself yet. In the meantime, I had to step back and just spend a little time finding my creative mojo again. Here's what I came up with. It's not a design team project, just something I created for my daughter (though neither she nor my hubby have said a word about it since I hung it up!!!) Hope you enjoy it!

You should be able to click the pics to enlarge. Here are the individual tags....

I'll be back to blog about my beach adventures - eventually!!!

Have a Happy Halloween!!

Good Morning!!!!!!!

2011-10-11T06:01:00.000-07:00

Rogue Thundercloud

2011-09-27T15:27:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning I was planning on sleeping in. You know what they say about the best laid plans..... It didn't happen. In the end, I was kind of glad I woke up early though. Nobody else in the house was awake, so it was pretty quiet around here. The cats were all hanging out with me since I was the only one awake. It was all good. Until 8:13 am.... Strangest thing happened.... I swore I heard faint thunder rolling. Only the sun was shining, and I looked out the window and there wasn't a cloud in sight. Then I heard it again. Apparently the cats all did too, because they all started looking for places to hide! I couldn't figure it out so I walked outside to pick up the paper I had been ignoring since I woke up. Guess what?? It started raining huge, cold drops of rain - from basically nowhere! I looked up and there was a rogue thundercloud over our house! Too weird!!

My darling daughter woke up just in time for me to shuttle her outside. She was just as delighted by the huge, cold raindrops as I was!

Hope you are having a great week!!

Mystic Paper Design Team Project

2011-09-17T13:05:00.000-07:00

I turned in my Mystic Paper design team project this week. I had a great time working with the Graphic 45 line (btw - I failed to mention that this paper is two sided, so if it doesn't look quite like the paper shown in my previous post HERE, that's why!!). I was also given a file folder to work with, so I borrowed an idea I got from a friend and used that as the base for my project. Here is the result of my efforts....

I folded up the file folder to create a 4 pocket organizer....

Melissa Frances chipboard numbers, letters and heart are stained with Vintage Photo Distress Ink....

A length of ribbon added underneath the back cover is used to tie the organizer closed. For the insert papers I trimmed down a variety of college ruled paper and graph paper, bound together with a brad. And that's about it. Now I'll show you how I folded the file folder to create the pockets......

Start with a letter sized file folder. This one is by Cavallini and is available at Mystic Paper.

Open the folder out flat and score the inside bottom edge at approx 3 1/4 inches....

Now you will score each half of the file folder at approx 4 1/4 inches (there's already one "score" down the middle from the original fold). I have found that there is a little variance in "standard" file folder sizes so you may need to measure each half of your folder and figure out where the middle needs to be in order to have equally sized panels.

This is where we end up before beginning to embellish the folder/organizer. (Little Miss BIG was a lot of help during this process!!)

I had everything on my organizer adhered (except the front cover page) before I glued my pockets up. I used some large clips to hold everything in place until my adhesive dried. (I used Diamond Glaze because I wanted a really strong hold.)

I hope this brief tutorial is helpful if you decide to tackler your own file folder project. Just think of all the possibilities!!!

Have a great weekend!

Rescue Kitty

2011-09-17T12:46:00.001-07:00

I did a little babysitting this week. The "baby" is growing up pretty fast. Here's a shot during feeding time on Monday... She (we think it's a girl - and yes, sometimes it's really hard to tell!!) was pretty much draining the entire bottle at each feeding.

At this point the kitten has been under our care for 3 weeks. Since her eyes were opened when she was found, we assumed the baby was about 2 weeks old then. Based on that, she would currently be about 5 weeks old. Time to start weening her off the bottle...... On Friday it was my turn to see if I could get the baby to start eating kitten chow softened in water. This is what happened.....

I didn't get any after photos, but she cleaned the plate!! I think she's going to go through a growth spurt very soon if she continues to eat for Chris. And that FACE!! Isn't that one of the cutest kittens you've ever seen? I have to tell you, my husband told Chris that if they didn't end up keeping that baby, we definitely would. Now is that crazy, or what!!?? Nope. Not crazy. But I know it won't happen. Because there's no way Chris is letting that baby go!!!

Have a great weekend!!!

Rescue Kitty - Update Pics

2011-09-07T17:06:00.000-07:00

I've been babysitting - for this little bit....

Beanie Bear patrol....

This lucky kitten is growing like a weed, chugging replacement milk like it's going out of style, and romping with the big bears. He/she is fun to have around...... At this point, however, we are questioning whether it's "he" or "she". Pretty tiny to tell. I'm sure the Vet will find that amusing when he/she goes for a visit!! I have no doubt that he/she will have a permanent home next door. Also, its name will change accordingly to either Gizmo, or Tinkerbell. (Named after my lovely old fur baby???....)

So that's my update. Just hanging with the baby!!!

Have a great week!

Kitten Update - Pictures!!

2011-08-31T12:26:00.000-07:00

The little rescued kitten is doing great! Chris & Jim have been doing a wonderful job feeding him and keeping him safe and clean. My darling daughter has been going over almost every day to help. Little Smoky seems to grow more each day. He's gotten a little more playful, and loves to attack his litter mates - mini beanie bears!! He doesn't really understand chasing ribbon yet, but my daughter will educate him on that!

Now for the pics.....

This little guy is a real trooper. He eats up a storm, then gets his bottom cleaned by "mom". After that he's good to go. For about 15 minutes. Then he slows down and finally just sits there like he's meditating. Very shortly thereafter he dozes off for a kitty nap. Extremely cute!!

More later!!!

Something has been keeping us busy.......

2011-08-29T09:43:00.000-07:00

Thursday was a very busy day for us. School, gymnastics, homework, showers, dinner, bed for the girl around 8:30. Then the doorbell rang at 9:30 pm. WHO would be ringing our bell at that time of night???!!! Much to my surprise, it was our next door neighbor/friend. I flicked on the light and saw that she was pointing at something hanging on her back. It was a tiny KITTEN!! Needless to say, I opened the door immediately and snatched that kitten off her back before it fell down. Then my friend (Chris) started to tell me her story......

Chris's husband went off to work that night as usual (he's a nurse and works nights). Then Chris settled in for the night and began sorting through her AVON orders (she's the school nurse at my daughter's school, but she sells Avon on the side). While she was sitting in her office she thought she heard a cat crying out - over the noise of the AC unit running outside the window she was near. She kept hearing the sound and became concerned that it was one of her cats in distress, so she stepped outside and around the house to see what was going on. What she discovered was a tiny kitten behind her AC unit, which was running and making heaps of noise. The kitten just kept crying out over the noise. Chris had to retrieve something long to reach the baby, and a flashlight to make sure there weren't any more kittens back there. Finally she was able to get the baby kitten and take it in the house to check it's condition......

After checking this little baby out, Chris decided that she needed to bring the kitten to the "cat lady" who lives next door (that would be me, folks!!) While walking over to our hose, the kitten climbed up Chris's shirt and over her shoulder to her back. So, that's how she ended up at my door with the kitten on her back......

We brought the kitten inside, got on the computer and figured out that it may be in the area of 5-6 weeks old, but possibly less. Then we headed off to WalMart to see if they carried baby kitten formula. Needless to say, they didn't but we did purchase a feeding syringe and returned home to see if we could get this little thing to drink some diluted milk. And drink he did! On that note, Chris and I tucked the tiny, fuzzy thing into it's makeshift bed (box) and we followed suit. It was now midnight......

The next morning my daughter (who had slept through the doorbell, thank goodness!!) and I went over to check on the kitten. Chris had been able to get him to eat again that morning, and she was getting ready to take him to school with her, where he would stay until Mr. Chris was able to pick him up and take over his care for the day. Fuzzy baby was a big hit at school for the short period of time he was there.

Starting Friday night, my daughter has been helping with the kitten - feeding, socializing, etc. She has been diligent in going next door to help, and she's been great with that little baby!! So, I supposed you would all like to know if there are pictures???? I have a few, but will try to get more tonight when we go over to help, because this little kitten is starting to get more active and he's the cutest little fuzz ball we've seen since we adopted our youngest 2 cats last February.

We had to use a soft damp towel to clean up the babies eyes because they were matted almost closed. We also had to use a cloth to encourage him to pee, so he may actually be about 3-4 weeks, rather than 5-6.

"Can we keep him, Mom???" "Heck no, Sam. We already have 4. That's why he showed up at Chris's house. THEY only have 2!!"
This little cherub is Chris's granddaughter, Kenna. She and her brother, Jaden, are quite enamored with the kitten. Right now Chris is working on Mr. Chris to see if the baby gets to stay or not. I think grandpa will give in - in the end. What do you think??? (When grandpa gives his blessing the baby will go to the Vet for a checkup. Then we'll have a better idea how old he really is.)

Check back again. I'm hoping to get a few more pics since this little guy is moving around quite a bit now. He's one lucky baby. His mother stashed him in the right place. He was rescued in time from the heat, and also the ants, which would surely have been his demise if he hadn't spoken up and let Chris know he was there. Where's momma??? Who knows.

We think we'll call him Smoky.......

Have a great week!!

Mystic Paper Design Team Kit - August

2011-08-29T09:33:00.000-07:00

Good morning!!! Yes, I'm still here.We've been super busy, but I have to take a break to post my design team kit from Mystic Paper. After a rather extended break waiting for new product to arrive, we have finally constructed new kits.

Everyone received something different again this month. I was very lucky to receive some paper from Graphic 45's new line - An ABC Primer Collection. I also got a file folder from Cavallini, chipboard letter from Melissa Frances, and a couple lengths of ribbon.

Just in time to work on some school and teacher projects!! Stay tuned to see what I come up with!! Drop on over to Holly and Jenna's blogs to see what they received as well. We all have until Sept 15th to complete and submit our projects to Mystic Paper.

Have a great week!!!!!

First Day!!!

2011-08-11T10:12:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the first day of school in our District. Darling daughter was excited.... well, maybe a little. She doesn't really mind school, but the start of this new year means the end of her leisurely hours spent at the barn with the horses. It also marks the beginning of the end - the end of Elementary School. My daughter started 6th grade in a school she has attended for eight years already (Preschool, K-Prep, Kindergarten, 1st-5th). I'm sure it will turn out to be a very eventful year, filled with many happy memories and a few tears.

No big fanfare here. She worn none of the new clothes we purchased, only her new shoes. She said she's saving the new clothes for next week. Hmmmmm...... Not your typical girl!! She's most excited to get back to playing football with the boys!

I forgot to get a picture from the back with her new backpack - which is somewhat of a tradition. Bad Mom!!! However - I did take a picture of the backpack. See?? Pippi thinks its pretty cool, too!
Anyway, hope you're all having a great week!!!

I'm BAAAAAAAAAACCCCKKKK!!!

2011-08-03T11:24:00.000-07:00

I went missing on vacation a few weeks ago. I'm back now, and trying hard to get "caught up" again. School starts soon so I should have a little bit of "free" time each day after that. Until then, however, many things to do!!!!

Here are a few pics from Montana and Glacier National Park where I've been.....

Great trip. Nice to escape the wicked heat in Arizona for a bit. Now on countdown to our next adventure - our annual mecca to Sanibel Island!!!!!

Have a great week!

Mystic Paper Design Team Project - Completed

2011-07-11T13:14:00.001-07:00

I'm posting my project a little early this month as I'm preparing to take a little trip. I had fun playing with the kits items this month. The wallpaper border inspired me right away. Especially since I recently received some reprints of my daughter washing her horse..... (Please excuse the bad photo quality. I didn't realize my pics were so bad until I sat down to post, and I already turned the project in at Mystic Paper!!)
I used my Tim Holtz mini rosette die to create my own embellishments out of the dictionary paper. Love that die!! Couldn't resist adding a little horseshoe punch to one! I trimmed out the "bathhouse" sign and the "homemade soap" sign from the wallpaper strip, then backed them with chipboard to give them structure. Then I used pop dots to lift the "signs" off the page for a little dimension. Finally a little ribbon and a 7 Gypsies 97% complete tag to finish the page. Simple, but clean and balanced.

