New Week

So I hoped everyone had a great weekend. I did. And now it is a new week  and this is a big week for me since Dave and I leave Wednesday for our trip to Glacier National Park in Montana and also Banff and Jasper National Parks in Alberta, Canada.

I am getting excited-there's been so much going on that it took me a bit to get to this point.

Still have a lot to do before we leave, but thought I'd show you a few photos of the travel journal (pre-trip) that I've put together.

I made this journal in a little 3 ring binder I picked up at Staples. This is my inside cover page-using some 7Gypsies  covers. I  made the tree using Tim Holtz's Sizzix pine tree die. I actually cut 2 of them and trimmed some of the branches off 1 and added them to the other to give the tree a bit more 3D layers. I used some tiny typewriter letters to stamp the title, and the July and Vacation were also stamped using some Versamark to give this watermark look. Then I added the 2012.

I covered the backside of the title page with this paper. And then I used some 7Gypsies journal pages (right side) and I stamped the planes (a new stamp I picked up from Impression Obsession) and the Wednesday word from Hero Arts/Studio Calico.

And I also used some 7Gyspies tags which I punched to fit the notebook. I also wanted a bit of design, but lots of space to record my journey. This page is stamped with some October Afternoon images and words and also some Technique Tuesday words. I can color or fill in as I want when we are away.

You can see some more tags on the right. The top one was stamped with an Inkadinkado tree and a post mark from old set (maybe Fontworks). The bottom was stamped with a Technique Tuesday word (colored with Tim Holtz markers and then I used a wet brush to give it a little bit of a watercolor look.)

And on the left page, which is covered with some paper and then I added the Canadian Flag from a Quickutz/Life Style Crafts set. 

What I love about the 3 ring binder format is that I can move pages around once I am away, when I know better what I need for each page. If I need a bigger page or more blank page...etc.

Anyhow, got to do a few things today-Mr. Puppy-dog is getting groomed, I want to pack a few items, laundry, try to squeeze in some studio time. 

That's my plan.

What's your for today?

Messes

My summer dilemma-the clutter around the house. My motivation to clean it up... hardly existent. I don't mind doing a small project, but I don't have a lot of totally free  stay home time. (OK-way too busy out playing -and I am having a ball!) And when I am home, I want to play in the studio or sit on my screen porch and read, not clean. So the clutters  are little by little getting cleaned up, but there still seems to be so many messes! Could my house possibly be bad? And here's one mess I should clean but seem to be happy living with-  the table in my studio is still horrible. Let me show you that mess.

And I have some wall painting to do too. My bedroom, the bathroom.

And a few other projects...

Notice how I have been bringing up this topic a few times this summer....

I feel like I should be more ambitious.

Maybe I need someone to tell me it is ok to not get these projects done, and that summer is not about getting all this work done.

It is about relaxing and playing and having fun.

Maybe I need to get past this puritanical New England work ethic mode.

I definitely I have a problem with this.

Anyhow, today I am working at the lake and then going to a cookout at my mother-in-laws. Should be a fun day.

And NO messes will get cleaned or walls will get painted.

Besides, it is VERY hot and humid. Too hot and humid to work-a better day to go swimming.

I am my own worse enemy.

Thanks for listening to me unload for a couple of minutes.

I feel better already.

Friday? Already?

Where did this week go? It just flew right by- I guess just like every week does. So for this week's10 things Friday, I am going to show 10 pictures from my week.
1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

7.

8.

9.

10.

Hope you had a great week and thanks for visiting.

Wild Wild West

You might surmise that this journal page might be a dead give away of why my post is titled as it is. But I picked this topic because of my adventure yesterday.

But first, my wild west journal pages. We went to Tombstone last February on our trip to Southern Arizona. I like this page-although  it is quite uncomplicated. A little spray ink-yellow and brown, some bead board paper under the photo. Some craft paper die cut letters. The gun from the Tim Holtz western set stamped a few times, an October Afternoon button and this cool wood looking sticker from a set of western stickers I bought last summer at Archiver's. Not sure who made them

Here's another page from inside the Birdcage Theater also. I don't like this page as much as the one on the top. I used some brown and yellow striped paper on this page that I brushed ink onto. I added a bunch of tape and some more of those western stickers. I don't know about you, but pages like this are hard to get the color right when you download them, they get this yellow tinge I can't get rid of. Anyone have any suggestions?

