HALLOWEEN 2014

One of my favorite memories of growing up was going trick-or-treating with my brothers and sisters as a child. We looked so forward to this day every year and it didn't matter what the weather brought us, we still had a great time that evening!  To this day....I just LOVE Halloween!  Here is Steven and I, along with our granddaughters, Lucy and Lily getting ready for the big night.  Even Casey got into the fun and was dressed up this year as a honey bee.

We greeted 117 trick-or-treaters who came out for an evening of fun!

 

 I hope you all had a spooktacular Halloween!

OCTOBER

It's hard to believe it's October, never mind almost November!  I got a late start stitching this months cross stitch project and finished it much later than I wanted to. But it's complete and time to show you how my October project came out...

I think he's just the cutest little scarecrow.  I'm sure he won't scare anything away with his great, big smile!

SISTERS VACATION 2014

On September 26th, my sisters and I took a "sisters vacation". The three of us met each other in Palm Springs, California and had a great week together. No, there were no husbands, children, or grandchildren with us...just the 3 sisters for some fun, relaxation and quality time together.  We decided on Palm Springs because none of us had ever been there and we thought it would be a good place to explore together.....and it was!

The three sisters at beautiful Mount San Jacinto

Looking down from Mount San Jacinto - some beautiful views of the Coachella Valley from the elevation of 8,516 feet. We took the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway up the mountain to take in the views and do a little hiking on the Desert View Trail.

 

We also went down into San Diego to visit the San Diego Zoo. We could've used more time at the zoo but our day was shortened by the length of time it took to get out of the mountains and down into
San Diego. We did a lot of walking, but taking the tram and going on one of the buses through the zoo helped us to get around quicker and be able to see more than we could by just walking. The zoo closed at 6pm and we had lots we wanted to see.

I took lots of photos of the beautiful animals at the zoo but these were some of my favorites.....









We also visited the Joshua Tree National Park which was really a great place to explore and hike.  I had never seen a real Joshua Tree....but there were plenty of them here!  This park is HUGE---794,000 acres. Nearly three-quarters of it is designated wilderness where the Mojave and Colorado deserts meet.



Within the park, in the Wilson Canyon, is the Cholla Cactus Garden. This is definitely a cactus you wouldn't want to touch or accidentally bump up against!

 I can now say I've also hiked in the Mojave Desert. We hiked the Hidden Valley Trail where these photos were taken. Look at these HUGE rocks! You can barely see Brenda standing by them.  Hidden in the rocks lie red diamond rattlesnakes. They tell you to be very careful around the rocks and where you put your hands.... we were all careful and happy to say we didn't see any live rattlesnakes!

I really thought this rock was cool looking. Doesn't it look like the New England Patriots logo? This huge rock looks as though it has a face on it. How cool is that!!

 

 

After leaving the Mojave Desert, we traveled through Yucca Valley going to Pioneer Town. Many western movies have been filmed here. It was really like being in the wild west.  :)  Afterwards, we went to Pappy and Harriet's for dinner. It was a real laid back little western type place where they even serve the drinks in Mason jars.

 

I hope you've enjoyed a glimpse of the sisters vacation!

THINKING OF YOU...

I just learned the glitter technique using products from Elizabeth Craft. My dear friend, Deloris, who I've been stamping long distance with for several years, was kind enough to teach me the technique through emails and even sent me enough product so I can make a few more cards using this technique!  There's always more to learn with card making and I'm always excited to learn something new!

I started out with a white card stock base, then added a couple of layers of designer paper by Heidi Grace Designs.  Both the oval and oval scallops are Spellbinder dies. The tulip image and greeting are from Elizabeth Craft.  I used the micro fine glitter for the oval layer and tulip.  The color of the glitter is called "snow" and it leaves such a beautiful sparkle.....like the glistening snow! I wish you could see the sparkle better in the picture. To color the image, I used Copics R81, Y02, YG11, YG25, and YG45. I then finished the card off with 3 small adhesive candy dots by Stampin' UP! I can't wait to try this technique again!

 

Thank you Deloris!