That brings me to the collage board..... Not too much of a stretch to complete this assignment given the theme of the wallpaper border I had......
I trimmed out the "powder room" sign and backed it with chipboard. Then I trimmed out the oval portion of the same sign, different section of wallpaper, and backed it with chipboard as well. I connected these two pieces into one "sign" using strong glue and embellished with a couple of black brads to add more interest. I created a collage using my remaining patterned paper, inked all the edges, then attached the papers to the board using Mod Podge, but only on the back of the paper - not adding a layer over the paper. The sides of the collage board are all done in the dictionary print paper. In addition, I trimmed out the bathbrush and soap, backed them in chipboard, then layered them onto the "sign". A length of blue seam tape ribbon, Prima flowers and chunky brads complete the project. Lots of fun!! This may actually hang in my powder room when it comes off display at Mystic Paper!!

I hope you had fun checking out my finished project. Jump on over and visit Holly and Jenna. They will both be posting their projects soon!! If you are in the local area, stop by Mystic Paper and check out the projects IRL.

Have a great week!!!!

Mystic Paper Design Team Kits

2011-07-03T16:06:00.000-07:00

Geez! The summer is racing by, packed with things to do every day. And the time is quickly approaching for a little trip out of state.... But, in the meantime, it's that time again. New kits for the Mystic Paper design team were put together and distributed. Here's my kit for July.....
Each of us received a piece of wallpaper border, some patterned paper and some ribbon. In addition, we each received a collage board, which is simply a blank piece of wood with hangers on the back. The assignment is one scrapbook page, plus complete the collage board using the supplies provided. We are always allowed to add additional products that we find at Mystic Paper to our kits as well. Check in on Jenna and Holly to see what their kits look like this month.

Have a Happy Fourth of July!!!!!

Billy - An Arabian Bay Gelding

2011-06-23T10:26:00.000-07:00

As promised - here's Billy.....
It took my daughter a bit to warm up to Billy. Being an Arabian, he has a bit more energy that she's used to, but after a short ride she felt totally confident and the smile came back. Now she's asking about taking some jump lessons. Oh dang!! Here's a little better shot of Billy (and the back of my DD's helmet!!)....
I told you her smile came back!!!
Horse camp will put a smile on anyone's face!!!! The above pics were from yesterday. Below are from today. Today they worked some more on ground poles.... Here's my kid deep in concentration....
Praise, or words of encouragement from one of her instructors.......Happy Campers!!!!!
Another week of horse camp next week!!!!

Have a great weekend.

Sunshine, Oh Sunshine......

2011-06-23T10:12:00.000-07:00

Well, it's been nearly two months since Sunshine turned up in his stall with a huge gash on his knee. After 6 weeks of stall and pasture rest, he returned to the barn in a flurry of welcoming hugs, kisses and carrots. Unfortunately, a week ago today was the last time my girl got to ride him. He was "good" for nearly two weeks, then the horrible, nasty cut popped open again. Now the guy is back on stall rest.....
Please excuse the fly mask - I just wanted to snap a few shots of him back in "jail"....
Despite the wound, Sunshine is always happy to see us show up. We continue to visit him every day and apply antibiotics to his knee. If you click on the pic, you will have a better view of the nasty knee.... I took this pic yesterday, and today it looked way worse. The cut is in such a bad spot. Every time he bends the knee the wound pops open a bit.

In the meantime, my daughter has ridden a variety of other horses at the barn. Her loyalties still lie with Sunshine, but she will have to move on for a bit if she wants to continue to ride and progress. Therefore, I will introduce you to Billy in the next post!!!

Have a great week!!

Silver Strand Beach - Coronado Island, CA

2011-06-19T10:48:00.001-07:00

Rolling surf.....A few shells and sand dollars......Shore birds......Pelicans.......Pelicans flying low over the surf.......The famous Hotel Del Coronado......
A trolley returning to San Diego's Old Town District from Coronado Island.....The huge, gigantic, awfully high bridge over to Coronado (I was less than thrilled going over this bridge!!!!!).......
The navy base near the Coronado bridge.....
A really cool church we drove by a half dozen times while in San Diego.......

This is one day of our recent visit to San Diego. We drove out to Coronado Island and had a great time with the sand between our toes. The shelling was not fab, but it never really is for us on the West coast. However, we did bring home about 10 sand dollars and probably hundreds of Coquinas that were still together in "wing" pairs. The best part was just hanging on the beach, the sand, the surf, the family, sea birds, a nice breeze.... Just a little beach fix to get us by!!

Have a great Father's Day!!

Vintage Jars

2011-05-26T10:05:00.000-07:00

I'm always on the look out for antique jars. I especially like the large glass pickle jars, and they are getting harder and harder to find. A couple weeks ago I got really lucky and found TWO of them! Unfortunately, one of them has a funky lid and I may never find a replacement for it, but I just had to buy it anyway.

See that funny thing sticking out of the lid?? It's a hollow piece of metal tubing of some sort. I think maybe someone used this jar to brew beer, or Rootbeer, or something because that metal tube is welded in place somehow. Not sure if I should try to remove it and risk totally ruining the lid, or just leave it there. Probably just leave it there. However, my dad deals in antiques so maybe he'll run into a lid that will work as a replacement. How about it, Dad???

In addition to the pickle jars I also found a fabulous Monarch Finer Foods jar, complete with lid and in perfect shape. LOVE IT!!!

I found a quart sized canning jar that I fell in love with, and the dealer gave me a break on the price. She admitted that she just picks a number and prices her items that way. Not sure she has a clue, but I thanked her kindly and quickly snatched this one up..... LOVE the detail on this one!

This is the first jar I found when I was shopping, and the shape just drew me in. I couldn't have passed it by, but of course that's what I was looking for so why would I have??? Don't you just love it??
Here's what the picture on the lid looks like.... No, it's not original by any means, but after I fill this jar with my beach treasures from Sanibel it will all make sense!! It was definitely meant to be mine!!!
And, last but not least, here's the other pickle jar I found. Thankfully it's lid is intact!! You might remember the jar next to it from HERE and HERE. I found it in March 2010 and filled it with beach treasures from my October 2010 trip to Sanibel.

And here are all my beautiful jars together....

Eventually they will be distributed around the house. But only after they are filled with many beach treasures. Currently I'm on a countdown (135 days!!!) for my return visit to Sanibel Island, Florida. But in the meantime, I'll be making a short trip over to San Diego to visit with family, take my darling daughter on a well earned trip to SeaWorld (straight A's - you go girl!!), and spend a little bit of time with my feet in the sand.

I hope you enjoyed my tour of jars. I feel another antiques mall crawl coming on soon!!

Have a great weekend!!!

Mystic Paper Design Team - May Project

2011-05-13T13:04:00.000-07:00

I had so much fun with the Tim Holtz Kraft Resist paper!!! Lots of ink and embellishments (flowers, grungeboard, 7 Gypsies ephemera, tissue tape, adage tickets, journal tickets) plus I dug out my sewing machine to boot!! Here's the finished project....

For each page I used a 6X6 square of the Kraft Resist paper, crumpled, inked and misted with water, heat set with a heat gun. Then the pages were sewn together back to back to create 2 sided pages. After that I embellished each page, set an large eyelet in one corner of each page, and bound together with a ring clip. The rest is left for completion with photos, journaling, or other items to personalize.

After experiencing problems with blogger for the past three days I'm going to keep this post short and sweet! Most of the product used for this project (about 95% of it) is available at Mystic Paper. Jump on over to Holly and Jenna's blogs and check out what they did with the same paper. I can't wait to see for myself. (I'm a little ahead of the game this month so I turned in my project early!)

Have a super great weekend!!!

Feline Entertainment....

2011-05-10T14:02:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago I was visiting a friend who had these amazing bird feeders. The finches just love the black thistle seed. I had to run out and get a couple feeders of my own. It has taken weeks, but finally on Sunday, Mother's Day morning, the feeders were teeming with finches. I haven't taken any pics of my feeders yet, but here's the action that inspired me to put them in my own yard....

These little birds are so fun to watch!! My kitties have all been glued to the windows for the past two days!!

Have a great week!!

Mystic Paper Design Team Kit

2011-05-02T10:49:00.000-07:00

Wow. It's been a long time since I posted anything. We've been so busy with our Spring chores that nothing else is getting done. School is winding down to a close (3.5 weeks left) and we have many events during that time. It will be a busy month, then the week after school is out I'll have a child who's bored! Happens every year, but that's the way it goes. I'll find numerous ways to keep her busy.

In the meantime, I have a new Design Team project to work on. Guess I'll find time to fit that in, too! This month we all got the exact same product. It will be interesting to see what three different designers can do with the same product. And here it is.....

These papers are all from the Tim Holtz new paper pad Kraft Resist. The paper is heavy weight kraft paper printed with wonderful images in black, then layered with beautiful embossed designs. There are 24 pages, 3 each of 8 designs. This made it very easy to divide the pad between the three design team artists. Check back in a couple weeks to see what I've created with this gorgeous paper line. Drop in on Holly and Jenna to check out their projects as well.

Have a great week!!

Driftwood Horse Sculptures

2011-04-13T16:16:00.000-07:00

A friend sent me an email that contained a number of pictures of amazing driftwood horse sculptures. Here's a LINK to the artists site. Here's a link to a different site regarding the same artist, but the pictures show a bit of the process. Please stop by and take a look. It is fantastic!!

Have a great week!!!

Hiding......

2011-04-12T15:14:00.000-07:00

Little Miss Pippi

Mystic Paper Design Team Kit & Projects

2011-03-30T06:53:00.000-07:00

Once again I've been remiss in posting to my blog. Design team kits were a little late going out this month (waiting for new product!) and when they were finally ready to go, time collided with a very busy schedule last week. Throw in a mountain of laundry, the discovery of a "note to self" from over a week ago in pants pockets, the beginning of another busy week.... I need a day off to catch up!!

So, late is better than never!! Here is the product I got to work with for the Mystic Paper design team this month.....

Yep!! The new 7 Gypsies tissue paper!!! LOVE IT!! As you can see from the previous posts I've had so much fun with this tissue paper and a bit of Mod Podge. I can't seem to get enough! I've created three new projects that will be on display at Mystic Paper soon.

Here's the first project....

This empty candle jar turned out great.... after a bit of fussing over the paper. Mod Podge on glass can be a little tricky, but I worked through it. Added a bit of ribbon and some of the new charms from Prima, and this is what I got. Cute, but wait there's more...

When I lit a tea light candle in the jar it gave off the most beautiful glow. The picture really doesn't do it justice. I'm planning on making a few more of these to group together because they glow so nicely. I'm also planning some taller bottles in a variety of sizes to group together as flower vases. (Can you tell I LOVE this product???)

Next I did another star. Mostly because I've given all the others away and I wanted to take one to Mystic to have on display....

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the bird and the butterfly on this one!!!

Finally, I pulled out a canvas panel and an old family photo to create this....

In addition to the 7 Gypsies tissue paper I used Prima flowers, several buttons from Tim Holtz and Jenni Bowlin, some new lace ribbon from Prima, Tim Holtz film strip ribbon and some black lacey ribbon from my stash. Finally I added a little playing card (*R* is the family monogram) that I picked up at Mystic Paper and metal leaves from Tim Holtz to complete the project.

The only person who might not be as excited as me about this project is my father. And not because I cut his head off in this picture, but because I didn't in the first one!! Sorry dad! But I love this project!!

