Memorial Day 2010

I call this card the front door. Used this screen door stamp from B Line which I love and created this double flip card. The saying on the inside of the door is from Dark Room Door. The cat behind the door is from Cornish Heritage Farm, the wreath from B Line and the window frames from Green Pepper Press. The siding stamp is lines from Stampington.

Today is the last day of May-already. Yesterday I say I sign for native strawberries- already. Tomorrow is June, the countdown to school getting out for summer break. Katie has her first day of work at the lake today. This is the weekend that starts summer. So its here- more or less-summer!

Today is my down day...finishing Avitar since I fell asleep....going to take it easy today and relax! Looking forward to that!

Sunday Update

So here's I card I made last weekend for my intern's graduation from Grad school (she's a wine maker) so this card is great for her. I love how my coloring on the grape scene worked out. And to change it up, I bought the wine clear set from Hero Arts and stamped the small grape leaf all over the background and stamped the wine bottle and glass.

Spent my day driving my Mom home to Massachusetts. We stopped in Nashua at Costco and Trader Joe's on our way down, then got to her house, had lunch, chatted a bit more and then I drove back home. Took most of my whole day but I was glad to spend the day with Mom and was glad she could come up for Katie's graduation yesterday.

Tonight we've rented Avitar and I'm finally going to watch it. Wow, this computer has sooo much pollen on it that blew in today when I left the windows open. We kept the house quiet today so Katie could sleep after being out all last night at the school's grad night (and she had a blast by the way-bowling, playing mini-golf and doing all kind of FUN things. Dave went up to his mom's house so he could rebuild parts of his mom's dock, and he just got home a while ago...thankfully tomorrow's the holida and I have a quiet day at home!!! Not sure what I'll do but that's ok if I do nothing! 3 weeks of kids left at school 14 1/2 days after that, and then a couple of teacher work days...the end is now really in sight-for me at least.

So Proud

Just a few untouched shots from the graduation of my baby this morning! I'm sooooo PROUD of her.

And here's her proud Grandmothers and her proud Dad too! (We got there really early to get seats and that's when I took this photo)

Long Weekend and Graduation

What a face!

The long weekend has begun and graduation is in the morning. So exciting. My Mom arrives sometime tonight, I need to wait for a call from my brother and we'll meet so I can get her. I've done a bit of quick picking up and the house looks ok, somewhat presentable, but enough. My mother will find dault no matter what- even if its perfectly clean she'll tell me I work too hard.
Here's a couple of funny pictures of where I came home and found Norm the gnome the other day.

I guess he liked my buddha (as we call it) stove.

Cooler- hopefully

This is a fun card I made using stamps from the baseball sheet by Artistic Outpost-

http://www.artisticoutpost.com/

And this card uses Judi-kins (the tree) and B-Line (the truck). Both of these cards have a masculine theme.

They're saying cooling- in the 70's instead of near 100 like it was yesterday. But when the wind kicked in last night-oh it felt great. And it looks like Saturday will be good!!!!! That's great since we're still in graduation countdown mode, and tonight we have a scholarship banquet...at the Bedford Inn. Can't wait just to eat there since its one of those places I always wanted to go to.
I will say I got my spare room/studio cleaned up yesterday so my mom can sleep in there tomorrow...just need to vac it...now I can find things in there- its surprising how quickly an art space can get to be so messy when you're busy...and I managed while cleaning to make a few more cards. I love when I'm feeling so creative and I can actually be creative.

90 degrees again they say

Its going to be another hot one today...and with everything so much further ahead than usual for late May (lilacs have come and gone and they should be blooming just about now) it really feels like July and summer vacation.  Although its almost Memorial Day weekend it isn't here yet! Seems more liek the 4th of July. I took these garden photos the other day and the lupines are in full bloom now...love my lupines, as are all my bearded iris.

