Monday, December 20, 2010

My Christmas card

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Red Lead Giveaway!

Leave a comment on Red Lead's Blog and win a boxful of Christmas Red Lead style!  Their giveaways are always fantastic - not that I've won yet but I'll try again today! - so go on over and take a chance for some fabulous stuff!

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Christmas trees!

Last year we started a tradition of going to our farm in NC to cut Christmas trees and bring them back to FL for us and our friends and we continued that tradition this year.  We left Sarasota on Thursday, Dec. 9 and arrived around noon on Friday.  Our friends from Charlotte, Ron and Terri, arrived late Friday afternoon.  Last year we had a winter wonderland on the day we cut the trees but we didn't expect snow for Saturday, Dec. 11, when we would be cutting this year.  And - no snow on Saturday but we had fun choosing and cutting our trees.  Then we woke up on Sunday morning to about 5-6 inches of snow!  It was beautiful!  But we couldn't get down our driveway to the paved road to get home!  We had planned on leaving Sunday morning for home at 9 a.m. but didn't get out until 2 p.m. and arrived home at 1 a.m.  Tiring trip - but well worth it! 

Here are a few pictures from last year:
Putting the trees through the baler.
All baled up and ready to go!

Don't we look cold?
Christmas trees for sale!  









Now here are the pictures from this weekend:
Snow in the mountains
Snow-covered Christmas trees
Birds are  hungry!
Ron and Terri bringing Christmas trees home to Charlotte
Yes, it was cold!
We had a wonderful time and I would not have minded if we were unable to leave on Sunday.  We had plenty of food, lots of wine, good friends and a fire.  What more could we have wanted?

A photo of the perfect North Carolina Frasier Fir to come!

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

Eclectic Paper Artists

Several of my crafty friends and I started a little swap group called "Eclectic Paper Artists."  Every month the hostess decides what we are to use to create a little project.  This month I sent everyone a 5 x 3 jewelry-type box to make a Christmas/holiday collage to send to each member.  I love making these little dioramas!  I originally got the idea from Chris and Sharon at Red Lead.  Take a look at their blog for some great seasonal ideas!  I'm posting a photo of the one I am keeping but want the others to be a surprise!

Thursday, December 2, 2010

Annual Christmas Countdown

Every year Lisa Vollrath publishes images on her website, Ten Two Studios, every day during December that can be downloaded for free.  Take a look!

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Getting ready for Christmas. . .

My very favorite online group and store, Red Lead, is having a great swap, Good Wishes Holiday Garland Art Swap.  Wow, the art these gals are making is just adorable!  Not to brag, but one of my creations is featured on the home page of the Yahoo group this week!    If you are interested in joining some really fun swaps with some very creative people, consider joining the group.  And the store is full of fantastic supplies and some very cool stamps that cannot be found anywhere else.  The store is in St. Louis - road trip anyone??

Here are the three chipboard garland pieces that I made.  I can't wait to see what I'll get!




Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Fall is here!

And has been here in Western North Carolina for a couple weeks.  The leaves are beautiful this year and the weather has been great!  Here's a little look:

I've been very busy this last month putting together and addressing all the Save-the-Dates for Matt and Jen's wedding.  It was time consuming, but Matt really did all the work designing and printing.  I think they look great and they went into the mail last evening except for about 12 that I made mistakes on and now I need some more envelopes that will be delivered next week after we're back home in Sarasota.  I should have known that would happen!  Extra envelopes are always a plus!


Here's a link to their wedding website which is a work in progress:  Jen and Matt.

Thursday, October 7, 2010

Six More Days of Christmas!

Here are my Days VI through XII from Bonnie's Twelve Days of Christmas workshop.







              

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Twelve Days of Christmas

My friend Bonnie down at The Art Room in Franklin held a great workshop today!  We made a box with chipboard tags in it, each side for the Twelve Days of Christmas.  Bonnie is such an creative crafter - I wish I had her imagination!  This will be a beautiful addition to my Christmas decor.  Here are photos of the box, all the tags and then tags Day I through Day V.  I'll post the rest tomorrow!