On that note, I will be stopping by Mystic Paper in the next couple days to turn in these projects. Drop by and visit Holly and Jenna, as they will be posting their design team projects soon!!

Have a great week!!

Another 7Gypsies Tissue Paper Project

2011-03-22T10:23:00.000-07:00

Okay, so here's another project with the new tissue paper. I've been meaning to alter this clock since I picked it up at Target on clearance.... a long time ago! I guess I finally figured out what I wanted to do with it, because now its done.

I had a little helper....
A different little helper... (the one who isn't lovin' her physical therapy very much!)

More help than anyone should have!!!!

Hope you enjoy this project as much as I do!!!

Have a great week!!

New 7Gypsies Tissue Paper

2011-03-22T10:11:00.000-07:00

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this paper!! Had to try a few projects with it. This was the first project...

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the way these stars turned out!! One for me, two as gifts for my friends!!

I do have to mention that the beach photo is compliments of Brian Holaway. We are scheduled for a shelling adventure with him in October and he emailed me this pic the other day. It's the beach we visited on Cayo Costa last October. Can't wait to get back there!!!!

Hope you enjoyed my stars!!

Cards

2011-03-18T11:54:00.000-07:00

Ack!! Has it really been 10 days since I posted? Yep! We had company last week, then rolled right into Spring Break this week. We didn't go anywhere, but it's been a very busy couple of weeks. Just yesterday I was able to steal away for a couple hours and create a few cards. Have to say, I do love the Graphic 45 paper lines! Each one is so different and the colors are always so rich. Here are the cards I made....

I haven't had much (more like none!) creative mojo lately so the fact that I actually created anything at all is pretty amazing!

These cards are all pretty simple designs. I popped the central image above with foam tape....

Again I popped the circular image, then added the little butterfly for more dimension....

No popping this time. This will be an anniversary card that needs to go through the mail so I layered the flowers and used a Jelly Roll Glitter Pen to add a little shimmer.....

Thanks for sticking with me and checking back in!! I'll try harder to keep up with the blog!

Have a great weekend!!

Big Cat, Small Box

2011-03-08T11:53:00.000-08:00

Lexi used to fit in this box. Not any more!!

Have a great day!!

February Design Team Project - Complete

2011-02-28T08:06:00.000-08:00

Wow! It's been over a week since I posted on my blog. I have a good excuse though. I've spent a great deal of time in the past 10 days working on my design team project for Mystic Paper. It took me a while to get started. I had several ideas in mind, but they just didn't feel quite right. Finally, with the help of my friend June, I settled on a great topic for my new project.

In 1994 I took a trip to England. It was a fabulous trip and I came home with so many wonderful pictures and memories. I also kept a daily journal while on this adventure, thanks to my mothers encouragement. I've kept all my picture in two photo albums for years since then. During the past two weeks I started pulling pictures and typing my journal entries onto the computer. I put them all together in a handcrafted book. I'll take you on a short tour in pictures. The book has 25 two-sided pages to it would be an enormous post to show you all of the pages.

I used the new 7Gypsies line - Lille - for this project, plus one sheet of K&Co for the cover (London map). I also added the 7G's Lille tags, a couple of Prima flowers, seam binding tape, and Vintage Photo Distress Ink. Since this was such a huge project I came up with a simple design to keep a cohesive feel to the book. I think it works out well as you travel through the book, read the journal entries, and "visit" some of the landmarks that I saw. This will give you a prime example of just what you can do with the new 7Gypsies book starter kits.

I hope you enjoyed this short journey. I have to say, this trip was one of the most fantastic adventures I have ever had. I went with my parents, who had made similar trips a number of times prior, and they were the best travel companions. The architecture, history and culture everywhere we went was amazing. Combine that with good company, good food and a lot of laughs and it was the best!!

Now stop by and see what Holly and Jenna have in store for you this month. We all received different types of product and assignments this month, so it should be a lot of fun!

Have a great week!!!

Handsome Palomino

2011-02-19T11:18:00.000-08:00

Who couldn't love this face??

Riding time was cut a little short today due to very high winds and major gusts. (**These pictures were taken last week**) We are supposed to get rain, which will be really nice to cut down all the dust that was flying! Hopefully we get enough to reap the benefits, but not so much that we can't ride tomorrow. Only time will tell.

Happy Saturday!

Kitty Love

2011-02-18T07:28:00.001-08:00

All for the love of cats...

These two came to us a year ago. Remember this?? And this?? They are not from the same litter but they are about as close as the other two cats who are from the same litter..... All of them like to sit on this chair and watch "kitty TV". The birds love the bush outside that window so they keep those kitties very busy.

LBSC is recovering nicely from her knee surgery. (A big THANK YOU to those who have inquired about her recovery!!) She gets around quite well using mostly just three legs. I have been working on her PT when I have a chance, but she really doesn't like it at all. It's only been 7 weeks since her surgery and they told me it will take 2-6 months for the deep tissue to heal completely. In the meantime, her knee is very stiff because they tightened the ligaments to repair the torn ACL. The biggest thing I see happening for her is that she can't jump yet. Just last night she tried to jump up on my work table and missed. I tried to catch her but ended up only catching her head. She was a little put out that she missed the jump, but I think she was more confused as to why I grabbed her around the neck!! I do have a spare chair next to the table which she uses on a regular basis to get on the table (she loves to sit there with me while I work). I don't know what kind of wild kitty hair compelled her to try the jump last night, but I don't think she'll be trying it again soon!!

This girl is really a piece of work. Our Pippi doesn't like to be picked up, but if you sit down she'll land in your lap and totally zonk out. Here she is peeking at me while I take her picture, but when she goes to sleep, she's down for the count. She has the funniest personality. She splits her time between all of us - greeting us at the door when we come home, ushering us off to bed when it's time, and sleeping nearby all day long. She's like a little momma!

Then there's little Lexi Lou Who. Did I just say little?? Well, she's not. She is ENORMOUS!! This girl weighs 15 pounds and she's the softest, mellowest cat I've ever met. We find her in the most unusual places and poses all the time. I swear she's growing every day. Her paws are huge and she's actually got a large frame, so she's not just a fat cat. But what a love cat she is. We used to call her Little Miss Marshmallow.... Now we just call her Big.

Last, but definitely not least, is Max. This guy is still just as mellow as ever. He gets along with everybody. He keeps his sister company through her recovery. He plays with Lexi - running and chasing from one end of the house to the other with her. (Good thing, too, because that's about all the exercise Lexi gets!!) He sits with Pippi and watches the birds. And he sleeps on a pillow near my head every night.

So there's a little kitty update from the house of hair!!

Enjoy your weekend!

Mystic Paper Design Team Kit - February

2011-02-18T07:08:00.000-08:00

I'm a little slow on the draw.... again. But I'm finally getting around to posting my new kit for the Mystic Paper design team. This month I received this....

The paper is from the new 7Gypsies line "Lille". I must say I LOVE this line! Each sheet features a wonderful collage on one side and a different pattern on the reverse. Yes, all 6 sheets in this line are really fun and inspiring.

I also received this 6X6 book started kit from 7Gypsies. It includes a package of 25 creme colored cardstock pages, 2 transparencies, 3 rings for binding, a large book band and 4 creme colored pockets. Jennifer also cut me 4 pieces of chipboard to use for covers, or whatever I want.

In addition I received 2 colors of seam binding tape that work perfectly with the Lille paper line. Here you can see the reverse side of the patterned paper.

I have spent some time pondering what to do with this project. I think it's obvious that I will be making a book, but I'm searching my photo stash and computer to find just the right photos to use. I have found this task to be a little overwhelming because the starter kit lends itself to a very big project. I think I have it all figured out now. I just need to get it moving along. After all, February is a short month and I'm down to just a little over a week to complete my project. No worries, though. I'll get it done!!

Stop by and check out Holly and Jenna's blogs. They will be posting their kits soon. Everyone received something totally different this month so there will be a lot of variety.

In the meantime, have a great (long) weekend!!

Final January Design Team Project

2011-02-08T10:00:00.000-08:00

I completed one more item with my design team kit this month. I couldn't resist making another one of my little books.....

This time I used a 7Gypsies 4X4 ring bound book and a 7Gypsies 97% Complete Cardstock Sticker sheet. If you have followed my blog for long you know that I love these two particular products. There are so many different sticker sheets to chose from that you could make just about any kind of book you wanted.

I opted for the Top Ten sheets because the colors went so well with the Graphic 45 paper that I was using.

I added some Prima flowers, brads, tiny pearls and ribbon to embellish. I also used some pop dots and chipboard to give the pages a little more dimension. I didn't use all the pages that this 7Gypsies book comes with. However, I am working on the additional pages which have lists of a more personal nature.

If you have an opportunity, check out the many different 7Gypsies cardstock sticker sheets available and pick one of your own to create a unique little book with. If you are in the Phoenix area, drop by Mystic Paper and take a look. Jennifer carries an abundance of 7Gypsies product, as well as all the products I used for this book.

That's all for now. We should be getting new kits again next week.

Have a great week!!!

Another Design Team Project

2011-02-07T11:55:00.000-08:00

Thanks for tuning back in. Here is another project I made with the Mystic Paper design team kit for January. I just love the paper line I was working with!! So cute and fresh, and the colors are fabulous!

I used a 7Gypsies matchbook to complete this little springtime project.

This time I cut out the little Beatrix Potter bunnies that are featured in the Graphic 45 line Once Upon A Springtime.

There are three pages in the book and it turned out so very cute. My darling daughter just loves it and can't wait until it comes back home. It was difficult to photograph because the book doesn't open flat. I hope you can get a good idea of what its all about. One final project coming soon!!

Have a great week!

January Design Team Project - Completed

2011-02-04T10:05:00.000-08:00

After an extended break over the holidays, the Mystic Paper design team was put back in business a couple weeks ago. I got to work with some of the beautiful Graphic 45 paper from the Once Upon A Springtime line. Here's what I came up with....

I just love this Tim Holtz die cut of the bird cage!! I cut three of them from chipboard and trimmed out the bars on two of the pieces. Then I cut another cage from patterned paper. Next I assembled the chipboard pieces in a stack with the uncut die on top to give some dimension. Finally I painted the cage aqua with a Tim Holtz paint dabber and attached the patterned paper on top. After I completed my tag I attached the cage over the two fairies I cut from the G45 paper.

Finally, I trimmed some individual flowers from another sheet of paper and layered them both under and over the cage for more dimension. I topped these off with some tiny pearls in the centers.

I think this was my favorite project using the product I had!!

I completed two more items, but you'll have to tune in later for those. Stop by and visit Jenna and Holly to see what they got to work with this month!!

Have a great weekend!!

Horsing Around with a New Friend

2011-02-01T09:36:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend we were finally able to obtain a lease on Sunshine. Doesn't my kid look so happy up there??? (*Click on the pic for a closer look*)

We've been burning a little gas running back and forth to the barn every day. I'm sure once the newness wears off a bit we will settle into a regular schedule. Maybe. Eventually. Or not.

Have a fabulous week!!! My kid is!!

Recovering

2011-01-28T08:53:00.000-08:00

LBSC met with her orthopedic surgeon this week. He manipulated the knee and the entire leg. LBSC was less than thrilled. It hurt, so of course she growled at the surgeon. He wasn't bothered by her shenanigans. I was informed that it's now time for me to start kitty physical therapy. Sounds like a lot of fun, doesn't it?? Not. I'll keep you posted on how that's all working out. In the meantime, the Trusty Orange Sidekick has been spending some quality time consoling LBSC. They just love to lay anywhere near a burning lightbulb!

Sleep well kitties!!

January Design Team Kit

2011-01-22T14:21:00.001-08:00

I stopped by Mystic Paper a week ago to meet with Jennifer and put together kits for the design team. Stop by and visit Holly and Jenna's blogs to see the fabulous Cavallini paper they received in their Valentine's kits.