Here's a whimsical and silly card I made last week (this week so far its been too hot when I get home from work to go into my studio, plus I'm beat from the heat and unmotivated kids...yesterday at work they made us close the windows to put on the ac but it didn't cool down until the end of the day). It cools down up in my corner by evening but then I'm dragging...still. I've been wanting to draw mroe lately though so last night I took out a little sketch book I bought and made some drawings while watching Star Trek the Next generation (old reruns) on tv, which I must say I really enjoyed. (Both the show and my drawing!)

And here's another summery card- with a beach theme that went off to my Mom back for Mother's Day. This one is so much more feminine and delicate than the house.

Graduation countdown: 4 days!

And my latest read- well I haven't started it but plan on doing that today. Not quite done with Drood, and I'm enjoying it, but its a long book and I need a change of pace because I feel like I'll never finish that book and never get to read anything else. Summer's coming soon and I'll be in serious book mode then.

Another Hot One Ahead

Just like the peak of summer- another 90 degree day. A good day for a bike trip as the card above shows. This card uses Artstic Outpost rubber stamps, and although simple in the card catagory, its a great card for the biking guy or gal in your life. Check out their stamps at: http://www.artisticoutpost.com/

A good day for summer blooms and bees buzzing about the photos below.

A good day for the beach- which Katie is doing, and not so good a day to sit in a hot classroom which I have to do. (But I'm taking a day tomorrow for the dentist and to get my house ready for mom's visit this weekend)

Lets hope the weather stays sunny for Saturday's graduation but not so hot I hope- they are saying it'll be in the 70's which would be perfect.

By the way, did you see the new summer Hero Arts stamps. Some real cute ones I think, oh which to pre-order? (And no, I don't need them all...but there's this one with a smiling egg in a frying pan and there's a fun background with lots of buildings...a few others too!)

The Heat Has Arrived

It is HOT today- like 90. Tomorrow too. It was not comfortable in my classroom today, never mind trying to teach. The seniors have senioritis and everyone else was just plain not motivated. But to tell you the truth, neither was I.

I'm going out on the screen porch with a big glass of ice tea and the latest Take Ten magazine.

OK, today's card- think I need to restamp the USA circle and put a new center to it that says USA but doesn't show the corner of the big stamp-stamps by Artistic Outpost and Hampton Art Stamps.

Sun is coming out

It was cloudy this morning so I slept in until 9. Oh got to love it. We have Katie's bacalauriate (did I spell that even close?) smack dab in the middle of the afternoon today, but I only a few things on my agenda...like take a few plants out of the back of my car and change my bed sheets. OOOO! I am one exciting gal, aren't I? And then we're off on a VERY busy week ahead with dentist appointments, scholarship dinner of Thursday, graduation on Saturday...I can't believe this is my little girl's last week of high school!!!!!
So today's card is made with another stamp I bought a couple weeks ago from Cornish Heritage Farms. Another picture stamp that I love, though I'm still figuring out how to use it in various card designs, but I'm happy with this one. I used a studio 490 stamp for the background which I stamped several times so its not clear and the postcard stamp is from River City Rubber- I love using postage and postmarks and that kind of thing...kind of a trade mark in a way for me.

Slightly Different Viewpoints

I bought this peacock stamp a couple of weeks ago from Cornish Heritage Farms and I love it. Its kind of tough for me to work with because its not usual style- I'm more an individual stamper rather than a whole design- and the background I chose tend to be more basic and plain, but this is soooo pretty. I made the top card first and went for a partial peacock background.  The bottom one is a slightly different set up, more peacocks obviously as you can see. The word frames are from a Prima clear set I bought a couple of months ago too. I think both of these cards came out really well and are very different than my usual style.

So last night we had Katie's senior banquet which was really nice. We ate in the gym of her school which was all decorated and they had lots of round tables with tableclothes and vases out. Buffet dinner- either roast beef, chicken or pasta. Then we went into the auditorium to see their senior movie and have a few other items brought up. I'm glad parents could go as it was really nice to be a part of it and to feel like you're going to graduate too.

