Happy Winter!

I'm walking in a winter wonderland. Happy winter and Merry Christmas Eve!

Art & Wine Evening

Can you think of a better coupling? I can't except maybe something with coffee. :) Davalynn, my client's wife, is very artistically talented. Their home has many of her own creations (need I say beautiful?) adorning the walls. Her pieces are stunning. To share her passion, she started an art and wine evening in her home studio for friends who think the aren't artistic. She described the canvas that participants would be making and I was sold! Holly went with me and we had a delightful time! It was amazing to see how different everyone's canvases were. We used shredded paper, dipped in diluted glue and arranged them on the canvas. Then, we used dye to paint the canvas and we could use watercolor to paint the shredded paper if we wanted to. I chose not to paint mine since I chose shredded paper that had quite a bit of color on it. I'm looking forward to the next month's A&W evening!

I fought the concrete pillar and it won!

A result of Cascadia's poor parking garage design and me cutting the wheel too much when backing out of the precarious spot on a cold, dark rainy evening.

Bob's Pumpkin Patch

Cutie Patootie in the Leaves

My baby in the leaves in our driveway
This is my favorite tree!

An act of desperation?

For the past two weeks (at least) we have been getting phone calls from a Texas politician asking us to vote. The problem or weirdness of this? We have lived in Washington for two years and they're calling our home number...obviously not a TX area code! It must be an act of desperation.

Portland Journey

Union Station, Portland

Join me on a journey to/from Portland, looking through my windshield! I went for a conference this past weekend (which was great) and took along Mountain Man's point-n-shoot Canon. I was pleasantly surprised at the quality of photos, considering that most of these were taken while driving. I didn't have much free time while I was there, except for in the evenings and it got dark fairly quickly.

Capitol Grounds, Olympia

Thursday night I spent the evening studying but Friday night, I ventured out on the Max (the light-rail) to downtown. I walked around a few blocks, went into a very fancy schmancy mall, visited the Columbia store, and then found another station to catch the Max back to my hotel. I ended up eating at a very nice steakhouse recommended by the Marriott, and then perused the mall near it (that I just happened upon). It had an ice skating rink in it and was a little more my style, although it was late and I just had a few minutes to walk around. Then, I walked back to my hotel, which was a few blocks away (but a little scary), and crashed with HGTV on.

Capitol Building, Olympia

Today was the last day of the conference and afterwards, I headed home. I couldn't resist taking some photos of the beautiful Fall foliage here, so you'll see quite a bit of that. I also made a quick detour to our Capitol in Olympia, which was a nice way to stretch my legs. I hope you will enjoy the journey with me. (There are lots of captions.)

Old barn surrounded by the changing leaves of the Fall

Exciting News

Too busy for stamping much lately, but I have some exciting news.
I was published for the first time in Card Creations 6!
Oh yes, you know I'm over the moon with excitement! :-)

Hope your weekend is wonderful! I have 3 exams and a 45-minute group presentation next week for school, not to mention some work, so I'm buried in books again this weekend!

Appreciating Davalynn

Davalynn is my client's wife and she's such a sweetheart. The other day, she surprised everyone in the office with sack lunches and Italian soda. I thought it was so sweet of her to include me! The lunch was delicious and included a homemade meatball sandwich, chips and a homemade brownie. It was especially helpful for me because I was able to work through lunch and get done a little earlier. Anyway, I wanted something special to thank her, so I made this card with a little sack lunch on the front. Now I wish I would have covered the sides as well and continued the back all the way up. Shoot! Oh well; too late now!

Stamps: Maison Frames (Inkadinkadoo)
Paper: Gable Green, Bashful Blue, Creative Cafe
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Accessories: A Muse Creative Candy, ribbon, Antique mold metal alphabet letter (JoAnn's ScrapEssentials), dimensionals, sponge

I was inspired by two SCS challenges - WT187 (to use a monogram) and LSC189 (rock-paper-scissors). I had fun with these challenges. :)

Hope your weekend is fun. We're hoping to get to the woods tomorrow!

Heidelfest Photos

Heidelfest 2008 Gallery is posted!

From Heidelfest

The Cooks

Happy Belated Birthday, Eddie!

Well, Eddie's {Stepdad} birthday came and went on Saturday, and although I called, I didn't have a chance to make his card until today! Thanks to Rox and the sketch (SC197) today, I was able to throw it together pretty quickly. I used Michelle Zindorf's You Rock Tutorial for the sponging/shading. She's the master at shading and I've been learning a lot from her tutorials. I hand-drew the flame template a while back and sponged yellow and a couple of oranges onto yellow cardstock.