Since I had a Valentine's project for my last kit, this month I went in another direction. Before Christmas I had picked up some paper from a new Graphic 45 line. I had started on a project but I never got very far because I was just too darn busy. This month Jennifer let me use that paper/project for my design team project. She supplemented me with some coordinating ribbon and I took it from there. Here's what I have to work with......

This paper is two sided, heavy weight, and GORGEOUS!!! I've had a week to play with it now, and I've finished a couple of projects. Still working on another one. I do have another week to work on it, after all! Check back and see what I did!!

Have a great weekend!!

Back in the Saddle.....

2011-01-22T13:13:00.000-08:00

Wowzer! It's been a really long break from the blog. Sorry about that. It seems that shortly after Thanksgiving life went into overdrive! With all the holiday preparations we kept extremely busy. Then shortly after school let out for the holidays we flew to Montana for a white (and chilly) Christmas. We had a great time there. Yes, my darling got to play in the snow. Every day!!

And even sometimes at night....

We had a great Christmas in Montana. Spent a lot of time with family. Visited with friends. Out to eat at some fun places. Snow. Good times.

Life got a little hectic again when we got home. Why? Well, because that cute Little Black Scrap Cat had to be the center of attention again. Right before we went to Montana I noticed that she was missing a jump now and then. And that's just not normal for a cat. Especially not Tink. So I took her in to get her checked out. We ended up doing some xrays and discovered that she had a cruciate ligament rupture (ACL) and there was a bone chip in the knee joint as well. That meant surgery. At the very least they needed to remove the bone chip. And as long as they were in there they may as well repair the ligaments in the knee. So be it. The day after we returned from Montana, LBSC had knee surgery!!

You can see that they shaved her right rear leg. The spot on her side was shaved to apply a patch with time released pain meds. Needless to say, she was not too happy to have that blasted E collar on again! Thankfully she didn't have to wear it for long because she never really did bother the incision.

At this stage in the game, Tink is just over 3 weeks post surgery and recovering nicely. She has started to touch the foot down and puts some pressure on her knee. She is still restricted from running and jumping for a few more weeks, and has a follow up appointment with the orthopedic surgeon (*smile when you read that*) this coming Thursday. She should make a full recovery and regain total use of the knee within 2-6 month.

Whew! As if that wasn't enough - we haven't even gotten to the important stuff yet. My darling daughter had a birthday a couple weeks ago. She was very excited and really wanted to have a LARGE slumber party. Well, our house isn't really cut out for a LARGE slumber party. And keep in mind that we have a cat who was, at that time, only two weeks post surgery and needed some quiet recovery time. I had to come up with some kind of solution for the party girl's party........... ... .. ... .. ... Can you say "Amazing Jake's"? I can. Even after 5 hours of sensory overload, I can still say it! We had the party at Amazing Jake's because that's about that last place you will ever find me hanging around. That made it extra special for the birthday girl! She had 10 of her closest friends join her and they partied up a storm. A grand time was had by everyone, and I didn't have to serve or clean up the mess. Best of all, I didn't have 11 girls sleeping (yeah, right! Like they would ever sleep at a slumber party!!) at my house that night!! And did you know that there are actually some relatively quiet areas at Amazing Jake's? There are, and I found them! The only draw back that I have found is that I don't have any really great pictures. I have some really great candid shots of the girls in different groups together, but none of the entire group during presents, or cake, or anything like that. I'll have to get pretty creative to come up with a scrapbook layout with the pics I do have!!

Throughout the past 6 weeks there has also been another exciting thing happening. We have finally found a new place for my daughter to take riding lessons. Thus, she is "Back in the Saddle" again. In fact, she had a lesson this morning.

Here she is riding Sunshine this morning at a group lesson.

The most exciting about this new place is that there are lease options available to the students. This provides a great opportunity for the students to bond with their horse and allows them to ride them at times other than lesson time. We are currently in the process of trying to lease Sunshine from the program. He's actually a good horse that was sold a few month ago, but purchased back after he was neglected. He is about 300 pound under weight right now, and needs a little work on his ground manners, but I think he's a good fit for DD and she's willing to take him on and show him that life is good again.

I think that just about covers the past 6 weeks. Throw in a few doctors appointments, a few Vet appointments, gymnastics, a trip to ZooLights (lots of fun!), a day trip boating and fishing, homework and the other "normal" day to day stuff, and I remember now why I haven't had time to blog!!! In the future I will aim at posting at least once a week. I'll try, anyway!!

Thanks for hanging in there with me! Enjoy the rest of your weekend!!

The Jar is Full.....

2010-12-08T06:08:00.000-08:00

Way back in March of this year (2010), I went to one of the local antiques malls. I'm always on the lookout for a nice old jar, plate, bowl, basket, or whatnot. They are great places to keep all those shells we keep bringing home from Sanibel. On that particular visit I found a great jar, complete with its lid. Click here to see the original post and the empty jar....

Now that jar is full!! It has been for a couple months, but I'm running a little late with my blog posts lately. Can't seem to find the time to get it done. Anyway, this is one of my favorite things to look at every day.... It just makes me happy!!!

Have a fabulous week!!!!!!!!

Favorite Treasures - #2 & #3

2010-12-01T10:21:00.000-08:00

Here are a couple more of my favs, joining the moon snail shell....

I just love the lace murex because it's a really nice size and still has its "lace" detail. The juvenile horse conch is really nice, too. I haven't found that many of them in the past, but I did bring home quite a few small ones in October. Another view of the moon snail as well. Such an interesting look and pretty detail!! More to come......

Have a great Wednesday!!

Favorite Treasures - #1

2010-11-29T10:40:00.001-08:00

I have never found one of these on Sanibel before. We looked it up at the Bailey-Matthews Shell Museum and it looks like it's a gaudy natica, or moon snail, shell. Its a really beautiful shell without any flaws. I know you can't tell by the picture but it's fairly large as well, measuring about 1.5 inches. Guess I'll have to start popping a coin down on the table when I take my pics!!

Flashback

2010-11-29T07:49:00.000-08:00

Now that we have made it through the Thanksgiving holiday, I need to flash back to the treasures we found at the beach last month. Here is a little peak at the table as I was cleaning shells....

You can click on the picture and it will get bigger. Also note the bucket of additional shells which have not been cleaned yet.... I will follow up with more shell finds in the future. At the end of our week in Sanibel we were quite pleased with our overall "haul".

Hope you all have a nice week following the busy holiday weekend!!!

Mystic Paper Design Team - November Project

2010-11-17T06:56:00.000-08:00

I have been remiss in my posting. I finished my design team project for Mystic Paper and turned it in over the weekend. Now I'm finally getting around to posting it! I loved the kit I received for November. The colors were very fresh and vibrant.

I added a little pearl and lace ribbon from my stash, as well as the last piece of the blue twill that I had, which matched perfectly! I used the February flash card from 7 Gypsies and embellished it with their metal scalloped page edge. Don't you wish the vendors would keep some of the things they retire?? I know they make a lot of different products, but I have used a lot of the flashcards from 7 Gypsies and they have become quite scarce. I snatch them up whenever I see them.

The chipboard numbers are from Basic Grey. Not sure if they make those anymore either. I painted them with a silver metallic paint dabber from Ranger which really made them pop. I pulled out my trusty heart punch and added a few hearts to the Valentine chipboard buttons by Jenni Bowlin. These are available at Mystic Paper and they're great for embellishing a page or card. If you stop by Mystic to check things out, make sure you check out their ribbon wall. Jennifer keeps a large stock of ribbon in many different styles, as well as many vintage ribbons she finds. And don't miss the section where they stock the October Afternoon lines because these lines are wonderful with their coordinating "wild cards", rub-ons and papers.

Here's the "bonus" project I did for November. Jennifer has a ton of these "PEACE" bingo cards by Jenni Bowlin. Last month Jenna got one in her kit, and this month both Holly and I received one as well. Check out what each of us did with our card. I'll bet you can come up with a few things to use them for too!! If you're not in our area, just call Jennifer and Mystic and she'll ship you some right away!

I used my bingo card to create a Christmas card. (And, I must confess, I have since purchased a few more that I'm going to use to make more of my own cards this year!!) For this one I added a trim of large rickrack, then glittered it up with German glitter glass from Mystic Paper. (Jennifer has a variety of colors!) I stamped the card with a little bit of Versa Mark to leave watermark snowflakes in the background, but they are hard to see in this pic. Next I layered a strip of music paper from October Afternoon on the card, topped it off with a Heidi Swapp ghost snowflake and a shiny brad. The final layer is a vintage image from my stash - a couple of ice skaters skimming over the ice. To complete the card I ran everything over a Fired Brick distress pad, then backed the entire card on matching cardstock, mounted with shiny silver brads in the corners.

I love the way my card turned out. Now I'm working on a few more for the holidays. Stay tuned and I'll give you a little peek later on.......

Have a great Wednesday!!

Festival of Horses

2010-11-10T08:10:00.000-08:00

Last weekend we ventured out with a good friend to check out the Festival of Horses in Queen Creek. We've never been there before, but we felt certain we would get a full day of horsing around. And we weren't let down.

We met the cutest little baby......
We met a lot of really (really!!) big Percherons.....
There were six matching black Percherons for this team.....
Notice the blue ribbon..... They did the wagon events for teams of 2, 4, and six.....
There are very powerful horses!! I wish we could have stayed for the 6 team wagon event! They didn't win the 4 team, but I know they won the 2 team blue ribbon. They did have some stiff competition. Here's another one of the teams - looks like these are Belgians.... They had two horses ready to go for the 6 team wagon event, and they had just wheeled out for the 4 team event....

Check out those feet!! *I mean the horses hooves!!* They are the size of dinner plates! (Remember that you can click on my pics to enlarge them and get a better look)

Can you just imagine a job that pays you to take care of such gorgeous creatures every day??! I know a few people who'd be in some kind of heaven for a job like that!! This team didn't win the blue ribbon in the 4 team wagon event either. There were two other wagons entered.....

And it was these dudes with the blue wagon that won the event. They were the only ones that were able to maneuver around the cones and make a tight turn without running over or missing the final cone. Great job, guys!! Love the white socks on your team's uniforms!!

There was so much more going on at the Festival of Horses, too. We watched folks compete with their mules in a "trail ride" type of event. They had to complete a set of obstacles, all the while managing their mules. This is no small task for the experienced horse rider. But now we're talking mules!! And there were a lot of very beautiful and well trained mules at the show. There was also a very similar "trail ride" event for those who rides horses....

Needless to say, we have a fabulous day hanging with our friend, Leslie, and all those horses. The real kicker for my daughter though, was before we went to the horse show......

She got some riding time in on her good friend Minnie!!! What a great day!!!

Mystic Paper Design Team Kit - November

2010-11-05T07:17:00.000-07:00

I'm finally starting to feel like I've caught up with myself. I think I better hold on to that feeling and enjoy it for as long a possible, because the closer we get to the holidays the less I'm going to be feeling it!! Or maybe I'll be able to hold on to it longer since I'm already started on all that holiday preparation. I'm a list kind of girl. I make lists, I check them twice.... I like to be organized and prepared. Therefore, I bought a turkey this week!! Already feeling the love, like I got the lowest price of the season, for this bird. If I'm lucky, I'll be heading out to the store for a few basic items on Monday and I'll pick up another one. We always buy a spare to roast in May or June.

Back to the topic at hand.... I was at Mystic Paper last week to help Jennifer put together the design team kits for the girls. We always have fun doing this. It's nice to shop the store and figure out what to pull for the kits. This is what I received this month.....