And that's only 1 week away.

I will say the "Oh my baby is growing up" symdrome hit me last night. She was just a little girl getting ready for kindergarten. Oh my.

Today I want to organize my screen porch and relax a bit. Tonight my intern is having her graduation party as UNH graduates today and she's getting her masters. I'll stop by for a while as I won't know anyone but then I'm going to go to Lowe's or Home Depot and see if I can find any annuals to put into my deck pots.

Love Saturdays- got a great walk this morning too.

Busy Day Ahead

Its going to be beautiful but I have a busy day ahead- in fact a lot of busy days ahead. Today is bookclub in the evening. Tomorrow is Katie's senior banquet. Saturday is my intern's graduation party in the evening. Sunday Katie has another school graduation event. Kate found out last night she won a state wide scholarship from the NH Society Of Civil Engineers and next Thursday she gets to go to the award ceremony to get it. I think we get to go too-and I hope as its at the Bedford Inn and I've always wanted to eat there. I'm guessing I'll find out today if we get to go- and I hope we do even if we don't get to eat just to see her accept her award. She is thrilled and so are we!
Today's card is made with a B Line background stamp. Then I used one of my new Hero Arts stamps which I stamped 3 times and then cut out the center parts. I stamped in brown but highlighted in the pink, and then I free hand doodled the card edge in pink. Think its quite elegrant.

more cards

They're very different except that they're both fairly simple in design. I love the Andy Warhol cat stamp by Cherry Pie- I've used this stamp a lot. And I love these scenery stamps I recently bought as you can see they've shown up a lot in my card making. Have lots more cards to show on another day...maybe one as sunny as this card and not as dark and rainy as it is here today.

Clouds and allergies

The pollen count is horrible this morning- my eyes and so itchy and puffy and tearing...ugh. Today they say clouds and cool today and rain coming later...oh well, that's a typical day in May-sun and pollen or clouds and pollen. I live in an oak forest and I have terrible oak allergies. Nothing seems to help. What I really want to do is stay home and play in my studio- I have been on a creative roll making lots of cards. I feel so creative lately...I could spent a 10 hours day and  accomplish a lot. I go to work instead, and dealing with kids who are so READY for summer, and I'm so READY for summer, just dragging and not feeling very creative or ambitous in my classwork. Yet, dealing with the kids is a lot of fun...and for a job outside of the home its a great job...especially (ha-ha) since summer is coming up in another month.

Here's another recent card using B-Line stamps for the chair and bird-the background dots are Cornish Heritage Farms and I've punched the grass, leaves and flowers- the rest are just free hand. Got to say I've been become a punch fanatic- love them!

Gnomes are Multiplying

So this evening another gnome appeared out of the blue in one of my gardens. I looked out and there were 2 gnomes...not one. Got Katie all excited too, she even needed to call her boyfriend and fill him in as he enjoys seeing where the gnomes show up. Dave informed me this new gnome is named Cliff. I'm not sure about that name, but when I look at him he looks like a Cliff. So now Norm has a new friend, or clan member as Dave says.

A little Monday Art

Not much today but a card I made last week. I call it poppies in the field.

Bragging

With Lake Winnepekaukee in the backround.

On the Mount! Below here is the Mount Washington.

HA! HA! The beauties with Norm the Gnome

 at our house before they left!

And during the Grand March.

I love how they do this down by the lake and as a parent I felt like I get to go to Prom too-just not on the boat but having a couple hours before hand and getting to chat with lots of people/parents I know-was a lot of fun!

Prom Day

Today is Prom Day and tonight we go down to Wolfeboro to watch the kids board the Mount Washington to cruise around the lake for their Prom. I think its  a very cool way to boogie the night away, that's the beauty of going to school on Lake Winnnepesaukee. This morning we need to run out and pick up a boutonaire (did I even closely spell that correctly?), look at sewing machines for a graduation gift and run to Target for a few items like nail polish to get ready this afternoon.

