Lucky Me

Lookie what I got!  My hubby suprised me with this gorgeous flower basket for our Anniversary.  Since we have cats inside that love to eat plants/flowers he decided to buy me ones that they can't touch.  I love them.

We celebrated our 18th Anniversary on Sunday.  While it wasn't the most exciting day since we had to wait until evening to celebrate as we had Coleen all day we had a nice day.  I took him to see Clash of the Titans 3D as he'd never been to a 3D movie before.  We ate at Applebee's before the movie and had a nice evening out with each other.

Back later this week with stamping stuff.

BC136 Love Bot Birthday

Hooray it's Friday! - I've come to appreciate Friday's now that I have my weekends FREE from watching Coleen. Don't get me wrong as I adore my Granddaughter but it's nice just to have some kick back "me" time over the weekend. Since I haven't posted personal pictures on this blog in awhile I'm sharing 2 pictures today from Coleen's first "kids" party which we held for her last Saturday. The first one is her showing off a new dress that great-grandma (Granny) gave her. The other is her whacking her Dora the Explorer Pinata. She'd been telling us that she wanted a Pinata for her birthday since Halloween of last year! 

Now back to stamping...For the BC Challenge this week the theme was (Birthdays) and since I wanted to do another card for the CIC Challenge using a Robot Image I decided to combine the two challenges.  I found this fun (Digi) Robot image from JD Digi Designs.com and just couldn't resist purchasing it. 

The colors and papers are exactly the same as this card: since I am trying to use up my designer paper in a more efficient manner this year.   I did add Red Glitter (Art Institute) and some punched Yellow stars and Orange Brads to this card.  The sentiment is from SU.

What was really cute is that once Coleen saw this card she wanted to make one just like it for her little friend, Carter (He goes to the same Pre-school she does) so below is her version of this card.  She made it all herself.

I hope you've enjoyed this post and don't forget to check out the other DT members by clicking on the Blogger Icon on my sidebar.

For Anna's Dad

Today I am sharing a card created for Anna's dad, see this post:

I just knew right away that I wanted to send a card. First because I've always been so inspired by Anna and her amazing talent and also have read many wonderful and fun comments her dad has left on her blog and how could I not want to help cheer him up after his surgery. Having gone through the recovery period when my mom had her knee replacement surgery a year ago in April I know first hand how hard it can be.

I chose to use a retired SU set (On The Fly) for my card because I know Anna's dad loves to fly fish. There is a wonderful picture of him doing just that on her blog so be sure to check it out. My own dad loved fishing of all kinds but was very fond of fly fishing. He tried his best to teach me but alas it was not to be one of my skills. After many failed attempts at learning and getting the hook either caught it a tree branch (or my hair) or the line tangled in a huge mess he finally decided that perhaps teaching me to fly fish wasn't going to work. He's been gone almost 12 years now but whenever I see pictures of men fly-fishing it brings back many fond memories of seeing my dad fishing the lakes and streams around Walla Walla (and there are plenty).

Some where yesterday I saw a challenge (but didn't write it down) where you were asked to use "Chalks" in some manner. I chose to just color my image with my Stampin'Pastel's as that has always been my favorite way to use them and I haven't done it in a long time. After coloring the image I sealed it and then used my Labels 2 Nestabilitie Die to cut it out. I then mounted it onto some Really Rust cs and cut around it and then distressed it. Next up I used my Herringbone CB Embossing Folder on some Naturals Ivory cs. I added a strip of DP (DCWV - Indian Summer) layered to Really Rust and a card base of Handsome Hunter cs. I stamped and colored the fish image in the same manner and layered it with foam dimensional tape.
The sentiment is from (Hero Arts) and was stamped on the NI CS and then I added a button and some faux thread (actually thin strips of HH cs) and distressed the edges with Really Rust ink. I love how "masculine" this card turned out.

The picture of the mountains on this post is a picture of our "Blue Mountains" here and is the view that my oldest brother, (Russell) will see from the deck of the new cabin he and his wife are building. They've been working on it all summer long and it's coming along nicely. I'll share a few photo's of the cabin later when it's completed.