Last month I had some great Christmas products for my project. This month it's looking a lot like Valentine's Day! There are some wonderful chipboard buttons with a Valentine theme from Jenni Bowlin, plus some great papers from October Afternoon. These papers are two sided, though I didn't take any pictures of the reverse sides. I've been so drawn to these particular ones that I'm stewing over what to create. LOVE the red ribbons with the whole kit.

As a little bonus, I received a "Peace" bingo card by Jenni Bowlin. Each of the other girls has had a chance to do something with the same card, so be sure and check out Jenna & Holly to see what they came up with for their card.

Tune in soon as I work toward the November 15th deadline. It's all in the process!!

Have a great weekend!!

Pumpkin Heads

2010-11-02T09:14:00.001-07:00

We waited until Halloween to carve our pumpkins. When you live in Arizona it's really out of necessity. If you carve them too early they just mold and rot. And that's no fun. So we whiled away some time gutting and cutting our pumpkins before venturing out to a Halloween party. Here's how it went....
That was my job. Now it's her turn....
If you're not careful you may cut yourself..... (it wasn't that bad, really....)
She didn't bleed out, and she made it through both pumpkins. But not without a little bit of drama!!
Happy Pumpkins to you!!!

Halloween Fun

2010-11-02T08:44:00.000-07:00

I'm a little late posting my Halloween pictures, but I've been trying to get through all the posts I wanted to make from our Sanibel trip. I've reached the end of that, basically, though I will continue to post some pictures of the shells we hauled home.

Halloween was filled with a number of events for us. We started at the church with some friends. The church hosts a party every year in which various members provide games for entertain. The church provides a number of bouncers, a train, popcorn, snocones and cotton candy. They also provide a meal of a hotdog, chips, cookie and a drink. All this is free to whomever may choose to attend. It's really quite the production.

My daughter decided not to wear her costume as it was still pretty hot here. Plus, she wanted to do the bouncers and didn't think her costume would allow her to do that. That was just fine with me because it was REALLY hot out there. We are still hitting the 90's and there was no shade in the parking lot where the "party" was held.

Everyone came up with some pretty elaborate games this year, and the kids all had a great time. We stayed there for a couple hours, then moved on to a friend's neighborhood that is well known for it's crowds and party atmosphere. (And I'll tell you, I'm going to have to go back there at Christmas to see what they do then!)

Here's a picture of the big kids..... (they are all the same age and grade)

There were actually 9 children in our group, plus 10 adults, as we walked around the neighborhood. It was a little tricky keeping track of everyone and trying to stay together. The hostess in our group had purchased glow stick necklaces that helped a lot when we were trying to sort our kids out in the crowds. Here's a quick picture from before we got started.....

As you can probably relate to, its hard to take pictures in the dark. It's also hard to get pictures of moving targets. Its particularly hard to get a good picture in the dark, of a moving target, when that target is highly motivated by the collection of candy!!! I'm just sayin'! This was about the best I could do!

The fun continued until well past the "normal" school night routine, but a grand time was had by all. And this is some of the loot from all that tromping around the hood....

Hope you all had a happy sugar buzz!!

Saturday Morning - Heading Home

2010-11-01T14:54:00.000-07:00

Well, that last sunset was fabulous!! And here's what we saw on the last morning before we left for the airport. There were really no shells to speak of, so that made it a little easier to leave the beach....
We didn't have a lot of time to hang on the beach, but we couldn't leave without going out to peek. It was another beautiful sky. After we loaded the car and set out on our way, we decided to make a little stop on one of the causeway islands to take a couple more pictures....

There were already a number of people out there early to take advantage of the beautiful day....

One final glance at the Lighthouse....

Then we hit the sad lane across the causeway, on our way to the airport, and eventually.... home.

Friday - Our Final Sunset

2010-11-01T14:45:00.000-07:00

There were a lot of people on the beach on Friday night. It was our last night on the island, so we made sure we were out there to see the sunset. I think the other people on the beach were those who had arrived the previous Saturday, the same as us, and they were are all enjoying their final Sanibel sunset as well. Here are a few pics at the sun went down....

Another beautiful Sanibel sunset!!

Friday - Sunrise

2010-10-30T15:38:00.001-07:00

A few pictures..... few words....

Beautiful.

Friday - Sea Urchins

2010-10-30T15:17:00.000-07:00

If' I'd known what to do with a sea urchin when I found my first one, I'd probably have brought home about a dozen of them. I wasn't sure when we found the first one if it was alive or dead. Should have known that it was dead when we tried to return it to the sea and it floated on the surf. Also, their spines were falling off and the whole creature was extremely light for the size. Finally, I asked someone if they knew what to do with them. They explained the process of cleaning out the insides, but that's about all. It became evident to me on Friday, when I found one that was already empty inside, what they were supposed to end up like. After that I found two more. Only problem was that I knew I was going to have to carry them home, either on the plane or in my suitcase. I did manage to get them cleaned out, and they were obviously dead already. I did not kill them. Once they were cleaned I still had to rinse out the bits inside. I packed them in paper towels, zipped them up in a ziplock bag, and packed them in a box with the sand dollars that were going in a checked bag. Sure glad I put that ziplock bag on them. There were stinkin' to high heaven when I opened their bag!!! I emailed a couple of people (you know who you are!!) that told me what I needed to do next. I managed to get the spines cleaned off and everything smelling better, gave them an very quick rinse in a 50/50 bleach and water solution, then left them outside to dry. Not in the direct sunlight, as I wanted their purple hues to remain. Eventually, after they had dried completely, I coated them with a 50/50 water and Elmer's glue solution - the same solution I used on the cleaned sand dollars - and left them to completely dry again. I managed all this without breaking one!! Made me very happy. So, I ended up with three fabulous sea urchins. Now I need to find the perfect bowl/vessel to showcase them in. Here's what they look like just hanging around on a sheet pan....

I was very thankful for these little urchins on the that last day of our visit to Sanibel because that's almost all I picked up that day. After the waves and waves of shells on Thursday morning, Friday brought next to nothing. There were two other special finds that day. One was a nice alphabet cone..... (the biggest one you see here)

The other was a nice lace murex...... (the big one in the center with the nice "lace" on it's back)

Nothing to complain about, really. Nice treasures on a beautiful day in paradise!!

Thursday Sunset

2010-10-28T08:27:00.000-07:00

Whew! Thursday was a busy day! Shelling, to boogie boarding, to swimming.... Cleaning shells, a side trip to CROW..... Watching the gorgeous sunset, a late dinner and a movie, curled up on the couch with my girl..... This is one of the most beautiful sunsets we saw. I'm going to post a bunch of pictures as the sun goes down......

I just can't get enough of it.

Thursday Afternoon - Water Fun

2010-10-27T08:34:00.000-07:00

After the fabulous shelling Thursday morning, and spending quite some time cleaning the shells we picked up, the afternoon led us back to the beach. The tide was out so it was easy to get out to the sandbar that parallels the shore. There were some nice waves breaking over the bar so darling daughter decided it would be a good time to boogie board. (Thanks to a new friend who loaned her the board for the better part of the week!!)

Boogie boarding is pretty fun!! But after she'd had enough of that, we moved on to the pool area where she found someone to toss a football with....
That made her a REALLY happy girl!!
Eventually I was able to get the girl out of the water. Which was no easy feat, mind you!! It was only the promise of a beautiful sunset, followed by a late dinner and curling up on the couch to watch a movie that got her out of that pool.

Sunset to follow in another post.....

Have a great day!!

Thursday Morning - Bring on the SHELLS!!!

2010-10-25T11:32:00.000-07:00

The heavy surf we experienced on Wednesday continued throughout the day and over night. This usually bodes well for shelling so I made sure I was on the beach very early the next morning. And it paid off. There was some serious erosion from the surf, and there were waves and waves of shells in both directions down the beach. I did manage to take a couple pictures of the sunrise, which was very colorful.....

I had left my daughter sleeping in the condo, but she wasn't far behind me when she finally showed up on the beach.
This pen shell pretty much expresses how we both felt about our time on the beach that morning.....
No matter how many times we walked back and forth in each direction, and no matter how many other people were doing the exact same thing, we kept coming up with more and more nice shells......
Here's one happy camper working the shell banks.....
By 10:00 AM we had two heavy shell bags full of shells. Here's a little sampling of the shells I picked up......
And a little sample of Samantha's shells. She found a great paper fig fully intact.... (yes, she caught herself a little mermaid, too!!)
We spent the better part of the morning after that cleaning our shells. We did take a little side trip out to the education center at CROW (Clinic for the Rehabilitation of Wildlife) in the early afternoon. I don't have any pictures (and I'm not sure why....), but I highly recommend a stop there if you are visiting Sanibel. They have put great effort into educating the public as to what they do and how they go about doing it. A small donation ($5) is the price of entry, and they happily provide a receipt as the donation is tax deductible.

Thursday afternoon we returned to the beach. How could we not?? I'll post more about that later though.

Enjoy your day!!

Wednesday - "Ding" Darling

2010-10-23T06:57:00.000-07:00

Wednesday morning rose a little overcast in Sanibel. Tropical storm Paula was heading south of us near Cuba so we ended up with some cloud cover and a bit of rough surf that day. Here's what the morning sky looked like.....

Lots of shore birds were around, searching for their morning meals. Here's a Brown Pelican.... (the White Pelican's had not arrived for the winter yet.)

Plovers and Sandpipers.....Early in our trip we met a family on the beach that was from Kentucky. They had two girls that loved to play with Samantha in the surf. They had brought fishing gear with them, so eventually Samantha got to try her hand at fishing in the Gulf. No luck catching anything, but she had a fun time trying......
Wednesday afternoon we took a break from the beach and visited the J.N. "Ding" Darling National Wildlife Refuge. They have a wonderful Education Center that was completed in 2001. It offers a view of Jay Norwood's life, and an abundance of information regarding the wildlife and habitat on Sanibel island. I highly recommend a visit to the Education Center if you have a chance to visit Sanibel.

The wildlife refuge also offers a 4 mile driving tour, as well as a number of walking trails. You can walk or bike the trails, but take along drinking water and be prepared for a few bugs!! Wednesday evening we returned to the refuge to take the driving tour. If you begin the drive shortly before sunset you will likely see many different species of birds coming in to roost for the night. Here's a little sampling of what we saw.....

I believe this is a Tricolored Heron - the only dark heron with a white underside....

Anhinga......
I think these are Great Egrets..... (not positive about that as their necks look pretty long...)

This is a Great Blue Heron, holding court with a number of other birds....

...including Snowy Egrets, and I think there are Green Heron there as well....

....and on the far right is a Reddish Egret..... (if you click on any picture in this post you should get a larger version for a better look...)

When we entered the gate for the drive I asked the Ranger about the Roseate Spoonbills. He said the juveniles were in, but that the adults were still at their breeding grounds. Therefore, we didn't seen nearly as many as we have in the past. Luckily we were able to spot a few. They are one of my favorite species to see at the refuge....

Here's another flock of Tricolored Heron, a Snowy Egret, a Reddish Egret, and some Little Blue Heron....
This is about the closest we were going to get to seeing the sunset that night. We stayed at the refuge until the sun was nearly gone and the bugs were getting intense.....
It was a wonderful visit to the refuge. The variety of birds you can see is amazing. On previous trips we have also seen raccoons, turtles, crab, and a variety of fish in the marshes. I've been told you can also spot an alligator or two, but we have never seen them. I hope you enjoyed this little tour of the "Ding" Darling Refuge.

Have a great weekend!!

Tueday Adventures

2010-10-20T11:43:00.001-07:00

Sorry for the long delay in posting. While we were in Sanibel I just never had the time to sit and write a post. I was way too busy on the beach!! Now that I've been home for 4 days I find myself trying to get back into the correct time zone, and for some reason I'm having a bit of a problem accomplishing that this year. However, I have spent a great deal of time cleaning all the shells we brought home with us.