My favorite part of this page is this horse shoe. It is a chipboard die cut from October Afternoon. I painted it and then used some crackle glue. Once dry I inked it in some darker brown. I also added some small brads to the holes and then sanded half the finish off of those to give it an old worn look.

So anyhow, why I titled the page the wild wild west. That's because my friend has a sort of new car- she bought a 10 year old in like new condition Porsche Boxer. Convertible. Just YUMMY! We cruised out to the western part of New Hampshire which is hardly Tombstone but is the west of this state. Western NH is beautiful and very different from where I live here in the Eastern part. It is way less developed out there-fewer box stores, more little local stores. Didn't see one Home Depot or Walmart or MacDonald's or Target on the whole trip. We traveled these little back roads. Fabulous. Not tourists today but travelers. Part of our 8 hours of chatting was trying to decipher the difference. Lots of little towns with a town common and the white meetinghouse that is from the 1700's. Lots of beautiful old colonial homes. Quieter. Less traffic. More rolling hills-we aren't flat here but we are getting into the lower end of the White Mountains. We're not quite as gentle a scenery either.

Western NH is kind of like it was in NH back in the 1970's. It is so beautiful out there. I had such a great day.

Took some photos I will post later on. 

And today I am off the the very eastern part of my state-to Portsmouth-to go meet with my intern at school. I am not ready to go into the building, but hopefully this will take about an hour and then I can fly free. I was hoping not to do this until August, but he is impatient and that is indeed a good thing to see.

My latest read! And what I am really waiting for-that I pre-ordered on Amazon and should be here  tomorrow according to the tracking number

I should be all set to read it since I am close to finishing Explosive Eighteen.

Anyhow-

have a great day- can you believe it is already Thursday and already July 12th?

Adventure Awaits

Today I am off with a friend in her new toy-she told me to wear my sunglasses and a hat I can tie down. Does that mean she bought a convertible? Katie thinks it is one of those 3 wheeler trikes. Anyhow, we are off to Harrisville, NH-where I have never been to visit a yarn store I have never been to either. Obviously I have never been to this store if I have never been to Harrisville.

I can't wait to discover what the surprise toy is.
And it is a beautiful day.

So yesterday was busy-between a 4 hour shift at the lake, trying to do some gardening, a haircut and a few errands. Plus this week is filling up to. So much on the calendar!

But it is mostly fun things and that is what summer is all about. Having fun and getting out of the schedule. Going new places and doing things you can't do the rest of the year.

Got to love it!
Except it keeps me out of the studio.
I think when we get home from our adventure trip to Glacier I am going to make a point to try to calm down my social life.
But that sounds a little downer too.
I think I just need to give into this schedule, be thankful that I have a lot to do and can do it, and enjoy the ride.

I like to over analyse things.

The other thing is, I don't know quite why I have such a busy social life lately.
I usually don't.

I don't know quite what to make of it, to be truthful, though I don't want you to think I am complaining. Friends are wonderful to have.
I think some of it is because we have all become empty nesters.
Or when you get to this age and you realize you need to just have fun because life flies by SOOOO fast.
Not that I am really that old. Just middle aged.
And my hairdresser told me last night I am getting a lot more gray.
Just thankful I went this long without it.
LOL!

So a couple of little photos for you today. They have to do with my trip to a yarn store-of course.

So here's my latest knitting-the yarn, the start of the socks and the pattern. 

Here's a close up.

Happy Hump Day!

Snippets

Snippets of a project I am still working on.

And since my photos are snippets, I will keep my words to that length also.

Thanks for stopping by.

Yesterday and Today

Not a great photo (got to get used to a phone that has a video camera along with a still camera-and be sure I am in the right format when I go to snap a photo), but you can see how pretty Lake Winnipesaukee  is. There is a loon in this photo, a not too happy one because we were probably too close to its nest- but then it realized we were not going to be an issue and it went away.

And you can see how rough it was-not cold at all, I even jumped in for a dip.

And this margarita was the best ever-a basic margarita with this pomegranate, blood orange and some other juice I can't remember. Man it was so refreshing and I had 2- and you can image how I felt when we left the Restaurant in Wolfeboro. We boated over and got out for lunch.