Blog Yummies and a Cutie Pie

HAPPY MONDAY! - My blogging buddy Kerry is doing a Blog Yummy giveaway and the prize is really cool (I want that Drippy Goo punch)...so head on over and check it out here: Don't you love the delicious treats she posted first to peak your interest. Too bad cake's don't mail well.

And for your viewing pleasure here I've included a picture of our little Cutie Pie, Coleen that I took recently at our city park.

Have a great day.

Blog Candy Alert - Check it out

Check this out...Kerry over at Three Clovers Design is offering up some Yummy Blog goodies. So hurry on over for your chance to win.

It's been awhile since I've posted any pictures of my granddaughter, Coleen so I thought this would be a good chance. Here she is with our cat, Harley. Don't they make a delightful pair!

TECC51 - HAPPY 80th Birthday Mom

HAPPY 80th BIRTHDAY MOM!!! -  January 18th - This picture was taken in July and is one of the nicest photo's I have of my mom.  She hates having her picture taken so it's really hard to get a natural looking picture of her.  This is the first of the tomatoes she had from the plants she grew last summer so I took a picture of her with it and she was so excited about it that she smiled naturally for the camera instead of her usual sober look.  Anyway my mom is my dearest friend and this is a milestone birthday for her so I felt it was only fitting to share a photo of her with my viewers.

My post is a day early but I wanted to get the card posted ahead of time as it's part of the Cupcake Friday Challenge.  I've missed the last couple of sketches but thought I'd do this weeks and decided that I'd just make my mom's birthday card using the sketch. 

I went with flowers and butterflies because those are a couple of my mom's favorite things.  Then I remembered that I had some paper by Chatterbox that had poppies on it that I thought would work well for my card.  Once I started making the card though I decided to not use the poppy background paper but went instead for the striped pattern.

I stamped the poppies (Oh So Lovely - retired SU) with Palette Noir Black ink and colored them with Prismacolor Pencils and Gamsol.  I masked the flowers and sponged Barely Banana Ink around them while my paper was still inside the Nestabilities Die.  I stamped a second set of poppies and cut the flowers out and raised them on my main image with foam mounting tape.  I added the buttersflies from (Beyond the Basics - SU) by coloring them with Ruby Red, Really Rust, So Saffron and Always Artichoke markers).

I layered this onto a scalloped rectangle of Always Artichoke.  Then I realized that I needed another panel as the strips in the sketch go under the main panel so I added the So Saffron Panel. 

The Main Card is Always Artichoke layered with So Saffron and a Textured Piece of card stock in a dark red color from Chatterbox.  I added 3 punched circles of Really Rust with dark green brads (Queen and Co.).  My sentiment is from Sincere Salutations) and was stamped with Bravo Burgundy ink and I pierced underneath the sentiment for some added insterest.  I added 2 punched butterflies to the focal image to complete my card. 

I even stamped the inside of the card (which I don't do often but I like how it turned out.  I hope my mom will like it.  Be sure to check Taylor's blog and see all the enteries for the Cupcake Friday Sketch.

A GoodBye To Halloween

Well November has arrived and so has our "typical" Fall weather.  (Rainy and Gloomy).  I thought that today I would share a few photo's from Halloween 08 even though it's all said and done now.  I think life marches on so quickly sometimes and we often forget the "little" things that make it so special so I'm sharing a few photo's today that show how special life can be, I hope you enjoy them.

This is our sweet little Granddaughter Coleen all decked out in er Pink Fairy costume.  Her mom bought it while "pink" was still her favorite color. She has since moved on to the color blue but it was to late to change costumes to suit her ever changing favorite color!  Doesn't she look innocent? (If only that were true)LOL.

Next up is my great nephew and his mom (Andrew and Shelby).  He's the Incredible Hulk.  My niece works in a bank and they all had to dress up for the day.  She certainly looked different but rather cool in her Gothic Princess outfit.

Lastly here is a picture of all the pumpkins we carved. The cat on the end was done by Greta (our daughter) and Coleen.  Next up is the Haunted House on the Hill which my hubby, Mike carved.  He always does the really intricate patterns from the book.  The Happy Smiley face is the pumpkin I carved for my mom.  She hates spooky so we always have to choose a non-scary pattern for her pumpkin.  Lastly I also carved the Pirate Skelton. My hand was getting a tad tired so Mike helped me finsh it up. 