Sorry this is so late! I'm trying to catch up, but school keeps getting in the way!

Stamps: Look Ma, no stamps! (Isn't that embarrassing!)
Paper: Whisper White, Misc. Yellow (this is the thin, cheap stuff), Only Orange, Deep Belgium Blue by ColorMates
Ink: All for sponging: Barely Banana, Yo-Yo Yellow, Pumpkin Pie, Only Orange, Brilliant Blue
Accessories: navy brads, Fender die cut by Paper House Productions, sponges

Happy Wednesday! Off to study...seems to be the story of my life.

Fall Inspired

My Inspiration

The SCS color challenge today was Chocolate Chip, Kiwi Kiss, & Tangerine. I don't have the new colors, so I substituted Pumpkin Pie & Old Olive. I was inspired by our trees - turning to beautiful shades of yellows, oranges, and reds!

Our church recently hosted our second annual Heidelfest, a fun, family festival celebrating God's goodness. I'm the unofficial photographer (usually the only one with a camera), so I thought it would be nice to give photo CDs to all of the generous coordinators. It takes a lot of time and effort for a successful festival, so I just want them to know that I appreciate their efforts. It was tons of fun and I'm looking forward to next year! {I'm still editing the photos, so they will go out soon!}

As for the CD holder, the leaves were stamped, embossed, then sponged over for the background. There's not much white on it like it shows in that terrible photo! The browns blend very nicely IRL. The front pumpkin is popped on dimensionsals. This was the perfect color combo to play with my new fall stamp sets!

I hope you're enjoying the Fall!

Stamps: Fall Season by Inkadinkadoo, For Our Lord by Clear Dollar Stamps
Paper: Pumpkin Pie, Whisper White, Old Olive
Ink: Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Certainly Celery, Pumpkin Pie, Ruby Red, Craft White
Accessories: paper piercer, dimensionals

October already

I cannot believe it's already October. September really flew by, especially the last two weeks that I've been in school. It seems like it's been a whirlwind! I already feel behind in school; I think I underestimated the time required for 20 quarter hours! I'm taking Accounting I, Statistics, Business Law, and Microeconomics this quarter and none seem as easy as I thought they might be! It's been a tough, fast-paced two weeks and the longer this goes on, the more sleep-deprived I become! I've also really been dying to stamp and have taken some time to stamp a little, but not enough to satisfy that longing! :-)

Other changes are happening around here too. The leaves are beginning to change, the air is becoming crisper, and I'm getting giddier! I LOVE the changes of the seasons. Soon it will be time to visit the pumpkin patch and run the corn maze at night with flashlights! {I've only heard about this but I'm looking forward to participating with some gals from church!} When I think of how I love the changes of the seasons, I'm reminded of how good God is to us to let us experience these changes.

Well, I'm off to bed. I got 2 hours of sleep last night and I need a few more so I can work efficiently tomorrow! I'd love to stamp, but I don't think I have it in me tonight. Maybe tomorrow.

A New Creation

I made this card for the SCS Color Challenge to use Baja Breeze (but I had to substitute Sage Shadow,) Really Rust, and Chocolate Chip on Tuesday. This is going to a special tweety that has been so loving and encouraging me to lately. I don't think she looks at my blog, so I think I'm safe in posting it.

The main panel is watercolor paper, sponged with the ink colors listed below, stamped using Chocolate Chip, and popped up on dimensionals. The nest with eggs was watercolored using a marker and aquapainter. The brown panel used the Textile Cuttlebug folder.

Stamps: A New Creation (CHF), Tweets (Saltbox Studio)
Paper: Sage Shadow, Really Rust, Fall Festival Cocoa (Bo Bunny), Watercolor
Ink: Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Sage Shadow, Mint Melody
Accessories: Green sheer ribbon, pearl sticker (K&Co), aquapainter, brown marker, CB Textile, dimensionals

Happy stamping!

Thankful Oak

These cards were inspired by Terry (Terrore3), who is the Featured Stamper on SCS today and I was inspired by this card of hers. I kept her general color scheme and layout but changed the following:
1. masked off the middle and sponged the outside vs. the inside
2. changed flower to a tree
3. positioned main image in the middle
4. no paper piercing here
5. added a chord to the top
6. some swirls and the outside of the main image panel (which is popped up on dimensionals) are outlined in gold

I also need to credit Michelle Zindorf, who is one of my stampin' heroes, and whose tutorials I read religiously! She is an amazing artist; I can't get enough of her creations. She's gotten me addicted to sponging! I love it - inky fingers and all!