We got plenty wet from waves washing over the boat and had a lot of laughs. Was a super fun day out, and I loved it even more because Katie came with us, since our friends have a daughter who is her age-in fact it is how we met-when they were both 2 and in day care.

Anyhow, enough boring you with my fun day out.

This page is a bit yellower than in real life, just couldn't get the color right. But I used a bunch of Tim Holtz tape and some red and brown ink over them all. I added the girl, the tickets, and a the 2 pretty birds. I added some doodling for a frame and the small little wings stamped word.

And here's the flip side of that page...celebrating the last day of school-June18th. Spray ink and then a stenciled image to all blend together-then I used this old Hero Arts stamped word-I love the size of these words. I also used die cut numbers (Sizzix) that I outlined in white and added some sparkles (Hero Arts). Some white doodling...and the paradise word is stamped and cut out.

So today I want to have a quiet day- planning on lots of studio and garden time-I hope at least. The holiday week is over so I am expecting this whole week to be a bit more low key- but you never know, do you?

I need to do some major catching up on my summer scrap-journal-and finish a couple of small projects I have started. I also need to wrap up the work on my travel journal-since Dave and I leave next week.

I am getting excited about that.

How about you? A quiet or busy week?

Thanks for stopping by.

Roses are not always red

Yesterday was a quiet day-besides working at the boat ramp I did 3 of my little cleaning jobs (HURRAH!!), had a bit of studio time and took a nap! Naps are the best, aren't they?

Now I am ready to tackle one of the bigger projects for the summer.

When will I get to it? That is another story though.

So look at these gorgeous roses on one of the bushes in my garden.

It is just covered in flowers right now-

must love the spot it is planted in.

So the humidity has broken and we are off for another day of boating.

Today we are going out with our friends on Lake Winnepesaukee...

Should be a fun day out.

Thanks for stopping by.

Flip-flops and Beach Chairs

So today some more pages from my summer book. This past week I've done hardly any studio play-been so busy with all my other activities. I will say this week has felt like a vacation-even though I am on school vacation this one is like a real vacation-not just being home.

And I have TONS of photos of art and my week but most of them need to be Photoshopped since digital photos always seem to have a tinge of darkness to them otherwise.

So this page focuses on my sitting by the water. I started by spray inking my page-those of you who check in will most likely say "of course". Then I added some 8x8 paper from October Afternoon, a bunch of assorted paper tape, my photos and a couple of die cuts that have been embellished. Finally I journaled with a Sharpie, outlined it with a Sharpie and then a white pen and finally used a yellow Copic to color in the boxes so they stand out a bit more.

So I'll stick to a flip-flop/by the beach theme today. This page has some plaid paper and a red fabric scrap (though it looks like paper in this photo) plus a bunch of little flip-flop embellishments I made. I bought these flip-flop Papertrey Ink stamps (my first) in early June. I stamped the floral bottoms and then added some tiny yellow flowers I had (Prima) and a dot of red Viva paint pen in the center of each flower. I stapled down the photo and used a black square (7Gypsies) stamp 3 times over my shoes. The saying is from the Papertrey Ink flip flop set.

So yesterday boating we had a FANTASTIC day! Here's Dave (far back-my hubby) and then his sister Laurie and her husband Bob. We beached the boat on this sandy area in New Castle Harbor and went for a dip (BRRRR the north Atlantic is freezing).  We also caught quite a bit of mackerel and the Dave had a hit from a striped bass and Bob actually caught one 

Here's his fish before we released it. I can see why they call them stripers.

But the other excitement was the animals we saw. And of course, didn't have the right lens to get photos of.

It started with a seal-and in 3 years of boating I've never had one just swim by the boat. Then it was funny, I was fishing for stripers and a seagull swooped down and took my bait fish-which wasn't even a live fish. Then it started to fly away taking my line with it. I am sure that seagull couldn't figure out why the fish was being held back. So we're yelling at the bird and laughing too and finally the seagull drops the fish.  However just then this bald eagle swoops in to get the fish-wings flapping-talons extended. I yell that is it a bald eagle and we watch in amazement as the seagull comes back and chases the eagle away. The eagle lands in a pine tree just a ways off so Laurie pulls out her binoculars and sure enough, it has a nest there and a very large baby there. You can listen and here all the squawking from the baby and the other mate flies in. WE couldn't get the boat close enough since it is fairly shallow in this area of islands inshore, but kayakers are gathering in the area too. I didn't know there was even any eagle nests right in the islands in Portsmouth (NH) Harbor. Very cool. I can see why our country's symbol is the bald eagle as they are large and very majestic. It is also a conservation comeback. I had a similar (no seagull involved though) close encounter with a bald eagle last summer on the lake here in my hometown. 