SEPTEMBER

Happy September everyone! 

It's beginning to look and feel like autumn here in New England. The leaves are beginning to change color and fall off the trees, and the cool evenings and mornings are here again.  All the kids are back in school and everyone is dressing just a bit warmer now. Seeing we're now into a new month, it's time to post my cross stitch project for September!

I put 3 little red buttons on the tree to make it look like an apple tree. I just love this little school house.  Gotta get stitching my next project as October will be here before we know it...

HEY THERE, PUMPKIN!

Isn't this the cutest little piggy?  It was the stamp of the month for the August challenge from "From the Heart Stamps". It's a progressive challenge and when you play along, the following month you get the stamp of the month FREE!  If you'd like to play, you can join here.

 I started off with a white card base, then added some Garden Green, Pumpkin Pie, More Mustard and Chocolate Chip all by Stampin' UP!  The DP is from American Crafts.  I used Pierced Square STAX, Fishtail Flags STAX, and one of my all time favorites, Gerbera Daisy by MFT.  I still felt the card needed just a little bit of something more so I finished it off using some orange colored enamel dots.  All the color was done using the Copics shown below.

BIRTHDAY GREETINGS!

My daughter-in-law just had a birthday.  I thought the oriental image from Bugaboo Stamps was perfect for her card.

Stampin' UP's Real Red paper was used, along with a beautiful piece of shiny gold paper that was purchased at a scrapbook store during one of my travels.  I hope Kattaleeya liked her card!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAT!

AUGUST

 Happy August!
Here is my cross stitch project for the month of August. What would be more perfect for this month than some sunflowers??  The fabric I used is a 14 ct oatmeal aida cloth which worked out perfectly for the background.

See you next month with my project for September..... no hints, but can you guess what it might be???

THANK YOU

My sister invited me to go see James Taylor along with her and my nephew Chip and his wife Tracy. The concert was at Tanglewood in Lenox, MA. The concert was part of his 2014 summer tour in 43 cities and consisted of 52 concerts.....he's still going strong!!  I had a wonderful time, despite the POURING rain. We, along with tons of other people, had lawn seats. Thankfully, the four of us had raincoats and umbrellas as well.  :)

It was a great concert! His voice is still strong and he played many songs, including "Fire and Rain" which is my favorite song of his. I would definitely go back to see him again.

I wanted to make a special thank you card for her for bringing me along.  This is what I came up with.

The stamp used was from a SU set called Heartspeak and the thank you image is from Hero Arts. Dies are the Pierced Circle Stax and Fishtail Flags Stax by MFT.  The paper I chose was from the MME-Happy Day Collection, K&Co, and Close to Cocoa by SU. I didn't like the circle being bright white so toned it down using Tim Holtz Antique Linen Distress Ink with a sponge dauber. These are the Copics used.

Thank you again Brenda, I had a great time!  :)

ENDLESS SUMMER

I couldn't pass up taking a picture of this beautiful flower. It's an Endless Summer Hydrangea that's in my back yard. Such a gorgeous color!

JULY

Oops!  I almost forgot to post my cross stitch project for the month of July. It was done on 14ct aida fabric and framed in a 5x5 little black frame.  The colors don't show very well in this photograph, the threads were much more vibrant in color.

Tomorrow is August.....where has the summer gone??  I hope to be back soon with my cross stitch project for the month of August.

CHRISTMAS IN JULY

It's hard to believe.....but it's already JULY! This is the month that many people start thinking about ideas for their upcoming Christmas cards which we will need in just a few months. It's never too early to start on holiday cards as we're all so busy with the hustle and bustle of the holidays with all the shopping and decorating. I say every year that I am going to have all of my cards done early..... but it just doesn't happen.  I was quite pleased when Faith made an adorable, digital snowman image for the progressive monthly challenge this month. At least I'll have one Christmas card made early this year!  :)

I started off with a white card base, adding layers of Handsome Hunter and More Mustard by SU. The designer papers are from the Kringle & Co. collection, made by American Crafters.  The dies used are the Pierced Square STAX and Mini Tabs Foursome, both by MFT. The Christmas Joy stamped image is by Papertrey Ink. I used a snowflake button as my embellishment, just snipping off the back of the button. StarDust Stickles were used on the button and the snow to give my card a bit of sparkle. The Copics used are shown below. I love this happy, smiling snowman image!  You can get this image or join in the progressive challenge at http://fromtheheartstamps.com

I hope my card gives you a bit of inspiration in thinking about your Christmas cards this year.  :)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

I have another birthday card to share with you today. This time the birthday was for my daughter, Jocelyn.  I just loved making this card, and with the help of MFT's new Gerbera Daisy die it went together easily.

