More Colorful Pages

Here's a page I made because I wanted to show these cool mountain shadows. The picture isn't anything spectacular but I do love the shadows. The other thing I played with on this page was doodling these words and then using some Tim Holtz markers to color them. I then took a wet brush and pulled out some of the color onto the page. Like it.

I purposefully wanted my cloud images to be a bit fuzzy, kind of like shadows are so I used Distress Stains and a stencil.  Because the stain is so wet it doesn't give you a clear image through the stencil, but it was exactly what I wanted on this page.

So after 2 days of rain we are back into the sunshine-and warmth-though it has been very humid the last couple of days. I am excited for sun but I suppose it won't be help to be productive at school.

So last night I started TrueBlood new season (4). Saw one episode. Today I need to pick up Katie after she's done with work at UNH and we plan on coming home and watching several more. Been waiting to see this for almost a year-but then when I finish it I guess I'll have to wait again since I don't get HBO.

So can you believe it is almost JUNE?

Be back another day!

Poppies

Celebrating poppies in all kinds of ways today.

Here's a page I recently made in my Arizona scrap-journal of some wild poppies in the Sonoran Desert of Arizona.

I started this page by stamping with word poppies in orange ink using a Technique Tuesday alphabet set. Then I added a little Technique Tuesday butterfly in brown and some more TT leaves/vines in the same orange as the the words.

A spray of some orange Dylusions spray randomly over the page. I added the photo, some rusty paper scrap from a rick rack (spelling?) Sizzix die. I think the scrap edge words great here and I love not wasting that strip of paper. Then I created the swirl using orange and bronze Viva paint-pens and using a piece of cardboard and a Sizzix die I cut butterfly.

I also made the textured postmark using an embossing folder from Sizzix. Finally, the corners got some green spray just to finish off the page.

Here's a close up. You can see I also stamped this word bloom.

And here's some real poppies at the garden center last Friday. I love them enough I picked up a couple of perennials to plant in my garden so next spring I might get some pretty poppies ablooming.

So last night was stormy after a wet and foggy day- but at least it wasn't so bad having to go to work in that weather. But my poor puppy, he was a wreck with all the thunder rumbles.

Suppose to be a better day today.

Happy Wednesday! 

Colorful Pages

And the weekend is over-what a great weekend it has been. I loved having yesterday off. And such FANTASTIC weather-couldn't ask for anything more. I mean, Saturday was first swim of the year, Sunday was first boating day of the year and Monday was first jet-ski of the year. Felt so much like summer I can'r believe I have to go back to work today.

This week is luckily only 4 days-my last week with seniors-though today is senior skip day so lets see how many actually come to school. And Saturday is the BIG yarn and quilting sale at Keepsakes Quilting in Center Harbor, NH and I LOVE to go there and dig through the assorted items on the porch and tent. 

So here's some journal pages to show you from my Arizona trip.

I love these reproductions of this vintage National Park postcards.

So when you look at this page you need to ignore the shadows of the 3 binder rings on the right.

I used some October Afternoon polka dot paper, some sprayed papered (LOVING those Dylusions spray inks-can't you tell?), and some assorted tape. I also die cut the sun (Sizzix) and the little paper tag on the left side of the postcard. I also embellished with a small piece of stained ribbon trim and a piece of acetate that was stamped with a Postmodern stamp, which I cut out a little piece of that and added it to this page.

This journal is getting LOTS of bright colors-which is new for me. But I am finding it fantastic and it really fits the subject matter. I like to pick colors and backgrounds to fit the topic I am scrap-journaling, so the beach got light breezey colors and Arizona, so far, is getting these fabulous bold colors.

Here's another bright bold page.

There's some stenciling, spray ink, some die cuts and a tag.

I love this ring die cut nesting set from QuicKutz.  

Here's a close up.

Getting my hair done today too-CAN NOT WAIT since it is driving me nuts lately.

Thanks for visiting. I appreciate it.

Love A Monday Holiday

So it is Memorial Day. Summer is really here and so far this first weekend of it has been great. Today I need to do some chores around the house...but I am puttering at it. Staying in this mellow mood.

Three weeks from today I am on official summer break.

Can't wait for that too.

So here's some photos from yesterday.