Today I'm going to take you back to Tuesday on the island. We were out on the beach early to watch the sunrise and see what the shell gods had left for us overnight. The shelling was a bit of a bust that morning. However, while we were walking the beach we ran into a woman with a cute, friendly little dog. As we started to chat it became apparent that we had a common interest. The woman was Louise Alt, who is the Captain of her own boat and the owner of her own business known as Waterwoman Adventures. Her dog is named Darla, and she's the First Mate!! Well after talking at length with Louise, my darling daughter and I decided to hire Louise for the day and take a cruise to Cayo Costa, which is one of the out islands around Sanibel.

We met Louise at the Green Flash Restaurant on Captiva Island and boarded the boat. The first thing she told us was that there was a family of manatees nearby at Jensen's Marina so that would be our first stop. We were really excited because we have driven up to Jensen's a number of times but never been lucky enough to see any manatees there. Today was going to be a great day!!

Here are some pictures of the manatees.....

In this one you can see the shadow of another manatee next to the one with his nose up....

This pictures has three in a row with the middle one up for air....

This is one of the babies in the group.....

There were 7-10 manatees at the marina, including a number of babies. They all come up to breathe at different times, so it's hard to get an accurate count, but this was a pretty large family. We spent quite a while just watching them move around and come up to breathe. Most of them (except for the babies) were sporting some pretty intense scarring on their backs from boat props. I'm really glad we got to see them this year.

Next we were off to Cayo Costa. It was a very pleasant ride across the water past North Captiva and up to our destination. There were a few other boats and people at the beaches we passed, but we continued toward the other end of the island putting some space between us and the nearest other people. This is what we found waiting for us.....

Looking right down the beach.....

Looking straight out into the Gulf.....

Beach to the left.....

Just beautiful!!! Let the shelling begin!! This area of the island is known for sand dollars, and we found a bunch of them. I think we packed a box with about 50 of them to bring home. Unfortunately, only 24 of them survived the trip home. However, I feel that's pretty good considering how fragile they are. Since we've been home I've cleaned and dried them. My next step is to get a little coat of 50/50 water/Elmer's glue solution on them to strengthen them.

We also found a ton of sunray venus and calico clams.....

In addition, we found a huge number of lettered olives......

There were a lot of Florida fighting conchs around, but they were all occupied. We spent a fair amount of time rescuing the ones that were in the high wrack line. I do hope they survived the ordeal on dry land so they can reproduce another generation!! After much frolicking in the water and walking the beach Sam and Louise had a little snack break on the boat.

We spent some more time walking the beach all the way to the point to the right of the boat. Such a lovely day, and such good company. At the end of our adventure we gathered our shell bags for the trip home....

Back on the boat we enjoyed the breeze as we motored back toward Captiva and Sanibel.

We didn't take the direct route home though. We ended up on North Captiva for lunch at Barnacle Phil's. The food was great and we were the only ones there so it was very relaxed. Sorry no pics of the restaurant or the food. However, we did get a great view of the Osprey hanging out in the area.

Then we motored on again.....

Finally we arrived back at the Green Flash on Captiva to end our adventure. Here's a picture of my darling daughter with our Captain, Louise Alt.....

And one rare photo with me in it from this trip!!!

And of course, that's Darla, our First Mate!! I would highly recommend Waterwoman Adventures if you have an opportunity to visit Sanibel or Captiva. Make sure you take a cruise out to Cayo Costa. It's well worth it!!

Have a great week!!!

Monday Sunset....

2010-10-14T03:22:00.000-07:00

...well sort of. We really missed the actual sunset. I did get this picture of the twilight directly following the sunset though.

Just the beginning of our week in paradise!!! More to follow. We're just having too much fun to spend our time in the condo!

Hope you all have been having a great week!!

Missing In Action....

2010-10-10T15:22:00.000-07:00

....and here's a clue....
...hubby is at home, holding down the fort in my absence. Where in the world did I go???

Have a great week!!! I will!!

Design Team Update

2010-10-06T14:02:00.000-07:00

You may (or may not) have noticed that I didn't post my Mystic Paper design team project for September. That's because we all had the month off. Jennifer, the owner of Mystic Paper, was waiting for some holiday product to arrive at the store so we could start working with it. As it turned out, the product took a long time getting there.

I actually picked up my kit in the middle of September, which worked well for me because now I get to have October off. I will be out of town for a bit so it took some pressure off me. Check in with Holly because she recently picked up some The Girls Paperie with a Halloween theme!! Today I put together a fabulous Christmas kit for Jenna using The Girls Paperie Tinsel & Twigs line, so give her a little time and then drop in to have a look!

That brings me back to my kit. I received paper from the Bo Bunny Christmas line. Here's a little peek....
These papers are all two sided heavy gauge paper....

This line also offers a 12X12 sheet of coordinating chipboard images, a sheet of diecut stickers, rub-ons and more. I used a few of the chipboard pieces and added some other embellishments as well.

Lately I've been working with some old family photos. I've spent a fair amount of time at Sam's Club scanning photos and having them loaded onto CD's so that I could use them whenever I wanted. I've also emailed a few out here and there and have gotten quite the response from family members who appreciated the blasts from the past. During this process I have collected a number of "Christmas Past" photos. These are the ones I decided to use for my September/October project.

Here's the book I came up with....

The round center image is from the coordinating chipboard sheet. It is layered over a scalloped cut circle of cardstock and trimmed with German Glitter Glass. I added the "Happy Holidays" stamp by Tim Holtz; metal corners by 7 Gypsies; a clear snowflake by Heidi Swapp with a snowflake brad through the center; and ribbon from the wall at Mystic Paper. Most of these products are available at the store.

Here I added a calendar by Jenni Bowlin; another chipboard diecut; metal numbers by Tim Holtz; and more ribbon from "the wall". You might notice that I have a little help with my photo session!!
Moving right along to 1967.... I used flowers by Prima with some chunky round brads; and some filmstrip ribbon by Tim Holtz.....

Another chipboard image from BoBunny. I like these vintage images and the way the chipboard adds dimension to the pages.....

I love this lacy style ribbon from Mystic Paper's ribbon wall. Jennifer finds some of the best vintage ribbon to stock in her store!

This brings us to 1970. A rather scary period of time as far as fashion statements go! But it sure was a great Christmas. That was the year my father's entire side of the family gathered at my grandparents house for the holiday. The following, and final page, is a picture of the entire group of grand kids, less one infant that someone was holding at the time. Good times!!

Well, that was certainly a blast from MY past! It's been a lot of fun working with the old family photos. I'm hoping for an opportunity to get more photos and slides put onto CD to preserve them. It's been a lot of fun working with the ones I have.

I hope you enjoyed my little blast! Have a great day!!

What the Hail??!!

2010-10-05T13:50:00.000-07:00

We are in a storm pattern for a few days. So far we've had a couple of storms, pretty short lived, but heavy rain and winds. This afternoon I've been watching the sky as the clouds built up and darkened. Eventually it started to blow. Then we got some awesome hail, followed by extreme wind. In about 10 minutes our back patio was starting to flood out and there was a ton of water running down the street. All very exciting, really. But alas, short lived. Perhaps we will see another cloud happen by later today. Here are a few pics. If you click on them, they should get bigger.
I wouldn't have wanted to get caught out in that. This hail measured almost one inch. It could have been very painful!! I didn't have anything else handy to use for size comparison. The hail was melting pretty quickly so I used what I had in my pocket.

Happy Tuesday!!!

Cats In Boxes

2010-09-27T14:36:00.000-07:00

I couldn't resist posting a couple pictures of the cats. If you know cats, you know that cats love boxes. No matter how big or small, if there's a box around, the cats will get in them.

Here's Lexi. She's still not a full year old yet and currently weighs in at 12 pounds (and still growing)...

And here's my little Tinkerbell. She only weighs in at 7 pounds these days. But we're not complaining because she's not sick any more and that's the important thing!!

Have a purr-fectly happy day!

Catching up.....

2010-09-27T13:50:00.000-07:00

I recently became aware that I have gotten way behind on my Year in Review book. As a matter of fact, I don't think I've posted about it at all this year!! That's probably because I was so behind that I completed January through May all at the same time. And I know I just did June through August recently. I still haven't gotten to September, but that's okay since its not October yet!! Anyway, I've put in a link above so you can go back and look at the book cover. (I'm working on my laptop and I don't have any of the older pics on here!!) So here's a quick little update to catch me up on the highlights for the past 3 months.

June was filled with a little boating and fishing, as well as a trip to Wisconsin....

July found us in Montana....

And August took us back to school and gymnastics...

As I was working on this post I took some time to look back through my posts for the past year. Now I remember what kept me so busy that I didn't keep up on my Year in Review book. This has been one crazy, hectic year for our family. Between adding 2 new kittens to our household, dealing with 3 of the 4 cats during their illnesses, my husband's open heart surgery.... Throw in one young girl and the "normal" every day stuff.... I think I'll forgive myself for being a little lax this year. Perhaps 2011 will be a bit calmer..... I probably should start working on my new year in review book now so I can be sure to have it ready!

Hope you all have a great, and peaceful, day!!

Pack Cat

2010-09-16T08:21:00.000-07:00

The Mystic Paper Design Team has the month of September off as we are waiting for some new holiday products to arrive at the store. Lots of other new things are going out on the shelves though, so stop by and browse if you can!!

In the meantime, there are a lot of cat antics going on here. Those silly cats are always into something. Here's where I found Pippi the other day while my daughter was doing her homework....

Seriously. This cat has the most unique personality of any cat I've ever met.

Have a great day!!

Life's a Beach!!

2010-09-10T09:02:00.000-07:00

For me, it's true. If I can't be in the mountains, I'd choose to be at the beach. Likewise, if I can't have the beach, give me the mountains. Thankfully I have the opportunity to enjoy both each year. It's always a nice relief from the desert I live in!

Here's a little book I created to collect photos, journaling and quotes on my next beach adventure. I love the vintage graphic of these three guys hanging on the beach....

The colors in this Graphic 45 paper are just gorgeous, don't you think??

I used a 7Gypsies tab book for the base of this project....

There are five tabs in this book....

....with 10 additional pages for photos and journaling.

I just love all the different graphics in this paper line.....

I originally created this book earlier this year when the new paper line came out. It was my intent to teach this as a class....

.....however, life took a sudden turn and I found myself hanging out at the hospital instead. I can always create something else for a class!!

Hope you enjoyed this book as much as I do. I have it hanging out in my creative space where I see it every day. I just love the papers, and the colors, and the images, and just the way the whole book came together. The entire thing just makes me happy. And happier still when I have the opportunity to fill it with memories and photos from my next trip to the beach!!! Cause you know... life's just too darn short to sit around and watch it go by!!

Have a great weekend!!

Vacation Book

2010-09-03T09:21:00.000-07:00

One of our trips this summer was to Wisconsin. While we were there we attended two reunions, visited the Cave of the Mounds, went to the Madison Zoo (which is a FREE zoo!!), spent some time at Governor Dodge State Park, and just hung around with family. We were there early enough in the summer that the weather was not too hot and sticky, which was really nice. As soon as we returned from that trip I started an 8X8 book with the pictures. After many starts and stop (including another vacation trip) I finally finished my book. Here's a little peak....

I can't seem to get very good pictures of my projects lately. I either use the flash, which produces a nasty glare or a washed out shot, or I don't use the flash and get darker pictures. In this case, the darker pictures looked a lot better than the ones taken with the flash!

One tradition in my family is making ice cream. This time we had 2 ice cream freezers running. Coincidentally I used the October Afternoon paper line and they have the cutest little "Wild Cards" that coordinate with their lines. Note the ice cream Wild Card!! Perfect!