These are going to a couple of our elders that came and prayed over me a few weeks ago. It was such a sweet time of fellowship and I really appreciated them spending a couple of hours to come over, pray for me, and encourage me. It really impacted me and I want to thank them! I really love this layout and am considering using it for my Thanksgiving or Christmas cards.

Stamps: Lovely as a Tree, Swirl (by Rhonna Ferrar)
Paper: Bravo Burgandy, Very Vanilla
Ink: Tree stamped with Always Artichoke and for Sponging: Old Olive, Always Artichoke, Ruby Red, Bravo Burgandy
Accessories: gold cord, gold gel pen, gold paint pen

Happy stamping. I'm off to get ready for church!

Moose You

I made this for Dad & Kathy. I thought this moose was too cute and just had to have this Nature Calls set from My Favorite Things. I love all of the animals and of course the cute hiker chick! I still haven't used her yet, but I will soon.

I'm off to study. I've got to get busy...lots of reading to do!

Happy stamping!

Howly Jowly Owly

Today's Limited Supplies Challenge on SCS was to make a Christmas card using animal stamps, only embellishing with ribbon. It's been a while since I had played dress-up with Dudley, so I pulled him out and dressed him up as Santa. When I got him all dressed up, I realized that his beard just didn't fit, so he's staying cool without one. I drew the suit on him, complete with belt and buckle and used liquid applique for all the fuzzies.

Stamps: U R A Hoot (by CHF)
Paper: Real Red, White, Green Galore, Black Small Dots (by Making Memories)
Ink: Black Stazon, Real Red, Garden Green (sponged onto holly)
Accessories: CB snowflake folder, red satin ribbon, liquid applique, red & white bling (chrystal stickers), brown Kohinoor pencil & blending stump with baby oil, gold pen

Happy stamping!

Belated Birthdays

September snuck up on me so quickly and I was late getting these birthday cards out, but I guess better late than never!
Happy Belated Birthday, Shwa! (Mountain Man's cousin, Sept. 13) - This is a photo of Shwa soaring over a competitor during his ultimate frisbee tourney here in Washington. We had fun watching him play and his team did so well, placing 3rd! They are one of the top teams in the nation, so it was a real treat to watch them play.
Happy Belated Birthday, Ma! (My sweet mother-in-law, Sept. 16) - Jan, my sweet MIL, bought the beautiful 3-D alphabet stickers for me when I visited last time, so I wanted to use them for her. Matched with the expensive but oh-so-worth it Fabriano card, they're so sophisticated. A very simple but sweet thought.

Happy stamping! I'm off to make dinner and then head to class.

Happy Anniversary Dad & Kathy!

Very happy anniversary wishes to Dad & Kathy! I love you both and hope you have a wonderful day basking in your love! :)

And here's their card that they should receive today! I took this photo in Junction, Texas this year when we camped at the South Llano State Park. Can you believe the prickly pear cactus was shaped as a heart?! I thought it was so cute (for a cactus)! Also, did you notice the corners? I just got the corner punch from SU! and I LOVE it!


I'm off to do homework before heading off to school. It's been tough getting back in the swing of things, but I guess I'll make it!

TTFN!

Spa Day

I had a fun spa day with my good friend, Brooke, yesterday afternoon.

Brooke (Isn't she so cute?!)

We went to Hector's in downtown Kirkland for lunch (YUMMY!) and then on to the spa for some pampering. We had fun with the ladies there, who happened to be all sisters! We had the works - manicures and pedicures, complete with wax! It's definitely not something I can do regularly, but it was fun to have a girlie day. And for the first time ever, my fingernails were long enough to have a regular manicure. (I've always gotten acrylics put on.)

And just for my parents who probably won't believe that my nails could actually get this long, here are my fingernails before:

Thanks for a fun day, my friend!

Go Bearcats!

I went with the McPhetridges last night to watch Megs play volleyball. Wow, is her team good! Megs is a home-schooled junior but she plays with the Monroe Bearcats. She's even a starter! Let me tell you, she is one fantastic player! She can pass, hit, serve, dig, block - she can do it all!

Watching high school volleyball sure brought back old memories! Those were fun times. I was a setter/hitter and played on the varsity team from my sophomore year on. It's so strange to see how so many rules have changed since then. I really enjoyed being there and watching them play (especially Megs). It was a quick night; they won very easily in 3 straight games. I'm looking forward to seeing her play some more. She's also in a very competitive club volleyball team that starts up soon, so I'm hoping to see some of those games. They play all over the country, so I might not make very many of those, but they're much more competitive and I've heard more exciting to watch.