It was our shakedown cruise, first boating day of season. We even had to rescue some people and tow them to shore-and we had a heating buzzer go off but then it seemed to go away and we were good.

We pass this gorgeous old place along the Piscataqua River-on the Maine side. Not sure if this is a private home, but if not, I bet it was at one time.

Another pretty view.

And here's a happy guy in his boat.

At this point we are pulling out for the day.

Can you make out the dog in this kayak? Love it.

Have a great holiday!

Blogger's Challenge

My entry to Blogger's Challenge is NOT a paper entry-but instead one of a mosaic I made. I made the tiles with polymer clay and stamps, some beads, some small glass tiles and a little bit of gold leaf foil. Add to that a bit of Perfect Pearls and you have this peace.

I learned this technique through a class and by a book by Laurie Mika.

Something different-that is always a good thing.

Yesterday it was summer!

Look, it is me, going for my first swim of the year! It was it a HOT Saturday and Dave and his brother in law Dave put in his mom's dock. You can see all the sparklely's of the sun on the water.

And I did some reading on my newest book on the dock. The water was wonderful! Sitting on the dock was wonderful. I've missed these kinds of moments all during the long autumn and winter months.

Self portrait using my phone.

Here's some of my hubby's family  enjoying the late afternoon on the dock. (Barbara, Dave, Debbie, Sarah and Dave R).

I spent the morning planting annuals and putting a lot of seeds and plants into my veggie garden. It was hot and I came in covered in dirt. Not quite done with my planting yet but it was a fabulous day!

Gardening Day

They're saying hot and humid today-real summery weather. My day's plans include some gardening-bought some annuals yesterday and plan on planting them in pots on my deck today. I have so much gardening to do right now...everything has popped out and is growing out of control. It's a jungle out there-LOL. Probably will go up to my Mother-in-laws later on since she lives on a local lake and maybe even take my first swim of the season today-but we shall see. Think the lake might still be CHILLY. But maybe chilly will feel fantastic!

So I was playing with my phone camera at the garden center yesterday. I LOVED all these pansies. Too bad pansies get so leggy when you plant them in a garden and don't stay so beautiful and thick like this. They are such fun flowers. See what I mean?

I have never seen orange pansies before!

It is pansy mania here today!

And look at the butterfly that was sitting on one of the flowers in one of the greenhouses.

And love the orange in these poppies!

Besides playing in the garden  last night I was on a Dark Shadows marathon binge.I watched 5 episodes and  I must say this show has gotten so good. I am loving it!  It was great having the house to myself most of the evening. I needed that quiet down time after a busy week and some r&r as I suspect this will probably be a fun and busy weekend.

Happy Saturday!

10 Things Friday

So this week I have another "themed" 10 things Friday, but I might easily drift off of the 10 things limit.

This weeks list:

What is on my to do list for this summer!

Perfect since Memorial Day weekend in New England is the start of the summer season-not the astronomical one but the summer fun one.

So here we go.

1-have a big fertile veggie garden
2-go kayaking more than once
3-learn to back up the boat trailer
4-pick some of my rhubarb and make a strawberry rhubarb pie
5-go blueberry and raspberry picking
6- get out my barbecue cookbook and try out some interesting and different recipes
7-clean and organize under my basement stairs
8-paint my bedroom
9-get my bedroom floor put in
10-go exploring-whether it is near or far
11-get out walking most mornings
12-lounge on my screen porch
13-take some road trips like up route 153 in NH, and Down East Maine and to the National Park in Cornish, NH
14-make ice cream
15-lose some weight
16-read  a lot- especially a couple of those books I have been wanting to read
17-be spontaneous
18-spend lots and lots of studio time
19-go to Pop's Clam Shack in Alton, NH for some of their yummy fried clams and onion rings
(so much for losing weight)
20-go eagle watching
21-go to the beach and lounge at the lake
22-have a fire in my chiminea  stove and sit on the deck, star gazing
23-have some adventures-but not sure yet what they will be-since they are adventures-they should be a surprise
24-try some new things
25-take an art class
26-go to the drive in to see a movie
27-watch the new season 4 of True Blood when it comes out and finish watching the Dark Shadows that I have
28-see the sunrise and the sunset
29-hang out with friends-especially those I don't see very often
30-Have lots of fun in whatever form it takes
31- try some new art techniques, start an art journal
32-do something different-something I have yet to figure out
33-learn how to play golf-maybe
34-practice my French and learn a little Swedish
35-send out some art to magazines
36-try some new recipes
37-go to some new places-there's a couple restaurants I'd like to try, new stores, new views, new water places....
38-have a great summer vacation
39-get enough shifts at the lake to make it worth it
40-do some of that art I don't do very often like mosaic tiles and metal clay
41-send some quality time with my hubby, daughter, critters, mom, in-laws....
42- watch a bunch of DVDs

