Forget Me Nots

I have missed blogging, but as we are back to work getting ready for the new school year, I find that there are never enough hours in the day. I am glad to be getting ready, but am trying to keep my own family happy as well. The kids are excited to start school again next week! Where did summer go???

This was a card I made playing around with the Bodacious Boquet, and the Embrace Life set. I thought it was fitting since our Alaska State flower is the Forget-Me-Not, and three of my dear friends moved from the Slope this Summer. I know we'll stay good friends, but I miss them, maybe they'll even read this, and know I am thinking about them as they start new chapters in their lives. We all need to Embrace Life when good things come!

Quick Birthday card

This was a really quick birthday card, for a friend of my son's, who is a girl, but doesn't like much "girly" stuff. I think this worked out okay. It was a good excuse to check out my new In Colors, while I was still trying to make heads or tails of my house (haven't been home long from traveling for almost two months!). I used the SU set "It's Your Birthday", don't know what I would do without having to make birthday cards! : ) Every year I say, "I am going to make up some cards ahead of time for those last minute birthdays that pop up." Every year I do, but it seems more crop up than the year before. Guess that's a good excuse to stamp a little bit more!

What do you think?

Back Home

We are back home from a much needed and deserved trip! Time to get back to normal, and good to be back. I jumped back in the first three days to do a Girl Scout day camp when I came in. It was a lot of fun, but I didn't get to rest from the three days of flying it took to get back here in Alaska.

Apparently, while I was gone Stampin' Up added lots of wonderful things! Today in the middle of my DD having a ear ache, mountians of laundry, and runs to the post office, the Fed-Ex man visited me with goodies. I can't wait to get started! I love the new In-Colors, and can't wait until my Big Shot comes in. Stampin' Up has new Big Shot dies made specifically for Stampin' Up. I am excited about this addition to Stampin' Up's line of products.

Recharging Our Batteries

I haven't been scrapping or stamping for a while. We have been traveling and recharging our batteries. My Dad had a stroke in CA, so we are spending family time. He is doing fine now, we are grateful that we were planning a trip out of Alaska anyhow, and that he is alive and doing well. We found a beautiful uncrowded beach at Crystal Cove State Park, and spent time "thawing out" from being up in Barrow. The kids loved the beach using their boogie boards and playing in the sand. I'll be home soon : )

First Spring Solitude

Wow! I have been busy with the kids being out of school - summer reading program, dd learning how to knit, playing at parks, swimming, and spring cleaning, so in the evenings I've been feeling pretty wiped out lately. We are all caught up on our LOST, and are wading through long downloads to watch season 4. I love all the scenery too, the beaches, even the green in the jungle! It's worth watching if you never have yet, and most of the libraries even have the first three seasons to rent.

Anyhow, the retirement list is out on the Stampin' Up website. We can order until Aug. 10th. So double check your wish lists! Let me know if you need anything.

I finally inked up the Hostess set Spring Solitude, and this is my first go round with it. Can you believe at first I wasn't going to get this set, the fact that the wheel came with it is what sold me on it. Now I am glad I got it. I love all the cards I've seen other people doing with this set. I used Tempting Turquoise, and Cameo Coral, with some Stickles in the centers of the flowers. I wanted to see how close I could get to a one-layer card and have it still look okay. I think I did it, now I can play more with layers and textures...and punches! Yahoo. I will play with this some more...'Till next time...

Happy Father's Day Build-a-Brad

Okay, this is similar to one I posted recently, but this time my daughter and I broke out the "build-a-brads" boy was she excited. We used SU set All Holidays, paper and ink colors: Really Rust, Choc. Chip, and textured Wild Wasabi, the crimping tool for the Choc. Chip to add even more texture, and for the designer paper in the build-a-brads we used the East Coast Prep. I sponged some River Rock on the designer paper to take the "brightness" of it down a notch, because the sentiment was stamped on Very Vanilla. It blends well in real life. : ) So, I guess the question would be which one do you like best, the Build-a-Brads or the jumbo eyeletts that look like rivits?

On the Brighter Side...

Okay, this is a "sunnier" post. I was up at 1 am doing that last one, could you tell? So, I am posting two in one day- exciting isn't it?