In spite of a drizzly night we had quite a number of Trick-or-Treaters but not near the number that there use to be when Halloween was still a Safe Time to go out at night.  Now they have down town parties or candy give out from the stores and other places kids can go besides the door-to-door trick or treating that I did as a kid. 

Anyway I hope you have enjoyed these photo's as much as I did sharing them.

Cattitude Monday - Images of Fall

Happy Monday! - I couldn't resist sharing this photo of Callie-Jo.  Yesterday when we came home from church we were commenting on where each of the cats were laying and Mike said that Callie-Jo must have been sleeping in a box somewhere because she wasn't on the couch or in any of the chairs in the living room like the other 3 cats were.  Then he turned and discovered exactly where she was laying.  I had to get the camera and get her picture even though being up on the mantle is suppose to be a big "No-No."  She just looked so comfortable up there.  I'm not sure though what I'm going to do about putting up my Nativity this year since the younger 2 cats don't seem to grasp the concept of having "boundaries" as to where they can and cannot be. 

 This next picture I took about a week ago.  This pumpkin was growing on top of these people's fence and I found it rather unique so I snapped a couple of pictures.  The frost got the vine later in the week so I'm glad I got the picture when I did.Lastly here is another picture of Coleen taken at the Pumpkin Patch last week.  For those of you who read my blog and have asked Coleen is my "Granddaughter."  I'll share a picture of her and her mommy late this week.

Have a great day and enjoy the beauty of the season.

BC69-Autumn Beauty

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. ~Albert Camus


Hello and Happy Friday!  -  I for one am happy that this week is about over.  It's been a super busy one for me.  Monday we  took Coleen to the pumpkin patch and also celebrated my niece's 25th birthday, Tuesday was our Bowling League day,
Wednesday I took my mom for doctor's appointments and worked on cards for my Stamp Club meeting.  Last night was the Stamp Club and I didn't get to bed until nearly midnight and then was up about 5:30 as hubby made a little to much noise after he got up and I couldn't go back to sleep. So needless to say I was a bit late getting around to making my card for today's Blogger's Challenge Group.
Today was a COLOR challenge day (Old Olive, Really Rust, Ridinghood Red) and Neutrals (White, Vanilla or Confetti)
When I pulled out the 3 colors and put them together they just seemed to bring to mind the colors of the Fall leaves and that's how this card was born.
My card base is Really Rust distressed with Rust ink.  Then I layered Very Vanilla with a piece of Old Olive that I stamped with the Sanded Background in Old Olive ink.  I added a Scallop piece of Ridinghood Red and a strip of textured Really Rust card stock and pierced holes in the scallped piece.  I also added 3 Really Rust Eyelets (I hate it that SU discontinue the small eyelets)
For the focal piece I stamp an Oak leaf from Autumn Leaf Prints (SU-Retired) using Old Olive, Really Rust, Ridinghood Red.  I used the "Rock-n-Roll" method to stamp the leaves in mulit-colors. I then stamped my sentiment (Creative Cousins) with Basic Black ink.  That may have been "cheating" a little since it wasn't one of the colors mentioned but the saying wouldn't have shown up any other way.  I added Old Olive Grosgrain Ribbon to the corners and mounted it on Really Rust card stock and mounted it with foam mounting tape.
Then I punched out 3 leaves in the challenge colors and distressed them with the same color of ink (the punch is also an SU Retired punch) and raised them with the foam mounting tape as well.

So now be sure to check out the other great creations by clicking on the Blogger Challenge Icon on my sidebar.

Finally I leave you with one of Coleen's picture's from the Pumpkin Patch

A Budding Artist

Yesterday I was distressing some card stock with my Pumpkin Pie ink pad and happened to leave the pad in the living room.  A short time later Coleen came in and ask Grandma for some glue.  I asked her what she wanted glue for and she said she was making her mommy a card.  Naturally I asked to see her card and I discovered she had this white piece of paper and a piece of cardboard that I had left in the living room.  She had taken a marker and colored the white paper and wanted to glue on the brown piece with the punched out cherry on it.

