Friday, May 31, 2013

Blogger's Challenge

This week- to die for. Using die cuts.
Here's my addition.
I used my embossing and die cuts to create this sew stylish (ha-ha) card.
I really like the thread spool- die cuts are all from Sizzix.
Saying is from Flourishes.
Thanks for stopping by for a better view.



Butterflies

Last day of May. Wow- this was another fast month. Time is such a weird thing, the way it can appear to be fast or slow, and funny that lots of people often have the same perception-when time goes forward at the same rate always.  But if you say to someone, this week feels really long,  they often agree with you. Don't know if it has to do with the weather, things going on in  life, events that happen.  Maybe a lot of that or none of that. Too philosophical for me right now.
But day 2 of our heat wave. Hard to believe that less than a week ago we were only in the 40's and today we are again going to hit 90 degrees-again.
Three more weeks of kids. I am counting down. 15 days. I am so ready for some non-school time.
So my journal page. I started by stenciling yellow suns and then spraying yellow and orange Dylusions on the page. 

I used a Jenni Bowlin journal card that I had and wrote out my thoughts, then highlighted them and used a watercolor marker to color that in. I attached with some torn strips of paper tape from Cavallini and Co.  Kind of disappointed the way that tape peels off the roll.
Then I added these acetate butterflies I had- from K and Company. I added the white dots on them, and the journaling around the border of the page.
So hope you have something good planned for your weekend.
I think we are going out in the boat tomorrow afternoon.
Am looking forward to that- been a long time since last boating season.
And I am very ready for summer activities-enjoying every moment of them.


Thursday, May 30, 2013

One More View of My Travel Adventure Journal

Just go. My mantra.
Something I learned from having 2 dogs, but has really become true as I've gotten older and release that time is not eternal for me.
That is a bit morbid but I don't mean it that way!
Just means I need to go!
Take advantage of adventures and opportunities life offers.
Love the page above. Used a Prima wooden plane and suitcase and the saying is from River City Rubber Works.  They have the BEST funny sayings.
Love this old stamp from Stampa Rosa. I collages really well.
This saying is from Stampendous. I could live out of a suitcase for a while- as long as I have a house to come home to.
This pagoda is a new die I recently bought from Magnolia. I really like it. The 2 love image stamps are ancient ones from Hero Arts.
Do you remember the slide mount craze from several years ago? I have some left over and decided to use on here. The stamped image is from October Afternoon.

Paper flag, cool ancient little car stamp, quote from the internet, cool little postage stamp sticker and an October Afternoon word tag.
Hope you enjoyed all these views.
To see earlier views you can check out the following links to my blog
Make it a great day and stop back soon.




Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Fun Quotes

A second post for today- wow.
Was puttering on the internet while I drank my instant breakfast and watching the news.
Trying to stay awake on this (once again) rainy morning. 
Found these quotes online- love them and wanted to keep them where I could find them.
:)
Love this one. Think it is my favorite of this bunch.
Travel Quotes    #travel #quotes
This is a good one to re-use when I won't be blogging for a few days-like when I leave on a vacation!
Walking with friends is well and good. Paving your own path is not wrong as well. #rovia
And this is one I need to remember when I get upset about something dumb.
As I already wished you-
Have a great day.

Belated Mother's Day

No I didn't forget Mother's Day but I never showed you this card I made for my mother-in-law. It is quite frilly for me but it is perfect for her- and I really like how it came out.
I started by inking my card stock with mango, green and brown ink.  I love these solid mini-butterflies that I then randomly stamped n the cardstock just to give it some interest. They are from a mini set by Hero Arts which I don't know if they even sell any more. I have lots of old stamps in my collection and I love using them. 
Then I added a scrap of old looking printed paper.
I am really happy with the pansies. I die cut the 3 of them with a Sizzix Sizzlets die. I used Distress watercolor markers to color them, and a white Uni-ball pen (the best white pens I think) to outline them. I also die cut the flourish corner (another Sizzix die) on white paper which I then randomly stamped and inked and used a brown marker to outline. The banner is a Paper Smooches die- I outlined it with a black marker and stamped the word (Hero Arts) in brown. Finally I die cut the little dragonfly from a set of mini's from CheeryLynn Designs.


And here is the pansy die from Sizzix I used.
And here is the set from Hero Arts with the mini-butterflies.
BRIGHT BUTTERFLIES Background Silhouette Rubber Stamp Set of 4 / HERO ARTS
This photo makes the stamps look big but they are just peg sized stamps. I think this is one of my most used stamp sets.
Here's the die set from Cheery Lynn Designs I got the dragonfly from. It is great for these kinds of projects.
Cheery Lynn Designs - DIE - Tiny Things with Wings
Thanks for stopping by!