and whatever else happens to come along...
I just love summer!

(I'll be back at the end of summer to see how much I actually accomplished!) But I'll be back tomorrow or Sunday with some more new posts.

Warning

So here's a page that I really like. I took this photo of the for your safety sign while on our Feb. vacation. I like it because 1)I have this thing about signs and photos  2) It is so different from anything you'd ever see here in NH. Plus, I really like how this page came off. 

I started with my watercolor paper base but this time I covered it with this orange 12 x12 paper, which I then trimmed. I added this piece of  6x6 October Afternoon from their latest western set. OK, that orange strip on the left side- it is actually a piece of scrap from a Sizzix strip die cut. It cut out this loop die and found I actually like the left-overs just as much as the loops. Then I added the photo and some hiking boot stickers from Hot Off the Press peel and sticks, I colored in the blank spaces inside the stickers. The hikers at the bottom are also from the same set, they are the inside parts from a little hiking sign sticker. I like them how they are hiking across that bottom part of the page. The warning is from a set of 7Gypsies clear stamps that has some of the best sayings and all the little poison words are also from a 7Gypsies sticker set from the pharmacy style releases.

And here's another page to show you-

This is Dave through our rental car window-he was still under the weather from the horrible stomach bug he got after we arrived. But, he was actually out and about so that was worth celebrating. 

I started by giving the page a light red spray-Dylusions-boy do I LOVE those colors. Then I used this Hero Arts butterfly stamp in red all over the page.  I added my photo, did some freelance journaling and stamped the 2 images I put on the photo-the one way sign and the little tag from Autumn Leaves. Finally I die cut the 2 flowers (Sizzix) and the leaf-but the leaf I die cut out of cardboard and used some Viva Gold thick rub on paint on it. The flowers were cut on off white card stock and then inked.

So it is Thursday and we are getting closer and closer to the weekend. I can't wait. Some of the adults at work are bugging me-making plans for new "events" without calling a meeting. Some people just don't think beyond their own tip of their noses-when they are the ones who are suppose to be in charge and thinking bigger than themselves.

GRRR.

But I am going out to dinner tonight with 2 friends which should be a blast.

Have a great day!

Bright and Beautiful

 

Here's another page from my Arizona scrap-journal that I have been working on a lot lately. Been pushing some creative limits- but since work has been so busy with end of the year push I am not really doing anything too wild- scrap-journaling is relaxing and allows me to try new techniques without pushing my tired brain to the max.

I love this background. I started by using 2 older Cornish Heritage Farms backgrounders-Spanish Writing and this grunge/worn little line image. Then I used 3 shades of Dylusions spray-green, lime and yellow.

I was also fascinated by the cacti I saw in Arizona since it is so VERY VERY different from what we have in New Hampshire. Plus, lets face it, I am a biology geek too.

The tag is one from 7Gypsies. The little star-which is crooked here but is held on with a brad so I could straighten it out, if from My Favorite Things die cuts. It is from their mini-western charm set which I picked up just for all the western pages I will and have done in this book.

The Arizona word is embossed onto the page using some older Technique Tuesday stamps. They've given up on their alphabets-and I know that alphabets aren't as popular as they once were-lets face it-how many do you really need, but I love their older ones that came in the different sizes.

OK, off to another busy day at work. This week is the last BIG final push, next week will be still a push but not as much, and then we will be in the senior week.

Time is flying by!

(Course I can't wait until summer break!)

Thanks for visiting.

Sunflowers

Sunflowers=Sunshine! Haven't shown you any cards for a bit so here is one of the sunflower ones I made a while back.