Definitely a memorable moment.

Then we had a few more encounters with seagulls trying to take our bait fish but not anything as spectacular as the eagle moment.

So I need to go get ready to work at the boat ramp this morning. Have a fantastic Saturday and wear you flip-flops!

Boating Pages

Here's a piece of summer scrap-journal boat art- since I am off boating today. I used an old calendar page as my background and this cool rope frame stamp I had- which I embossed. The words in the frame are all stamped except the boating sticker word. Stamps used are (in order from top to bottom) Technique Tuesday-first 2 and then Stampotique -last 3 boxed words).

And here's a simple page (or part of a page) using plain blue paper that I lightly brushed with blue ink to give ink to give it a bit of some depth. Then I added the photo- a die cut and spray inked (Dylusions) in yellow circle to make a very bold sun. I also die cut the letters (Spellbinders) and outlined them in black. The 2 designs on either side of the word are from the same letter die cut set. I also highlighted them in black, added a black stamped dot and some blue Stickles. I did some journaling by hand underneath the voyage word but cut that out of the photo.

This is a horrible photo. I need to lighten, brighten and crop this photo down, but  you can get the gist. This is what we are doing today- some fishing. I used  some Paper Artsy stamps and a Technique Tuesday stamp on this tag. Plus some spray inks. Been spraying a lot lately.

Thought I needed to show a bit of art since it has been a few days. 

Have a great one- I got to run- I am off boating myself.

10 Things Friday

1- What a BUSY week. And it is flying by. What with the holiday, Dave taking some time off and working at the lake. Plus a very busy social schedule also-Love it. 

2- So last week I challenged myself to do 2 cleaning projects. I did get 1 completed- I organized the basement kitchen overflow closet. And I did do a bit of other cleaning up of clutter, but haven't yet gotten to the other things on the last.

3-It is vacation and I do need some down time! Why do I even challenge myself when I know (and said in the last 10 things Friday) that I doubted it would happen?

4-So I have accomplished some things this week though-even with everything else happening, and they are

a-lots of reading

b-worked on my summer scrap-journal

c-have been working 20 hours this week at the boat ramp

d-a small amount of gardening

e-maybe I can still squeeze in doing my cabinet in the upstairs bathroom (?)

f-made some food for the 4th of July cookout at my mother-in-laws

g- made my lemonade pie which didn't solidify like it was suppose to

5-I am having a blast this summer!
Did I mention that already?

6- So Dave took off Tuesday off and we went for an early morning kayak. He is taking today off and we are going out in the boat with my sister-in-law and her husband.

Next week he has a second interview with the company who interviewed him last week. Yahoo! It is movement forward.

7- I need to get past this waking up between 5-6 a.m. I do go back to sleep, some days, but man, I am on summer vacation. I don't need to wake up that early.  I have been staying up later at night though- actually getting some evening time. Must be the long days!

8- So last night we went to North Conway to Moat Mountain Brewery for a little road trip with some of Dave's family. Today we are going boating. Tomorrow I work the lake-hopefully the rest of the day will be slow and then we might go boating with some friends on the big lake-Lake Winnepeesaukee  (? spelling- after living in this area since 1987 I still can't spell that word). Next week I am definitely hoping for just a little quieter week.

But not too quiet.

Can you tell I am at that point where I am having fun and just trying to give totally into summer but desperately craving some down studio time too. I did have hopes of getting a bunch of projects done. 

I guess what I really need is 2 days of nothing during the week and then some days with some fun activities.

9-Next week  I must finish up my travel journal because we leave for our vacation to Glacier National Park and the Canadian Rockies in less than 2 weeks. Can not wait!

10-So let's see where I get to next week. I will challenge myself to get two more cleaning projects done- and maybe even start painting my bedroom! If I could do that-that would be a huge accomplishment.

