Watercolor Trio thanks

Well, this was a fun card to make. It has a lot of white, but lots of texture and layers! Of course, I used the Watercolor Trio from the Mini catalog. I just love the space saving that comes from the clear mount system.

I used, Old Olive, and Rose Red stamped off to create softer and bolder images.

Hope you are stamping too, after enjoying long summer days!

The Dog Days of Summer

After a hard day of hiking, playing and helping us geocache... our favorite fur baby is kickin' back. Last night I loaded up my nephews and my kids, husband, and Cooper and we walked along the River Walk, it was all lit on either side of the trail, and there was live music as we walked. We saw the sun go down over the falls and it was still warm with very little bugs. We got to see Saturn in a telescope at the end of the walk. I just love summer! We are headed off to swim today. It's hot already at 8am almost 80...I love to read in between getting cooled off. I am reading the Charlaine Harris series. So much better than the HBO series. However, it has it's points too. I have some stampin' to share with you tomorrow, so come back and visit again! I'd love to hear what you are reading/doing this summer!

School years envelope scrapbook

This is one of the huge undertakings I have been working on. When I first do something new, I always learn a lot and the next goes so much smoother! I am pleased with how this turned out. As I add pictures it will get more full. Each envelope is 9 x 11 1/2 . I covered chip board for the covers and scored them to get that edge you see in the front. I used my crop-a-dile to punch holes and a large piece of Choc. Chip grosgrain ribbon to bind it all together. The binding is not super tight because it will expand as things are added to the page fronts, and report cards, keepsakes and awards are placed in the envelope pockets. This one is for my son, and the next one is for my daughter. Hope you like it!

Summer vacation

There's nothing quite like summer vacation! I love being able to be with my kids and focus on just being with them! We got a fire pit for our deck and are looking forward to making smores and stargazing around the fire. I just finished another huge project for DS I have to post. However, I have to make one for my DD as well...so stay tuned. I'll take pictures of that tomorrow. I have enjoyed having the time to make it, and I want to get my DD's done before school starts as well.

Hope you are enjoying your summer!

Birthday Butterfly

Another day in Paradise.... the school year is officially over. Classrooms are quiet, and all our attentions are focused on Summer Vacation. Where to go, what to do? Hmmmm and packing on Mother's Day. This year we have our new little dog to take with us. It will be fun to experience, because he really isn't used to grass, or a fenced yard, much less the plane. We had our first run-in with a Vet we didn't like. Or, rather, she didn't seem to like dogs. Hopefully when he needs his shots again there will be a different traveling vet in town. For those of you who don't know, we "migrate"every summer to Montana from Alaska when the school year is over to visit our family, and to see trees, rivers, and warm sunshine again.

I used Pretty in Pink, Mellon Mambo, Whisper White, and Basic Black to make this, and also the "kissing technique" with water color wonder crayons and the aqua painter to make the butterfly. Hope you like it! Once we get internet situated- which we will have to because we have to watch the last of LOST, I'll have more to post.

Birthday Wishes

I think sometimes masculine cards are the hardest for me to make. I reached to a retired set to make this. I also used my gel pens to accent it. I found out at the begining of the week that Brilliant Blue is one of the many blue colors Stampin' Up is retiring in July. I will miss the blues, and look forward to the new colors, and playing with the new combos that can be made. I am glad Stampin' Up gave us some time to plan ahead, instead of waiting until the time was right upon us to announce such a change. I am glad Baja Breeze is coming back. They are going to only have 45 colors in July instead of the 60 or so colors we have now. I will miss the range of purples too. It seems that the new colors are warmer and bolder than before. I wonder if it seems that way to anyone else out there? It was deffinately warmer here in our part of Alaska today. It was 16 degrees above zero with the sun shining and no wind. Our Jack Russell Terrier puppy, loved getting out and about, and it was warm enough that I didn't mind taking him! Most weekends this school year have been stormy and windy... it was quite a blessing to have a nice, pretty day and not be "stuck inside". I did do some other stamping, but I will post that next time, that way you have something to come back for! Happy Stamping!

Rockin' Birthday

Our family had the awful cough go through us, and it is just now that I am able to be caught up enough to start posting again! My son had a birthday for a friend this weekend. Teenagers are harder to make cards for I think. I am totally casing this from another SU demo though. I saw this and it jumped at me and said, "This is the card for your teenage son's birthday!" The technique is called the "bouncing brayer", because you ink up the brayer and "bounce it in a circle" to create the burst effect. I will have to play with it more to "perfect" it.

Stamps: Extreme Guitar, and Starring You, Spiral punch

Paper: Basic Black, Ballet Blue

Ink: Basic Black, Brilliant Blue

Lattice Die Thank You card

I am excited to be back. This is a thank you card I made for a sweet lady who helped out with Brownie Scout day camp over Christmas vacation. I used Real Red, Basic Black, and Brushed Gold paper with the lattice die, and the new small Stampin' up punch and scallop edge punch.

Okay, so January was a bad posting month for me, it was busier than I ever imagined January being. My DD and I got really sick with a bad cough, that zapped my energy, and none of my responsibilities lessened up that's for sure! On a happy note, our sun came back on the 23rd, and now we get a little bit more each day. We still participated in Battle of the Books, which is an Alaska reading incentive and competition, to promote reading at each grade level. My DD's team tied with the grade above 4th, so they had to do a "sudden death elimination" round, and they lost by one answer, after 20 correct tied answers. I think that's pretty good for being a third grader reading 15 books by Jan. -most of them chapter books, and having to memorize titles, authors, and recall details in the books by memory! I love being part of that every year, it is so exciting.

Happy New Year!

You may be wondering what I have been up to...besides blogging. I have been enjoying the Holidays with my family of course! Between Christmas programs, and birthdays, making cupcakes and cookies and teacher gifts...(I really wish I had taken pictures of those) testing and report cards...I got behind on posting. But, I have been stamping, creating a scrapbook from start to finish, and of course soaking up some rest and relaxation time. I love when the kids are home and I get to spend time with them. It seems that quite a bit is spent in the kitchen, maybe they are growing??? but it seems like they are always eating.

I am excited about Celebration or Saleabration what ever you want to call it! Stampin'Up is also adding unmounted stamp sets to it's catalog. For the longest time, locals here have been aware of the weight and space the wooden sets take up, so this is a very nice solution. I am looking forward to trying them myself to see if they are still the same high quality that I expect from Stampin' Up.

These are some examples of what I have been up to...if you have any questions, leave a comment, and I will get back to you! It's funny, I loved making all of these, but none of them were the card I mailed out to our family this year. I will post that one tomorrow.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving! I am very thankful this season for my family, great friends, health and jobs (even if they seem stressful at times). I am thankful for being part of a wonderful church, which took us a while to find one we liked.

I am super thankful to be able to be creative when the mood strikes...and get motivated in that direction. This is one of the many Thanksgiving cards I sent out this year. I used three different sets (sorry). I used the Thankfulness Wheel, inked up in More mustard, then colored by marker to add different colors. The accorn came from the hostess set The More the Merrier, and the leaves making the background are from the set Autum Splendor. I used Dusty Durango, and Choc. Chip, and Close to Cocoa, and Crushed Curry cardstock, along with my scallop punches. It is hard to see, but I used Crystal Effects on the top of the accorn to give it more dimension. Hope you like it! I am grateful too, for my wonderful friends who come and get creative with me!