We're having showers once again today-but that is OK with me since I am in a classroom all day. But I have told you that a lot lately.

Every teacher's dream at the end of the school year-rain during the school day and be beautiful once the bell rings.

LOL.

Hope your day is full of sunshine even if the sun isn't shining where you are.

3 1/2 Weeks

So we are into the last stretch of school- only 3 1/2 weeks to go. This weekend was so beautiful and summery that it feels like this should be the last few days.

AC went into the bedroom window yesterday-that makes it official summery weather. I still need to switch most of my sandals over. EEKS! I am slow on that!

So here's some assorted photos I haven't posted in the past week but thought I would share today.

Starting with Katie, my mother-in-law Barbara and Dave on Mother's Day at the baseball game.

And my favorite blooms-lilacs-which are out in full now!

And these pink flamingos have been floating around town lately. Last I saw them on Friday they were out in front of the library.  Here they were last weekend out in front of the old town meetinghouse. Snapped this with my phone, which has seen better days.

And here's Katie and I Dave when we were working on moving her out from the dorm last Thursday.

So enjoy your Monday-

make a good start to your week!

A Day with Tim

Yesterday I took not one but TWO fantastic classes with Tim Holtz! Here's a bunch of snaps and stories!

Here he is teaching us in a class called  Heart and Soul which I took in the morning. He really is a fantastic teacher, using this screen and his computer, breaking all the steps down, having everything prepped and not requiring you to bring any tools at all. FUN. No FUN!!!!!!!!!!

Here's my project not quite finished but almost-

And finished

I must mention I was down in Massachusetts at my favorite local craft store Absolutely Everything. I've taken classes there with Tim before-at least twice, and I was thinking yesterday about the first time I took classes with him, maybe 6 or 7 years ago and how different they were then when he wasn't quite the rock star he is today.

I learned tons about faux metal distressing.  LOVE it.

And though this is terrible snap of me...

Here we are- me, my friend Ina who came up from North Carolina for a couple of classes, and of course, the master of the ceremony, Tim.

In the afternoon we did a grungeboard quilting class called

Patchwork Pandemonium.

I loved all the techniques we learned here!

I am still not finished embellishing this quilt, but I was fried by this time. The first class was from 9-12- and since it is a little over an hour away I was up by 6 and on the road by 7:30 a.m. This patchwork class started at 2:30 and went until 7:30. After awhile there is no more creative juice left. Driving home after that seemed to take 4 hours instead of a little over 1 hour I was so wiped out. I got home just around 9 p.m.

Long was a wonderfully exhausting day!!!!!!

I wish I thought to photograph my hands which were covered in ink, stain, paint, etc. Even today they are still off colored, but not as bad as last night.

Not that I care!!!!!!!

It was great to see my friend Ina yesterday too. 

Not that I am loving me, here on the right in this snap shot. But at least I don't look 200 pounds with my chin pushed down and in like in the other photo.

Anyhow, it was a great day and now I am inspired to go play.

Amazing how classes can get you to a new place even when you didn't feel stuck in a rut.

I really must remember to take more of them.

Anyhow, hope your Saturday was even half as good as mine, because if it was half as good it would be great!

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Art Day

I am off today to take 2 Tim Holtz classes at Absolutely Everything. Should be fun. I am excited. My friend Ina is coming into town to take one of those classes with me and it will be a blast to see her.

I'm taking Heart and Soul and also Patchwork Pandemonium.

Will show you what I make later.

So for today, a couple more scrap-journal pages. 

I am loving making these-It must be using the bright colors!

(Using this micro lens you can see every little blip, like where the bottom of the photo pops up-I am SUCH a slob!)

It is the background on this page that I love, although it is a pretty good cacti picture too.. I started by putting down some scraps of paper I had. Then I used a very light layer of white paint over most of the page. Then I used some blue flat acrylic paint and a stencil from Crafter's Workshop to add the circles. A tad bit of spray from Dylusions. Some other scraps of paper and paper tape, a left over die cut star which I also sprayed good and thick with Dylusions spray ink. A few Viva paint pen dots, some stickers- and I added a few more sword stickers afterwards just because I think it needed a bit more.

You can see the word stickers (Making Memories)-I don't think they make these any more which is too bad because I love them.

Off to class!