So I came home yesterday and had the house to myself for a few hours so I made a bunch of cards. Here's one, and I still think it needs something, but not sure what since I don't want to over do it.

YAWN

I'm beat, but its Friday!!!!!!!!! Had Katie's award ceremony at school last night- my baby got 2 awards!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! (A NH Scholar and for her astronomy class). I liked how her school didn't hand out too many awards...like just the TOP student in each area. She was thrilled to get her astronomy award from one of her Favorite teachers! Not sure how they decide who will be a NH SCholar, but she got a cool medal and a great letter for being an excellent academic student...which she is! And her boyfriend got a great award for his health services program- he was sooo thrilled too.

And for the days bit of art:

So maybe this card needs a gold line or some type of line to border the leaf part, but I like this card a lot. The butterfly really pops. It really feels like your looking at a butterfly on some leaves in the quiet of nature. Do you agree?

Enjoying a little quiet

Right now I am home alone after a busy day at work...(well alone except for Leo and Harley my feline and canine boys...&and they're not being demanding right now, for a switch.)..I must say it is so nice to have the house to myself, no tv going, no fighting for computer time...its kind of gray and a nap is sounding fantastic...or maybe some studio time which sounds fantastic too...or lets be totally undecided and say that reading my book sounds great too. I keep reminding myself that there will be lots of afternoons like this next year when Kate's off to college- but you know, at this time of day, I'm not feeling the most social or chatty, more like recharge my brain time. And thinking the book is sounding really really good...(of course just now, the phones rings and my soul screams NO! STOP! Don't you know I've put on my sweats and am in recharge mode after a day full of teenagers!) So, no more answering the phone, and  like the theme of this card,  a little peace and quiet and most probably book reading inspire joy in me right now. 

Sew cool!

So here's a couple more of Sunday's cards- these have a sewing theme. The top card is a new Hero Arts stamp and the bottom one is a combo of Hero Arts, Cornish Heritage Farms and also Studio 490.  Fun! I love doing the homespun and old fashioned style...farmy, homey...country girlish...I'm not exactly a chic kind of person and I love the country...

So today Katie put her UNH sticker on her car...and she took her last AP test (AP Chem, good for her), and had her gold scholar luncheon at school. Its really starting to be countdown to graduation mode for her right now. Graduation is the 29th of the month. And me, I have almost another month of school after that. Feels like I should be getting out now...I have as much motivation as the kids, and that's pretty sad. I will make it through however, just seems like for a year with so few snowdays-only 2- we get out awfully late. I know its the fact that Labor day was so late last year and the fact we teacher's have to go 2 days after the kids...I can see how productive that's going to be. Maybe June won't be so fantastic weatherwise and I won't be inside wishing I was on vacation. And Labor day isn't that much earlier so it'll still be a long summer...

Knowing summer is coming (at some point) and graduation is looming makes this a very exciting time of year.

We named the gnome!!!!

The roaming gnome- he moved 3 times today-(even I came home and found him in a different place than when I left for work today) is now named Norm. Norm the gnome! Good idea Dave!

Socks and shoes

And a jacket and long pants, we're back into some deep freeze- well, not literally a deep freeze but chilly chilly temperatures for May. I've been cold all day, and tonight its suppose to be down in the 20's. Good thing I didn't buy my annuals yet.

 

Now the scene on this card, which I also love, looks very warm to me. I must say, its easy to get used to warmth, harder to get used to this cool. But at least its green and blue skies today. It could be France but the olives make me think of Italy. I love Italy too! Can you tell I have a major travel bug- still?

Happy Mother's Day!

And its been a fantastic one for me. I spent many hours in the studio making cards and playing and having a blast. Now I'm making potato, onion and bacon soup, its soooooo cold out today and windy I doesn't feel anything like May. Or at least nothing like we've had for weather recently, so soup and fresh bread is supper tonight. Yummy.