That's also when I discovered she had taken my Pumpkin Pie ink pad and tried to distress the piece of cardboard with it like (looks like she was paying attention to what Grandma was doing).  I wasn't to thrilled about her using the ink pad but shook it off and ended up helping her make her card.  I got stickers out and let her pick what she wanted and where she wanted to put them.  She also wanted a ribbon and a flower so she got to pick those out as well.  She even stamped the inside and wrote her own name (I helped with the "mommy" portion) but for the most part she did this all by herself.  Her mommy loved it and of course Grandma just had to take a picture to share with you all.

Here is the inside of the card.    

4 and 20 Blackbirds Baked in a Pie

Did you really think there were going to be blackbirds in a pie here!

Okay so this isn't about the song but hey I couldn't come up with anything related to blackberries that was as clever.



So here is my granddaughter Coleen helping to bake her very first pie! (She's only 3 1/2). 



First photo we are dumping the blackberries into the measuring cup.

Next up is pouring in the sugar. After that I showed her how to cut shortening into the flour.  She actually thought that was a lot of fun.

Then she learned how to roll out the dough and cut in the air vent.Doesn't she look dangerous!  After that we pinched the pie shell together.

Let me tell you she was having the time of her life and Grandma was having fun too.  I think children should learn to cook at an early age and not from a box or mix either.  That's great for saving time but there is something to be said for learning to cook from scratch and it taste so much better too.

So here we are with the finished pie and then of course we had to eat it.  YUM YUM.  I hope you have enjoyed this pictorial on Coleen's first blackberry pie baking experince.

Sweet Taste of Summer

I just love summer here where I live because you can get so much great Fresh produce and one of the things I "live for" here are the delicious strawberries grown in this area. I picked these berries (Klicker's) for 8 summers when I was a kid and never ever got tired of eating them. You can see from this picture that Coleen is sure enjoying hers. Yum Yum Yum!

Flapper Girl

Today I had the chance to travel over to a Scrapbook store about 45 minutes away and spend some $$ on some new stamping stuff. My mom and Coleen were with me and I wasn't sure we'd be able to enjoy ourselves since there were so many things that Coleen wanted to get into. The owner of the store offered to let her sit and color pictures and that worked like a charm. She was so good on the drive over, at the store and on the drive home that as a reward Grandma let her pick out something she wanted. She settled on this "Flapper" costume and has been having a blast dancing around in it since we got home. I wanted to share her Flapper Dance with everyone so sit back and enjoy. It's not very long since our camera doesn't allow very long video posts but I think it's pretty cute.

I'll share the stamping goodies later in another post.

Snow Much Fun

Well here we are again with the results of yet another snow storm.

We just got rid of the last snow and then yesterday it dumped on us again. Trust me this is the most snow we've had here in Walla Walla in 10 years or better!!! - Again I am not a big fan of winter and snow but I did venture out and took these pictures of Greta and Coleen having fun in the snow. Coleen just loved being out side in the snow. I am so glad that when I saw that snowsuit on sale for only $18 that I bought it because she's certainly got a lot of use out of it this winter.

What a fun creating they came up with. It's not your typical snowman but it certainly has character!

Just Being Silly

Have you figured out yet what this is suppose to be? - Keep reading & you'll find out. See my husband has this really weird sense of humor at times and so I'm playing along with him. Lately whenever his French Vanilla creamer is out he's been writing little messages on the empty container and leaving it next to the coffee pot to remind me to get more. This morning the container was upside down with the words: "Dead" and "Belly Up" written on it.

So I suddenly had this brain storm to create a new container so of like how (Frankenstein) was created out of body parts (YUCK) but mine is less gross. I pulled off the tab on the old container and hot glued it on for the nose. Then added some eyes, a mouth (which is actually the grin of the Cheshire Cat) and some hair with bows. Coleen thinks my little doll is, "CUTE"...now let's see what hubby thinks!

Okay I know it's silly but that's part of the fun of being married to my husband...we are always doing silly stuff like this with each other. Hope you are amused too. Oh I almost forgot...

I'm calling her a "FRENCH TART!"