I started off with white cardstock for the base, adding a layer of Barely Banana (one of Jocelyn's favorite cardstock colors). On top of that I layered it with a white panel that I ran through my Big Shot with the Swiss Dots embossing folder. The fun part was selecting the colors for the gerbera daisies. I chose Lavender Lace, Lovely Lilac, Rose Red, Chocolate Chip, Barely Banana and Creamy Caramel. All the papers used is SU. The flourish I chose was another MFT die called Fancy Flourish using Mellow Moss cardstock. The little Happy Birthday greeting by SU was just the perfect size for the card. I had so much fun making this card that I'm going to make a few more, just changing the colors of the flowers.  :)  HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOCELYN.  I'm so glad you had a nice birthday!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SPARKY!

I wanted to post the recent card I made for Steven (a.k.a. Sparky!) for his birthday on June 27th. This little image was perfect with the letter "S" on his belt buckle. The cute little bird image was the Stamp of the Month digital image from www.fromtheheartstamps.com for the month of June.

I started out using Stampin UP's Garden Green card stock for the base of the card, adding Yo-Yo Yellow and Brocade Blue. The DP is from Daisy D's paper.  Copics used were BG000, B21, B95, Y15, Y17, Y11 and G43.  The dies used were all from MFT. Used were the Pierced Circle Stax, Star Stax, Blueprints 3 and Fishtail Flags Stax. You can't really see it in this picture but a silver Spica was used to fill in the belt and mask giving it just the right amount of sparkle. 

JUNE

Well, I've had my cross stitch project done for awhile now, but just haven't had the time to post it. The month of June is a crazy, busy month for me. I wanted to get this posted for you to see before it's time to post the month of July!  :)

I just love these designs by Lizzy Kate and really enjoyed stitching this months little design. The tiny little buttons were used as the centers of the flowers. I'll be back to show you the month of July before you know it....  :)

YOU GO GIRL!

Happy Friday everyone!
It seems as though it was such a long week....I really am happy that my work week is over with and I am looking forward to starting my weekend. My order also arrived today from MFT and I can't wait to play with the new things I bought. 
Here's the card I made for a challenge I joined called "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun". I made it for the challenge but with my granddaughter in mind. Lucy is a cheerleader and I plan on giving this card to her...

The cardstock that was used is Close to Cocoa, Yo-Yo Yellow and some designer paper all by SU!
Pierced rectangles by MFT were used along with Bitty Banners from The Cat's Pajamas. Copics were used for the color, using B000, B23, E00, E31, E35, Y02, Y11 and Y17.The cute little image is called "Stick Cheerleader" and is a digital image by Bugaboo Stamps. The Word stamp was given to me by a stamping friend. Thank you Jennie!
I hope you all enjoy the weekend....  :)

MAY

One of my other hobbies is cross-stitch. About a year ago I posted a cross stitch framed piece that I had done for my sister similar to this, but with a leprechaun on it for the month of March. As I really like these 5 x 5 framed stitched pieces, I decided to make one for myself for each month of the year. I will display a new one each month in a perfect little place on my counter in my new kitchen.

 

 

The patterns are designed by Lizzie Kate. I really like each and every one of the 12 patterns for the months of the year. This particular series uses 3 little tiny buttons on each pattern each month. Notice, the 3 little buttons for this month are used as the openings on the front of the birdhouse.  I will share with you, the new one that I make each month until all twelve months are done. I'm finishing up the one for the month of June which needs to be done very soon......  :)