These pictures aren't great. The gym lighting was terrible and most of the time, I used my bigger lens (without a tripod), so most didn't turn out that great. Here are a few that I salvaged. (She's the beautiful blonde, number 8!)

Megs passing

Megs serving
Megs blocking
Passing again

And this little princess is her sister

Hope your weekend is fabulous! We've got a busy one with Heidelfest all day tomorrow and a fun Sunday planned with Brooke.

Thank you, Momma!

Just a quick shout out to my mom thanking her for the beautiful earrings she sent me! I LOVE happy mail! What a fun surprise! Thank you, Momma. You made my Monday and I haven't taken them off since I got them! I even (accidentally) slept in them!

Wanna see them?

Ever Grateful

I have admired Michelle Zindorf's creations for a while now and attempted one a while back, but knew I needed a lot of practice. I'm still practicing, but I've done away with my brayer for a while and moved on to sponges. I really like the look I get with the sponges. I made this card for the SC194 challenge on SCS today. This will probably go to our Pastor and his family for hosting our church's 2nd annual Heidelfest this weekend. This is a big fall celebration where we have arts and crafts, games, and LOTS of food. This is one way we reach out to our community and just enjoy having fun!

Stamps: A Greeting for All Reasons, So Many Sayings, Rhonna Farrar Scroll, swirl, and sunflower,

Paper: Watercolor, Night of Navy, transparency

Ink: Black Staz-On, White Craft, and all of the following for Sponging: Perfect Plum, Eggplant Envy, Pumpkin Pie, Really Rust, Barely Banana Summer Sun, More Mustard, Tempting Turquoise, Taken with Teal, Not Quite Navy

Accessories: dimensionals, beads, A Muse heart stickers, white gel pen, yellow twine, clear EP

Techniques: Brayered/Sponged Sky

Happy stamping!

The River

It was another hot day, so Bex and I headed to the river. We went on a different trail today to get away from some kiddoes that were splashing about. He wanted to play with them so badly, but they were scared of him, so we found our own piece of the current to play in. Just a few pics from our day.

Happy day to you!

Honoring Lazylizard

Lazylizard was the featured stamper on Sunday on SCS and I finally got into the stamp studio and got some stuff done! I must say her gallery reflects her actual lack of laziness! She stamps a lot! I've had fun this weekend and will share all the goodies after they've been received!

Today, I can share Rochelle's card. Her birthday was Friday. (Happy late birthday, sweet friend!) I did call her on her birthday, but just made her card today. This one was inspired by Lazylizard's card here.

Supplies:

Stamps: Rejoice by CHF (on inside)

Paper: White, DCWV Far East Fire Blossom dp, very old red dp (no idea of manufacturer but it's pre-embossed)

Ink: Ruby red (for inside stamping)

Accessories: Basic Grey rub-ons, pearl stickers, misc. beads, white sheer ribbon, paper flower

Have a marvelous Monday!

Mt. Pilchuck Hike

Click on photo for gallery.

Yesterday was a beautiful day for hike! The sun was smiling, Bex was happy to be hiking, Mountain Man was back at home in the mountains (if only for a brief time) and the world was good. Mountain Man and Bexar drove up to Mt. Pilchuck and went for a day hike. It was so clear, that he could literally see for miles, with Ranier and Baker in full view.

Hope your weather is just as beautiful! It's another gorgeous day in the Great Northwest!

KitchenAid Mixer!

Yep, I'm spoiled and Mountain Man got his banana nut bread tonight. :) Ain't she a beauty? I LOVE her! Time to get my bake-on!

Weekend In-law Fun

Mountain Man's parents came in for a quick visit this past weekend and we had such a fun time "chillaxin." Our weekend in pictures:

Games on the patio

A treat for Bex to keep him busy
Mountain Man and his dad cut down a leaning tree (more of an eye-sore really), which opened up the back patio view.
Went out for a nice dinner in the harbor, with Seattle in the background during sunset
Spent a beautiful Sunday afternoon at the river
They were such troopers!
And we even saw a small eagle
On Sunday, Jan cooked a scrumptious meal of brisket, potato salad, and butternut squash. She topped off the brisket with some carmelized Walla Walla onions from my very own (tiny) garden!

It was such a fun weekend and we loved having them. In fact, we gladly welcome all family and friends! Please holler if you'll be in the area or want to make a trip and need a tour guide or just a nice, warm bed!