So this cute little gnome is my mother's day gift. I'd seen them at Costco with Katie and she wouldn't let me buy one, even though she liked my idea about putting one in the yard and moving him around- a roaming gnome. So I mentioned it to Dave and he laughed too. Little did I know that they had already bought me a gnome for Mother's day. So now I have my roaming gnome and get to move him around my yard, which will be fun. It kind of goes back to my love for the movie Amelie- which has a traveling gnome, and Travelocity- which advertises with a travelling gnome, and me, with travel addiction, well it fits, doesn't it?

And just to add some art back to this blog, here's one of the many cards I made today. I bought these Stampendous stamps yesterday at Absolutely Everything, which dave let me make a quick (only 30 minutes) stop at on our travels. Of course I let him go to West Marine (only 30 minutes too) and we did go to the Kittery Trading Post and got me my fishing pole for the boat. When I catch the BIG fish, I can show you. Back to the stamps, I love this series, and this one which is full of blooming lavender fields, reminds me of southern France, not that there were any blooming lavender fields in February, but I can DREAM about it, and I did find a postcard that showed how great that looks. Oh one day I'll go back and get to see the lavender in bloom. I hope.

More cards coming this week.

Hope you Mother's Day is wonderful too, and tell your mother you love her!

Rainy Saturday

Its  raining, its pouring, the old man is snoring...I was until 9. A great morning to sleep in, which I did. I did wake up for a awhile, which I always do since I'm used to getting up for work, and read some more of Drood, which so far I am really enjoying. Its not a hard read, but it is 700 pages. Just wish it was a bit shorter, but maybe I won't once I get more into it. (And only shorter because it slows down on the number of books I read when I get tied up with 1 book, but if its a really good book...you don't want it to end anyhow...)

So last night I rented this movie which Dave and I watched and after I got into it, I really enjoyed it. I thought the begining could have used a bit clearer introducing...but you catch on fast enough. Was a great Friday night flick- which for me means not too heavy but not dumb or uninteresting enough where you fall asleep.

Anyhow, this weekend is get a few inside items done that I want done...more like getting my family to help me do them and get some things hung on the walls that I need help with, and since its Mother's Day tomorrow and this is Mother's Day weekend I am trying to use that to motive people. I have all this cubbies from Ikea I need hung in the kitchen and some graduation pictures...etc. Plus, Christmas boxes needs to get out of the addition space and put safely back up in the attic. Oh, yeah, it will make me Very happy to get a few things done, though with the rain and dark its hard to get too motivated, which is NOT good.

And that's today. Tomorrow, since its mother's day, I am going to work in my studio all DAY!

A Quick Stop at Michael's

Needed 2 mats so I can finally finish framing Katie's graduation pictures and a pad of watercolor paper for some projects. I also had a print which fell off the wall when I accidently hit it with an empty laundry basket and all the glass broke, and the guy was nice enough (wow- people are nice) to give me a new piece of glass. Free. So I got my paper and the mats 20% off because I get Michael's emails and that was this weeks coupon. This is good!!! Very good!!!!

Also was brousing around and came across this jewelry book which looks fantastic...plus it looks enchanted as the title says. So I bought it...am trying to cut back on my craft book purchases since I love craft books but after awhile the collection gets a BIT large. Anyhow, this one had some really useful info for me. Last night I ran a batch of copper through the kiln and I just need to polish it now...made some great face pendants which I will show you very soon. (Actually, once I unload photos off my camera...)

OK, since this is all about how much fun it is to play, that's what I am going to go do...

au revoir. 

The Lilacs are blooming

They are blooming so early this year-like everything- its only May 5th- Cinquo de May,. usually its like Memorial Day or almost Memorial Day before they're out. Its going to be great for Mother's Day in the garden bloom end  of things though they say this weekend will be wet and cooler so maybe not.

I must say, lilacs are my FAVORITE and they smell DIVINE!