ewwwwwww.

It’s been a while since I posted. We were on vacation in Calif. Went to see my family in the L.A. area, then it was off to Death Valley and Yosemite. I’ll post a few pictures soon.

In the meantime, a funny story… yesterday we went to Waffle House for breakfast. Mike got a large order of hash browns with chili, onions and cheese (“topped, smothered, and covered” in Waffle House language). He couldn’t finish them, so as the three of us chatted away at the end of the meal, I took a few bites of Mike’s leftovers. As we were getting ready to leave, Mike said “Did you eat from that side of the plate?”. “Uh, yessss, why…..?”. “I think you ate my rubber bands.” We looked all over—under the plate, on the floor, I looked in Mike’s hands to make sure he wasn’t playing a trick on me. No sign of the two little rubber bands he wears on his braces (that he takes out for meals). Ew. Gag. For quite some time after, I alternated between feeling queasy about my extra “food” and bursting into fits of giggles.

resist 2

These are the cards we're making in my upcoming Resist 2 class at Your Stamping Cottage on June 28 (12:30pm & 6:30pm). I'm going to have people make their own stamps to create the mosaic look.

The first card is made with an SU set called The Open Sea - kind like you're viewing the ship through a cracked spyglass. The next card I designed with a black and white background so people could color their flower any way they wanted. This flower, and another one they can choose, is from SU Fifth Avenue Floral. The last card is a wax paper resist. The stamp is from Rubber Nature, and the sentiment is from an SU set (can't remember which one).

smile and show me your fish

First, a warning - if snakes skeeve you out, don't scroll down to the next photos. (I would expect the same courtesy if someone were to post a picture of a spider - or a clown... !)

The other day we went fishing in a small pond at a local park. The boys were going for bass, and I was catching bluegill (and just happened to get the one little bass in the photo). I had forgotton to bring the tub o'worms that I dug from the yard at home, but luckily I had also packed a cheesy mett - just in case we wanted to throw a hunk out for a catfish. Apparently bluegill love cheesy metts, and I did very well (although I was probably catching the same few fish over and over again).

As I was fishing I noticed a snake sticking his head out of the water right in front of me. He was adorable (I love snakes!). And he was hungry. As I pulled in fish next to him, he would try to catch them. And he caught this one in the photo. I was able to pull the fish out of the water and the snake let go. Fish seemed to be ok, and swam off. Jim later looked up snakes online, and this guy was a Northern Water Snake. Totally harmless.

bookmark swap

I'm in a swap at Splitcoast - pick-a-theme bookmarks. How pick-a-theme (aka PAT) works: there are five people in a group, each person chooses a theme in which they'd like the other four people to create for them. I chose "dogs at play", so I'll receive four different dog bookmarks. It's fun to see how people interpret the theme in their own way.

Here are the ones I made. Click on the photo to see details better.

Steampunk: I used the Tim Holtz Steampunk stamp set, stamped the men on vellum; used some copper tape and made faux rivets (little blobs of glue under the tape); the embossed gears at the bottom were metal charms that I ran thru my Cuttlebug with a piece of craft metal (my poor Cuttlebug!).

Botanical: I used an older SU stamp set called Botanicals (of course!). Sewed some seam binding ribbon around the edges. You can't see it, but I also clear embossed a weedy stamp (not part of the set) around one section - just gives it a little texture and interest.

Lilacs: I tried a transfer (using an image I found online) onto fabric (where you stick the inkjet image down with gel medium, wait for it to almost dry, then rub off the paper). The lilacs - the most important part of the bookmark - turned out faded looking. I did a quick fix by going over them with a watercolor pencil. The little sticky-out bit of ribbon that says "joy" is actually a baby-theme ribbon I got in a grab bag that says "bundle of joy". Sewed the fabric onto the bookmark.

Shabby & chic: I'm not thrilled with this bookmark. I used an old SU set - I think called See with the Heart. Cut out the bits, sponged a little ink on them, used a shimmery paint on the flowers. Trimmed it up with some lace and pearls. This one is going to haunt me because the person I made it for always does amazing, artsy work.

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letter box

Tomorrow (Tuesday) I'll be teaching a class at Your Stamping Cottage on how to make a box that looks like a stack of envelopes. It's easier than it looks. Just a little time consuming. A while back I had some friends to the house to make this box and we had a great time. Brad had the terrific idea of using it as a gift card holder for a wedding gift - use the wedding colors inside the box, and address the envelope to the couple.

handsome kid

Mike's band (all the kids who weren't seniors) played Pomp and Circumstance at the high school graduation ceremony over the weekend. He looks so handsome all dressed up. Love the floral tie we found at Goodwill.

I do have a few paper projects I'll post soon. My letter box class is coming up next week, and I've been working on card samples for a "Christmas in July" class at Your Stamping Cottage.

that's a lotta fur for sure

It's time for the annual shaving of the beast. When we got Addie (from the shelter), she had short, wiry hair. Over the next few years she changed slowly. Her tail started getting fluffier. Then she grew a long patch of hair down her back, like a really long mohawk. Then she had long hair all over. She is very scraggly, and when it gets warm she looks very uncomfortable, so Jim started giving her the clipper treatment once a year. She still has long-ish hair, just more under control.

Here she is running around after her haircut.

Here's Ricky saying, "me too", I want some attention!