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

More of My Travel Adventure Book

So I hope all you people who celebrated Memorial Day yesterday had a great day. My long weekend wasn't exactly wild or exciting, but yesterday the sun finally came out and it got into the 60's (compared to the summer like weekend we had last year and the fall like and wet weather of the last 2 days) and it was a great day to garden. Must say I feel refreshed and ready to tackle the last 4 weeks of school. 
Today,  a few more pages from my travel adventure book.
If you missed the first post, you can find it here:
I made the base of this book in a class with Dina Wakely.
You can see that post here:

The is the back of the cover page. We made the cover using some sticky back canvas and we used that sticky back to make these paper and cloth collages.
I stamped the words on the back of this page using this cool old stamp with all these African places printed on it. Not sure who made the stamp, might be from Limited Edition.
Really happy with the way this came out. I love this sign on the red tag on the left. It is a real sign in Maine. I want to go find it this summer. All those exotic places are also towns in the Maine.
All the stars and hearts are made from a paper and fabric collage that I free hand cut. Really like the freehand look.
That's all for today.
Hope you enjoyed your views.


Monday, May 27, 2013

Sunshine

Today we do have bright blue skies, and it is a bit warmer than yesterday, but the breeze still has a chill to it. More like Columbus weekend.
But at least it isn't rainy today!!!!
:)
Not sure what is on the agenda-maybe work in the yard.
This weekend has been relaxing but kind of uneventful for me-hoped for something more fun-
like putting in the boat-
but that is ok.
Last night I worked on another Shutterfly book- my latest photo obsession.
This time I was putting together photos from July, 2011 when my husband and I went to the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
I really really liked it there and hope to go back some time.
So today I will share with you a few snapshots I rediscovered last night.
Makes me think it is summery and beach weather, or should I say, boating, weather.
Above is a photo from Duck, where we stayed our first 3 nights. A friend of mine had rented a house and we were there to celebrate her 50th birthday with her. 
I loved the pelicans there. We don't have them this far north in New Hampshire.
We went down to Ocracoke for a day and were having an outdoor lunch when this guy flew over, hoping some charter boat fishermen would look away from their catch just long enough for this guy to scoop them up.
Ocracoke was a quaint little place with miles of very empty beaches- even in mid-July. We spent some time in the sun and in a few hours, no one even passed by us. 
On the other end of the Outer Banks there were wild horses. We took a horse tour, since we didn't have a 4 wheel drive vehicle to maneuver over all the sand dunes. The horses were left here by the Spanish centuries ago.
And it is the land of pirates. Here's Dave with a new buddy.
And of course, any time you are near the ocean you find lighthouses. We saw 4, but here's a couple.
This one is Bodie Island, which you cannot climb and here's the one we climbed.
The views from the top were pretty cool.
I mentioned the empty Ocracoke beaches, on a Sunday afternoon, in mid-July, didn't I?
Just perfect.
Dave was wishing this was a real fish and that he caught it.
Ha-ha-ha!
The other morning we went out to breakfast and I had some crab cake Benedict. Delicious. For a couple of morning I had an egg McMuffin type of sandwich with a crab cake and I tell you- crab cakes and eggs tastes fantastic together. Who'd of thought?
Look at this cute little group of ducks crossing the street in Ocracoke.
You know on parts of the Outer Banks you need to cross bridges to get from Island to Island and on other parts the land is so narrow that from the road you can see both the Atlantic and the Sound bodies of water at the same time.
I am dreaming here about warm days, that's for sure.  I had looked into going back there this summer, but we decided to head west instead. Not that I am complaining. After my trip to Taos, New Mexico last February I have been very much wanting to go the Mesa Verde National Park and see more  ancestral Pueblo dwellings, and that is on my the list for my trip this summer.
We had a lot of spectacular sunsets too. This one on the sound is particularly colorful.
So this summer we are off the the 4 Corners Region of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah. Doing a bunch of National Parks. Can't wait for that.
Maybe next year we'll go back to the Outer Banks!
Have a great rest of your long weekend or great Monday if you don't get a long weekend.