Well, have you ever had a real, true friend you could be yourself with? You know not the kind that are only friends when it is easy? I've been thinking a lot about friendship lately- I've been blessed with some wonderful people in my life, and then dissapointed too, at times. I guess that's what makes us treasure our real friends so much! One of my best friends, I've known since the first day of our freshman year of HS. We've been through boyfriends, husbands, pregancies, (moves to the ends of the Earth-on my part), and various career choices...like the time I went into the Air Force. (It was really a great experience, I'd do over - especially if I was 21 again!) One of our latest, best memories was making snacks, loading up all the kids with sleeping bags, and driving out to see a 'drive in movie', (those are hard to find). We had so much fun. Friends, I think, are one of the ways God takes care of us, and what a joy friendship can be! My DH surprised me and said we are going to be able to visit her this summer. I am really looking forward to it! : )

Card recipe: SU So Saffron base, Cameo Coral, and Choc. Chip for layers, SU Stitched background stamped using More Mustard, and embossed. The flower is a stamp called Gerbera Daisy that I picked up at Memory Trails last summer. I "rocked" it in the Purely Pomegranite to give it a "boost" on the edges. I used stickles in the middle, and the butterfly from Kind Thoughts, was stamped in Pumpkin Pie, and edged in Purely Pomegranite ink, and the Cameo Coral was paper pierced on top and bottom strip. The sentiment is from Fundamenal Phrases, and wide grossgrain ribbon was added to finish it.

Thinking of you on Father's Day

We finally are waiting anxiously for the second season of LOST... I know we are a bit behind! We ordered it, and to be quite honest I couldn't wait. I cheated and used my available resources, I just had to look it up online and get caught up! LOVE pod casts! Naughty huh? I am oh, so looking forward to the next season. However, I will enjoy watching all the episodes throughly in between (at least once) Misty will laugh. She knows at least once : ) It's a good time to catch up with a series this time of year, since I have nothing but time on my hands. We will be all caught up before the next season starts, it's a good goal!

We are home longer than usual in the summer time, therefore affording me time to play with my stamps too... not much else to do here...it's June and not even 40 degrees out! In fact it snowed just the other day...Our kids have been out of school almost four weeks and every day asking me, "When is summer?" I don't have the heart to tell them this year... it will eventually come...in a while. A long while yet, every year we've been here it's different. Until then enjoy not having to be walking out in the -30 degree weather before 7:30 every morning! I can't wait for nice weather or at least sunshine myself! We've been doing bike rides, coats, cold, and wet mud. Not the best combination! Yes, my children will actually be telling the truth when they tell people,"I walked to school in blizzard conditions both ways"-just to get an education. I have had only good things to say about the school district and the education my kids have had here. They have both been blessed with talented and caring teachers over the last five years. The school callendar seems to be the pulse of the community in a way- it is sooo quiet here now that school is over. A huge portion of the community leaves for the whole summer. We have the tourist traffic, afterall, Who wouldn't want to go to the Top of the World?... but the main roads are quiet most of the time. Every year a lot of dear people leave the North Slope too, and it's a sad time for those who are left behind missing them.

I've decided green is my favorite color... we have none of it for 10 months, and none yet this year. Maybe that's why I make so many cards with various shades of green, (It's like eye candy) or maybe I should make more! God bless growing things and bright colors! Can't wait to see trees again!

I think this card speaks for itself. I used the Thinking of You on Father's Day set, Certianly Celery, Sarah Sand, and Choc. Chip. I used the corner punch to create the "frame" for the sentiment, and watercolor crayons for the picture. I sponged all edges with Chocolate Chip ink to create a distressed look, and brads and wide gross grain ribbon to complete this card. Hope you like it.

Father's Day card 1

For this card, I used the All Holidays SU set, it has some great sentiments to add to your projects. It covers most holidays. On this card I also used the crop-a-dile and the jumbo brads, and retired background stamp called Simply Stripes, and the spiral punch for dimension, along with my embossing folder from Cuttlebug. Colors are Really Rust, Very Vanilla, Wild Wasabi, and Chocolate Chip. Isn't June great? Lots of opportunities to send out pretty cards!

This one was really difficult to photograph for some reason...probably user error! : )

Fresh Cut Stamp Set Promotion

Stampin' Up has a new promotion for June. You are able to order a new set called Fresh Cut before the new catalog comes out. If you purchase this set for $21.95 you may also get the corresponding Fresh Cut Notes which are die cut for only $5.oo. Let me know if you would like to take advantage of this promotion June 1-30th. And as always, "Happy Stampin".