My uncle created this train and every time we visit the farm he gets it out for the kids. Several generations have enjoyed his tours of the farm in this train.

If you've never been down in a natural cave, here's a little clue..... It's CHILLY!! And when they turn the lights off it gets completely DARK!

Here the cousins are enjoying washing through their "mine diggings" to see what kinds of minerals they will find. These two are quite the little peas in pod.

So, this is not nearly all the pages that are in this book, but that's all you get to peek at. There are actually 20 page so I used simple designs, which helped keep the some unity in the book, and also allowed me the ability to finish what turned out to be quite a large project. Hope you enjoyed your peek!!

Have a great Labor Day weekend!!

More Cat Play

2010-08-31T09:12:00.000-07:00

This picture is from a different day. Different bathroom. You can see that Lexi has a whole lot more help in there, too. The big orange guy is Maxwell. He's 11 years old and only weighs in at about 8 pounds. (He's mostly hair!) The Little Black Scrap Cat is my Tinkerbell (Max's litter mate). She's the one that was so sick and had a feeding tube for 7-8 weeks. Needless to say, she is fully recovered. Except for growing back the hair where she was shaved! Plus, she only weighs in at 7 pounds now.

Of course there's one kitten missing. That's Pippi. But you can't see her because she's hiding in the shower!!

Pippi is a year old now and weighs in at 10 pounds. She's got quite the personality, too!! And she's a big talker!

I'm hoping to have a little creative post for you soon. It's time for a new design team project so I need to hop over to the store and put some kits together. Tune in soon to check that out!

Have a great day!!

Silly Little (Big) Cat

2010-08-25T08:15:00.000-07:00

Remember Lexi?? She's the cutest little orange and white kitten. She was 3 months old when we got her....

Well, Lexi is 9 months old now. And she's hardly little anymore!! She weighs in at a whopping 10.5 pounds and she's still growing!! Her feet are so big I'm worried about just how big she's going to get! Here she is in one of her new favorite spots to lounge...

The sink is even more fun if you can get your people to leave the water dripping. Maybe I'll post those pictures next time!!

Have a great day.

August Design Team Project - Part Three

2010-08-18T13:18:00.000-07:00

Here's the final project I completed with my kit for the Mystic Paper design team. It was a great kit, with lots of wonderful potential. The ephemera packs are still available at Mystic Paper so stop by and pick one up while you can!

Have a great day!!

August Design Team Project - Part Two

2010-08-15T10:00:00.000-07:00

As promised, here is another piece I did using this months Mystic Paper design team kit....

This time I added a bingo card, which is really a page from the Melissa Frances Bingo Card Book. I used a different flower punch to create some additional flowers, and added some sparkly gems. I also used some fabulous pink fringe ribbon from Mystic Papers ribbon wall, as well as a string of "pearls". I do think this is possibly my favorite of the three pieces I created. But you'll have to tune in later to see number three!! Don't forget to check in on Jenna and Holly to see what they did with their Melissa Frances products!!

Hope you all had a nice weekend!!

August Design Team Project - Part One

2010-08-11T08:48:00.000-07:00

If you remember from the previous post here, I received some really nice Melissa Frances Ephemera for my Mystic Paper design team assignment this month. I had a lot of fun playing with this product and came up with several pieces. Here's a little peak....

The scalloped chipboard is a Melissa Frances product as well.

I painted a piece of latch hook rug canvas to mimic a trellis, and created a few extra flowers and greenery with paper punches and the pearls from the kit.

The chipboard letters are from Basic Grey. I painted them with Peeled Paint Crackle Paint from Ranger to give them texture and a more rustic look.

Then I added some Melissa Frances ribbon to create a hanger for this piece. Most of the products used for this project are available at Mystic Paper. Drop by and check them out if you're in the area. If you are not local, give them a call. They are happy to ship product to you, too!! And while you're hanging out on the web, keep an eye on Holly and Jenna because they will be posting their projects soon. I'm just a little ahead of my deadline!! And check back here because I will be posting more projects from this assignment!

Have a great day!!!

I'm a Winner!!

2010-08-06T20:09:00.001-07:00

I follow Gail's blog and she did a Michigan Product Sampler Giveaway last month. I was the winner!! Ya-hoo!! Her package arrived yesterday and here are the contents....

There is some luscious looking Zehnders Tart Cherry Jam, Blueberry Preserves, Sanders Hot Fudge Topping, Zastrow's microwave popcorn, Britt Family Pure Maple Syrup, Special K Fruit Crisps (can't find a website, but did you know they were made in Michigan???), and some Hunters Meat Sticks (can't find a website). Can you believe it? I had no idea all these things were made in Michigan!!

A very, very big THANK YOU to my bloggy friend Gail for hosting this giveaway. I don't usually win things so it was nice to win and especially nice to receive all these wonderful tasty treats! Thanks again, Gail!!

Have a great weekend everyone!! I will enjoy tasting my way through it!!

Phantom Cat

2010-08-04T11:34:00.000-07:00

I'm still working on my new project for the Mystic Paper design team. Thought I should take a little break and post something on my blog. I seem to be getting further between my posts all the time. Maybe when school starts next week that will all change.....

Anyway, here's a picture my husband took of our little Pippi. He's not sure how he managed to catch the shot but it turned out pretty cool!

What do you think??

Have a great day!

Little Helper

2010-07-30T06:59:00.001-07:00

Look who's helping me with my project!!!!

How stinkin' cute is that??!!

Have a great (purr-y) day!!

Mystic Paper Design Team Kit - August

2010-07-30T06:49:00.001-07:00

New kits have been handed out. This month we all got Melissa Frances products and they are yummy!! This is what I received.....

These papers are wonderful, and the Childhood Ephemera pack has some fabulous things in it....

A better look.....
And a little bit more....
These ephemera kits are really jammed with great stuff. Stop by later and see what I've created!!! And be sure to stop by and visit Jenna and Holly to see what Melissa Frances product they received as well! If you like what you see, stop by Mystic Paper and pick some up for yourself!!

Have a great (rainy!!) day!!

TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES

2010-07-27T09:36:00.000-07:00

What's going on with my internet?????

The cable guy was here for 3 hours yesterday. Started out with no internet. Ended up with no phone or cable either. Eventually he was joined by two more service guys driving the big trucks. At the end of the day we had all our service back on. However...... tomorrow they are going to be back. They say they need to "fix it" some more. Time will tell!!

Take Me To The Mountains.....

2010-07-20T10:18:00.000-07:00

As mentioned in my previous post, I've recently been on vacation. I thought I would share a few pics from that trip. It was extremely nice to escape our high temps for a while. Especially since this was our destination.....

We did a little of this..... (though the water was a bit nippy!)

We hit our favorite mountain "beach" several times.....

We did a little of this while we were there, too....

Some days we walked down the road to visit these guys..... (well, some of us walked while others... scootered.)

On another day we rode the gondola to the top of the ski hill...

...where we saw a little of this....

...and this....(she wasn't very scared of us.)

Another day we went to the fish hatchery...

...and saw a BUNCH of these.....

...and a few of these....

A good time was had by all....

On another day we went to an Arts & Crafts show in the park. The girl came home sporting this...

There was a lot of this going on, too. Almost every day!! Yep! Lots of wildlife up there in those mountains!!

I think that just about covers it. No wonder I had to come home and rest!!

Have a great week!!

Mystic Paper July Project Completed

2010-07-17T08:11:00.000-07:00

Good morning!!! Yes, I've been missing in action - AGAIN! I've just returned from another vacation and hope to post some pictures from that trip soon. However, I really wanted to post some pics of the MPDT project I completed prior to my trip. I didn't have a chance to turn it in at the store before I left, but I will be dropping by Mystic Paper to turn it in today. Here's a little peek....
I love the way this book turned out. I started with a 7 Gypsies Composition Book as the base. Using the Cavallini paper I had, and adding some Tim Holtz elements (metal bird, grungeboard, distress ink and metal clip) and some 7 Gypsies elements (metal corners and permission slip tag), I came up with a durable book to take on my travels. Here are a few inside shots....

I was actually wishing I had this book with me on my most recent trip!! Each page is embellished with an image from the original sheet of Cavallini paper. It will be the perfect place to make notes along the way on a future expedition. All of the products used on this project are available at Mystic Paper. Stop by and check out the store!! And please stop by and visit Holly and Jenna's blogs to see what they did with their Cavallini paper this month!

Have a great weekend!!

Mystic Paper Design Team - July Kit

2010-07-01T07:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went to Mystic Paper to put together kits for the Design Team. It didn't take a lot of effort this month. Jennifer suggested that each member receive 1 sheet of the wonderful Cavallini paper. Along with that, we have the FREEDOM to create whatever the paper inspires us to create! No real assignment or direction this month, just the inspiration we find from the paper. Well, here's the sheet I received...

There are so many different images on this sheet...
Whatever will I come up with??? Stop by and check out Holly and Jenna's blogs, too. They will be posting their Cavallini paper soon, then watch for the finished projects around the 15th of July.

If you have an opportunity, stop by Mystic Paper this weekend. They have extended hours on Friday and Saturday (until 10 PM each night!) due to The Arizona Celebration of Freedom. Check out the link to the website and see what's going on! Maybe I'll see you there!

Have a great weekend, and a fabulous Fourth of July!!

Monday...

2010-07-01T06:41:00.001-07:00

...we took our boat out to Canyon Lake. It's only the second time we've had it out, and the first time since my husband had his double by-pass surgery in April. We're still on a little bit of a learning curve when it comes to getting the thing on and off the trailer. But we actually did pretty well! It was nice to get on the water and fish a bit. Here are a few pics...

Our daughter had a GREAT time! It's the first time she's been out on the new boat!!

Tuesday...

...we took the boat out again. We had such fun on Monday we decided we better take advantage of the fact my hubby was off work and go to the lake again! This time I got some pics of the birds we saw...

These little ducklings were not bothered by us at all...
This guy flew in and landed in the cove where we were fishing...
And here's another one...
I guess I need to keep my camera handy while we're fishing. There's always an interesting bird hanging around somewhere.

Saturday...

2010-07-01T06:32:00.000-07:00

...was my daughters last day of riding lessons. At least for a little while. We usually take a break during the hottest part of the summer anyway. But the reason we stopped this past weekend is because her instructor is moving to LA. So, she will be on hiatus until we find another alternative. She was pretty bummed about this, but at least Rick rode with her on Saturday. That always makes her happy!!

We will miss you Rick. And Shadow, too, of course!!

June Design Team Project

2010-06-17T13:28:00.000-07:00

I finally got a chance to get on my computer and I see that it's been a really, really long time since I posted anything new. The biggest reason for that is because we were out of town. But now we're home, and I have spent my time doing laundry, sorting mail and paying bills, feeding my sick little kitty, working on this DT project.... and just vegging out! We had a really great time on our vacation, but came home very tired. Every day we were gone was so busy.

Anyway, that all being said, here's what I came up with for my project this month. You may recall that each DT member received paper bags to make a "paper bag book". I always have a fun time with these and I had a lot of cool ideas before we left for our trip. Unfortunately, once we got home I was in a funk and couldn't remember a single idea I originally had. Oh well. I like the way it turned out despite all that!!

The patterned paper and coordinating cardstock stickers are from Pink Paisley's Made in the USA line. I used Pumice Stone Distress Ink, a white Sharpie Paint Pen, my Dymo labeler, grungeboard and ribbon, and some metal page edges from 7 Gypsies (LOVE 'EM!!). If you are in the area stop by Mystic Paper and take a look IRL. Most of the products I used for this project are available there as well. Also, hop on over to Holly and Jenna's blogs to see their June projects.

Have a great day!!