Sunday, May 26, 2013

Fishy, Fishy, Fishy

Yeah!  I finally see the sun!!!!
Haven't seen it in almost a week!!!
BUT it is cold, only like 39 degrees-
And windy!
Memorial Day weekend!
This is crazy!!!!
Feels like early April.
Not the start of the summer season.
Just a few photos today for you from my trip the other day to Boston with my zoology class. We went to the New England Aquarium.
I love fish!!!
Cool texture here.  I think these could inspire a sewing project. I believe these are some kind of anemones.
I love cuttlefish. They are so weird and wild. And pretty smart too.
I did a whole post on them last time I visited with a class in March. You can check them out here.
He's having a little lunch snack here.
Comb jellies.  I could watch jellyfish-in a tank at least- really relaxing. Wouldn't want to meet them in the wild though-other than the ones you find washed up on the beach.
And finally this view for you.
Not a clownfish, but how about these anemone fish inside an anemone? Really cool.
While I write this I am watching the recording of last night's Bruin's-Ranger's eastern semi-final game. If the Bruins win, they'll take this part of the play-offs. Still the whole third period to go-
I love hockey about as much as  I love fish.
I think I am as weird as those cuttlefish.
Hope you are enjoying your weekend.






Saturday, May 25, 2013

10 Things Saturday-Life Lessons

A COLD and rainy Saturday of Memorial Weekend for us here in New Hampshire. Last year we were in the 80's, with sunshine and I went for my first swim. This year we aren't suppose to get out of the 40's.
That's COLD!
It is also an anniversary of sorts. 24 years ago my husband and I moved into our home.
That's a long time ago.
I was 29 at the time.
Holy cow!
Anyhow, enough of that.
(Making me feel too old!)
This week's 10 Things Saturday is an interesting thought list for me.
10 Things I learned from my dog and cats!
Here's 2 of the 3- Harley and Leo.
The other one- Emma- also known as Pie-Pie - doesn't like her picture taken. She's definitely shyer than these 2 boys.

1- If you get asked to go someplace, jump up and go. Who knows where you'll end up but it will be an adventure no matter where it is.
2- Have enthusiasm for life. (Oh yeah Harl- that is your mantra!)
3-If the opportunity to nap comes up, take it.
4-Always find something fascinating to watch and get involved in.
5-If you can snuggle with someone, it is definitely better. (I have 2 snuggly boys and  also a snuggly girl)
6-Dinner and snacks are always important.
7- Find a blanket. Having one on hand is one of life's necessities.
8-Being all together is better than being alone- but sometimes, you need your space.
9-If someone wants to scratch your back (or behind your ears) enjoy it to the max.
10-When you're happy, show it. When you're sad, show it. Smile, dance for joy and just let it all come out.

We're having a long weekend here in the US right now, and I am very excited about that!
Too bad though- the weather here today is cold and dark and wet.
Still, any day off is a good one, especially if I can do something fun.
Have a great Saturday and enjoy your weekend.

Friday, May 24, 2013

Journal Sketching

I mentioned last week I have started a new summer journal/scrap book- kind of a little bit of everything. I also mentioned how I wanted to make it less scrapbook like and more journal like.
So the other evening I sketched all my daughter's bags and suitcases and boxes sitting in my living room after she moved home from college. I haven't done a lot of drawing in quite awhile-but I still think it looks ok. Not a hard thing to draw, mostly straight-ish lines...
Any of you learning to draw-
I highly recommend this book

I learned about it several years ago while taking a local adult ed drawing class-it was a great introduction to drawing- and I got super lucky- the class turned into a drawing group that lasted for 6 months. That was just what I needed to get my confidence up. 
A close up:
That's all for today. Stop back soon.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

My Travel Adventure Book

Tuesday I showed you the base of a cool little journal I made in a class with Dina Wakely.
Today I thought I would show you a few glimpses of how I finished up the inside.
Never made it past putting the basic journal together in class so all this finishing I worked on at home.
My theme was travelling.
The stars are free hand cut from a collaged sheet we made. I love how they turned out, looking nothing like the  whole sheet of collaged papers I used.
I wrote this quote in black Sharpie and then used a white pen to outline the letters.
This one of my favorite pages. I drew the clouds onto the page and painted them white. Then I die cut the butterfly, used a Prima little wooden suitcase and some red string.
Here's my cover made with Sticky Back Canvas, I painted the sun on using a Crafter's Workshop stencil (also by Dina Wakely), cut out the words and added another Prima little wooden plane.
One more for today. This is the inside of the cover, collaged with lots of assorted papers, including these travel ones from October Afternoon. The heart is a free hand cut from a similar collaged page that it outlined and doodled on and then added.
Still have a lot to show you from this little journal. Will be back another day with more of this book.
Thanks for visiting.