But as I have said 100 times already-

it is summer and I still have weeks off so I will get done what I manage to get done.
And I should go visit Mom next week.
I need to go to the cell phone store next week and get a month's work of service to Canada so I can check on my daughter who will be home.
And work only 12 hours-much much better
and have some fun
and some fun studio time
and whatever else I stumble over/

I leave you with a silly photo of my daughter and the lobster statue at the boatyard where we keep our boat.

Happy Friday!

Happy Independence Day

Today is a big holiday in the US- the 4th of July or Independence Day. Last night I spent some time making brownies and a pasta salad for the big family cookout at my Mother-in-Laws this afternoon. I will be arriving a bit late since I will be working a 3 hour shift at the lake, but that's OK. Of course we are a bit showery right now so if the weather doesn't clear that can change everything.

And tonight we have fireworks in Wolfeboro- I hear Romney is walking in the parade there too since he has a summer house in the town. I can image there will be reporters everywhere.

Or maybe not.

But I am not a very political gal.

So yesterday morning was GORGEOUS! Dave and I went kayaking on the Merrymeeting Marsh and it was fantastic. Kayaking is the perfect summer activity. I saw some herons, ducks, lots of turtles...and we only passed 2 people when we were almost back to the ramp.

I had hoped to make something arty with a 4th of July theme, but that didn't happen. No art today, but I will be back with more some other time.

Enjoy your holiday if you are celebrating, and thanks for stopping by.

On the Water

I was playing with some of the photos I took Sunday at the airshow...well in the boat watching some of the planes fly over since we didn't actually go to the airshow. We even took a few dips into the bay from the back of the boat to cool off. I made this page for my summer scrap-journal, a digital photo shoot to break up the pages in the book, and I like how I figured out how to use a photo as the background to set the scene and add some small ones of us.

But we didn't do any fishing. This page is from a week earlier. I did my journaling on the photo using Photo- shop.The rest of the page is paper, stamping, paper tape and some white paper.

So yesterday I cleaned. It feels fantastic. I think what down time I have this week I am going to do some cleaning and decluttering. It just feels good and I can cross those chores off my to do list.

And just like last Friday-after I cleaned I went and lounged on the dock of my mother-in-laws on the little lake her house is on. It was a bit cool and windy to actually swim, but I read quite a bit of my book.

Today I am working at the boat ramp all afternoon-glad to get a good paycheck for this week. But this morning before work I am going to get my hubby to go out for a kayak on the marsh here in town. He's taking the day off. I am so excited-I LOVE to kayak and the marsh is the best place around in my opinion to kayak. I may even get some photos to show you later this week.

And I made my second pie of the summer last night. A cold lemonade pie. New recipe for me that I found in Southern Living. I'll let you know how it tastes later too.

Thanks for stopping by and have a great Tuesday!

And can you believe tomorrow is July 4th?

Tags

Tag for my summer journal.

One for each day-Sunday-Thursday!

Last week on a visit to my favorite craft store I picked up this roll of October Afternoon washi tape. Wanted to do something about my week so I used it on the background page I mounted my tags on. You can see that on Thursday's view right above.

Here's the tags put down on the page in my journal.

So had a great day on the boat yesterday, enjoyed some sun, some family together time and some cool-off dips into the bay. The Blue Angels were great but didn't seem to be as many other planes as last year.  Oh well, we had a good day overall.

And now it is Monday. Holiday week. 

Working at the lake quite a bit and not sure what else is on my agenda.

What are you planning for your holiday week?

Another Beautiful Day

Here's a snippet of the painting I have started. Not much to see so far.

I am using acrylic paints on canvas.

I am also a not very experienced painter.

Not much of a post today- we're off to watch some planes at the Pease Air Show in Portsmouth, NH from my husband's boat. Bringing a book with me to read since I remember last year it can be quite awhile between fly bys. That's all you get to see from the boat since we're not actually going to the airport to see the actual show.

Also this year I am bringing my bathing suit since I didn't last year and when you are anchored in a bay a nice little dip on a hot sunny day in July feels great.

Should be be fun-get to spend the day with my family and my daughter's boyfriend is joining us. That is the best part.

Here's my next book too-got a lot of reading done yesterday while working at the boat ramp:

Thanks for visiting and

Happy Day to you!