Mystic Paper Design Team Kit - June 2010

2010-05-30T11:58:00.000-07:00

Another month, another design team project for Mystic Paper. Geez, I love this job!! This month we were all assigned to create a paper bag book. Each kit contained 5 paper bags (think lunch bags...), several pieces of coordinating patterned paper (all with patriotic themes), a few chipboard pieces and some ribbon. This is what mine looks like.....

The paper is by Pink Paisley, and it's all double sided. Here's the other side.....

I've made a number of paper bag books in the past so I know the drill. However, I think I'll try to find a way to change this one up a bit. Check back in a few weeks and I'll show you the finished project. Also, stop by Holly and Jenna's blogs. They'll give you a little peak of their kits soon.

Now I'm off to chill by the pool with my girl. Have a great weekend!!

Crafty Creations

2010-05-27T11:12:00.000-07:00

In my free time (*yeah, right!*) I've managed to assemble a couple graduation gifts for friends and family. Here is one of the comp journals I altered, with a matching card.... I will add a gift card that will be greatly appreciated as well.

I've been playing with my new Tim Holtz stamps (which you can find locally at Mystic Paper). Lovin' the new quotes. Here's a birthday card I made....

Here's another pic, but darker. Can't seem to find a happy medium between too light and too dark. Don't really have time to mess around trying to fine tune the pic right now.

Have a great weekend!!

Kitty Updates

2010-05-27T10:49:00.000-07:00

Very busy again, but only one sick cat right now. I'll start with a few pics of Lexi, lounging on the window sill. Well, partially on the window sill, and partially hanging over on top of some of my craft supplies..... Lexi has fully recovered from her high fever a few weeks ago.

Here's a picture of Pippi in one of her favorite lounging spots. She loves to straddle the top of the chair. You can see she's turning into a bit of a chunk!!

Maxwell is just the biggest, mellowest love boy you'd ever meet. He hasn't been sick at all. In fact, he's sticking pretty close to his sister who is the sick one.

Last, but definitely not least, is my Little Black Scrap Cat - Tinkerbell. Tink had the unfortunate pleasure of having an ultrasound done last week. Everything looked fine. No growths, no signs of cancer or tumors. Organs were all sized right. So we were able to rule out quite a few things that may be causing her to lose so much weight. However, shortly thereafter she "crashed" - she just seemed to lose it somehow. Had a very lost look on her face and got very weak. That earned her a trip to the emergency clinic where they did more blood work. Seems her liver readings had gone wacko since the previous test done a week before. Diagnosis is hepatic lipidosis, or fatty liver, caused by rapid weight loss. Our options were presented to us and we chose to go with a feeding tube. According to research and current data she should have a complete recovery as long as we can get her back to a place where she will eat on her own. So, that's what we are working on.

She may not look very happy, but she's actually considerably improved now that she's "eating". We'll just have to wait and see what happens. Time is on our side here. Tink is only 11 years old, so she should be with me for another 8-9 years or so, assuming we get her to eat on her own.

On that note, I think I'll go sit down and make a lap. That's her favorite place to be right now!!

Have a great Memorial Day weekend!!

A Kitty Tail.....

2010-05-19T15:27:00.000-07:00

Lately we have been having a bit of a problem with sick kitties. These are the two in question....

Here they are recovering (we hope) and watching a little "kitty TV".... aka life outside the window. We have a bunch of little birds that love the bushes out there, so they provide hours of entertainment. This is in the early morning, before our temps hit the high 90's.

Lexi is out lovey little biscuit maker. She just loves to get up on your neck and give you a little hug while she kneads away at her biscuits. Thankfully she let me cut her claws so it's not too painful! This little girl was sick for a couple days, running a fever of 105 degrees, which earned her a trip to the emergency animal clinic on Saturday. There they did some blood work and checked her out really well. They didn't find anything except her white blood count was at 1000. Normal is anywhere between 5000 and 19,000 so they were pretty concerned. They gave her 200 cc's of subcutaneous fluids and 94,000 units of antibiotics. They also gave us some oral antibiotics and sent us home to watch and wait. By Sunday AM she was improved. By Monday she was looking pretty fine and was eating. We took her to our vet for a re-check and were given a clear bill of health. And a bill. Thankfully this bill was only $30. The emergency clinic gave us a bill for $501. Today she's back to normal and chasing her big brother around the house to play.

This is Tinkerbell. She's my eleven year old who is lovingly referred to as my little bowling ball. However, I have to stop calling her that now because she is anything but rotund. She has stopped eating for some unbeknownst reason. Well, maybe we do know something..... She is less than thrilled about her two new siblings. And Tink is my little stress monster. She will bolt from the doorbell, the telephone, anyone coming into the house, and just about any noise. Anyway, she's been to the vet and had her bloodwork done as well. Nothing. There is no apparent reason for her to have lost so much weight. They sent us home with oral antibiotics (and a bill for $207.) Yesterday I convince the vet to give her an mega dose of injectible antibiotics so we can stop torturing her twice a day to get the orals into her. If she is just seriously stressed out, that's not helping. So far I still have not seen her eat and I've enticed her with many things. She has taken some water, but that's all I've seen. So answer me this.... would/could a cat actually starve themselves to death, or would they have the instinct to eat just enough to survive?? She doesn't look too stressed out as she sits here next to Lexi in the window.....

Enter my eleven year old love boy, Maxwell. He's not sick. He's just here because everyone else seems to be here. This is his window after all. And there's a lot going on out there. Max and Lexi are quite the pair. They spend a lot of time wrestling and chasing around the house. At least when Lexi is feeling up to it.

You'll notice that now Pippi has come in to see what's going on. Pippi is.... well, Pippi. Remember Pippi Longstocking? She was always getting into something. She had a lot of adventures and a lot of stories to tell. Our little Pippi does too. Just ask her. She talks A LOT. You may remember from past posts that she was the one who was sooooo sick after coming home with us from the Humane Society. She's the lucky one now because she's not sick. Well, Pippi is always getting into everyone's business. She wants to know what's going on, all the time. Shortly after she arrived Tink decided it was time to head out. At this point, four is a crowd. But that's okay. The day was warming up and it was time to close that window anyway. Lexi went back to sleep. Max wandered into the kitchen to get something to eat. Tink went into hiding for the day. And Pippi, well she spent many hours going from window to window to see what was going on. Until she finally settled down for a nap. Life is never boring with four cats in the house!!

I did make one adjustment to our household over the weekend. I added a product called Feliway, or Comfort Zone. It's a plug in unit (think air freshener) that releases synthetic feline pheromones into the air. It's supposed to soothe stressed kitties, and stop them from spraying or scratching if you have that problem - we don't. It says that you should see results from about 2-4 weeks. We'll see if that makes a difference for Tink. Maybe it will even calm down Pippi. I hope so. The blasted thing cost $50 and needs a $30 refill in 4 weeks. Wish us luck!!

Have a great week!!

May Design Team Project - Completed

2010-05-11T09:20:00.000-07:00

If you scroll down to my previous posts you will see the lovely Graphic 45 paper that I got in my May kit from Mystic Paper. As soon as I came home from the store I started working on my page. Even had to go back to Mystic to take pictures of my papers because I cut into them before I took my pics!! And if that wasn't bad enough, when I downloaded the pictures I cleared my camera...... only to discover that my pictures were nowhere to be found on my computer. I had to go back to Mystic to take pictures a second time!! Big bummer was the waste of gas and time. The perk was that I got to spend more time at Mystic and see some of the new product that has been poring in almost daily. If you haven't been to Mystic Paper recently, stop by and see all the gorgeous new stuff!!

Now down to business.... The assignment this month was a 12X12 layout, plus one card. Here's what I came up with for my layout....

I used a paisley rubber stamp and a VersaMark pad to create the watermark background on the cardstock.

I used some grungeboard letters that I had leftover from my March project and added some Prima flowers. If you click on the pic it should get bigger so you can see the dimension better.

Here in one of the cards I put together. Nothing too fancy, totally doable by anyone using the border sheet from Graphic 45.....

I like the simple design. It's masculine, and not too frilly. I really like that the top strip is an advertisement for suits and hats. The second strip is a pin-striped cuff with the buttons. The third strip just screams "necktie" to me! And of course, the final strip is the shoes. Now you have a fully dressed "proper gentleman"!!

I made a second card as well.....

Another simple, masculine card for dad. Again I used the leftover grungeboard (there are a TON of pieces in those packages and they're available at Mystic Paper!!) and I added some gorgeous green ribbon from the ribbon wall at..... you guessed it - Mystic Paper!!

I got a little carried away by the deep rich colors of the Graphic 45 papers. So I made another project, just for fun. I created a little coupon book for my hubby for Father's Day. The same idea would work for coupons from a child. You'll just want to change what the coupons are redeemable for!

Gotta love that grungeboard!!! And the new metal corners by 7 Gypsies that are sold open-stock at Mystic Paper!!

All of these products are available at Mystic Paper. And who can't love that Graphic 45 paper?? And grungeboard?? Oh yeah!! Hope you all enjoy my designs. Now I'm off to take them down to the store! Hop on over to Jenna and Holly's blogs. They will be posting their May projects soon!

Have a great week!

Mother's Day Delivery

2010-05-11T09:16:00.000-07:00

Once again I was blessed with a beautiful bouquet for Mother's Day. Our wonderful daughter-in-law is a florist in San Diego and always sends me the nicest flowers from her, our son and our three grandsons! Thanks, you guys!!! Love ya!!

Hope you all had a Happy Mother's Day!!

Little Black Scrap Cat

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!

For The Birds.....

Halloween Project

Good Morning!!!!!!!

Rogue Thundercloud

Mystic Paper Design Team Project

Rescue Kitty

Rescue Kitty - Update Pics

Kitten Update - Pictures!!

Something has been keeping us busy.......

Mystic Paper Design Team Kit - August

First Day!!!

I'm BAAAAAAAAAACCCCKKKK!!!

Mystic Paper Design Team Project - Completed

Mystic Paper Design Team Kits

Billy - An Arabian Bay Gelding

Sunshine, Oh Sunshine......

Silver Strand Beach - Coronado Island, CA

Vintage Jars

Mystic Paper Design Team - May Project

Feline Entertainment....

Mystic Paper Design Team Kit

Driftwood Horse Sculptures

Hiding......

Mystic Paper Design Team Kit & Projects

Another 7Gypsies Tissue Paper Project

New 7Gypsies Tissue Paper

Cards

Big Cat, Small Box

February Design Team Project - Complete

Handsome Palomino

Kitty Love

Mystic Paper Design Team Kit - February

Final January Design Team Project

Another Design Team Project

January Design Team Project - Completed

Horsing Around with a New Friend

Recovering

January Design Team Kit

Back in the Saddle.....

The Jar is Full.....

Favorite Treasures - #2 & #3

Favorite Treasures - #1

Flashback

Mystic Paper Design Team - November Project

Festival of Horses

Mystic Paper Design Team Kit - November

Pumpkin Heads

Halloween Fun

Saturday Morning - Heading Home

Friday - Our Final Sunset

Friday - Sunrise

Friday - Sea Urchins

Thursday Sunset

Thursday Afternoon - Water Fun

Thursday Morning - Bring on the SHELLS!!!

Wednesday - "Ding" Darling

Tueday Adventures

Monday Sunset....

Missing In Action....

Design Team Update

What the Hail??!!

Cats In Boxes

Catching up.....

Pack Cat

Life's a Beach!!

Vacation Book

More Cat Play

Silly Little (Big) Cat

August Design Team Project - Part Three

August Design Team Project - Part Two

August Design Team Project - Part One

I'm a Winner!!

Phantom Cat

Little Helper

Mystic Paper Design Team Kit - August

**TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES**

Take Me To The Mountains.....

Mystic Paper July Project Completed

TECHNICAL DIFFICULTIES