Thursday, September 30, 2010

Kitschy Kitchen ATC's

For one of my trading groups I decided to do a "Kitschy Kitchen" theme.  I love all the 50's and 60's kitchen stuff, much of what I remember as a kid.  I collect vintage and vintage-like tablecloths as well.  I found some great stamps from Crafty Secrets and I resized and printed an old recipe card I found at an antique shop in Maine several years ago.  The papers came in a paper pack but I can't at the moment remember the company name and they're in Florida.  The 3 1/2" by 2 1/2" card opens like a little file folder.  Don't you just love the little measuring spoons from Alpha Stamps on the twill bow?  Fun!







Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Halloween Fun!

It's has rained the last two days and I've gotten a couple projects done.  Today was glorious and it feels like fall has definitely arrived!  Crisp, cool air and blue skies! 

Here are some pictures of the Halloween Postcard Tags that I made for a Red Lead swap.  These postcard tags are really nice, you can find them at Red Lead Paper Works, along with the images I used, the charms and the rubber stamps. 






















Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Sad News

I know I haven't posted in awhile.  My mother was doing so much better but on September 4 she had a stroke and died on September 6.  I am so saddened by her death, she was not only a mother but also a friend.  I had to rush back from NC and my sisters came from Maine, North Carolina and one lives near me in Florida.  So it's been a rough couple weeks.  Also, Jay and I came down with horrendous colds, we've been living on Sudafed and Bufferin!  We're going back to NC tomorrow for most of October and look forward to enjoying the fall weather.  I'm about to start working on Matt and Jen's Save-the-Dates so I'll be posting some pictures of them soon.  Here's a photo of my mom with all of her daughters:  (from L to R)  April, me, Mom, Diane, Lesley.  We miss you Mom!

Monday, June 28, 2010

A Circle Challenge

In one of the groups I belong to, Eclectic Paper Artists, we take turns being hostess every month.  The hostess decides the project we do - anything of her choosing - and we send it to each other.  One month it was "hats," another month it was "mail art," etc.  I am hostess for the month of July and I sent everyone a 4" foam board circle that they were supposed to use to create something.  Darlene made a very cute clock that actually works!  My creation is a sundial:

And it works!

Friday, June 25, 2010

Flip Flop Time!

I'm going through some of my older projects and thought I'd post a little about some of my favorites.  I made these little flip flops for two friends whom we were going to visit last summer - I made them with a template I have and they were so easy!  Just popped them in an envelope and sent them off like a card in anticipation of our visit. 


Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Happy Birthday Matthew!

Matt, I can't believe it has been 27 years since you were born!  No two people could have been more anxious to have a baby and no baby could have been more loved.  I count June 23, 1983 as one of the happiest days of my life.  You were worth all the trips to the ER, all the anxiety of your teenage years, all of it - everything - and I know I would do it all again to be able to see the man you have become.  We love you, Matt - have a wonderful day!

Monday, June 21, 2010

Tribute to Mom

Today I'd like to share an ATC I made several years ago (2 to be exact) when my mom and sister, Lesley, visited me in NC that summer.  We decided to go to a scrapbook outlet in Sieverville, TN and also went to Pigeon Forge, to Dollywood.  We had a ball!  We actually got my mom, who at the time was 87, to go on the flume ride.  They take those photos of you when you are just starting down that steep incline before you hit the water - you know the one! - and we actually purchased the photos because they were so hilarious.  I made an ATC with the photo and here it is:






I sat in the back because I thought perhaps I wouldn't get as wet - right! 

My mom is doing much better and will be released from the hospital tomorrow to rehab.  Today the four of us spent the day looking at facilities and chose one in south Manatee County - closer to me, which is nice - where we thought she would get the best care and seemed the most active and cheerful.  We hope she won't have to be there long before she's able to go back to her own place!

I'm working on a birthday card for Matthew - will post the results tomorrow!

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Well, it's been awhile. . .

since I posted!  We got to NC just fine, weather was great, then I flew to PA to drive with my mom back to the house.  On the way we stopped in Roanoke to see older son Matt and fiance Jen.  While there mom fell but recovered quickly.  When we returned to NC she wasn't feeling well and got progressively worse so we left a little early (June 8) to return to Sarasota.  By Sunday she was miserable so she and my one sister made a trip to the ER and turns out she had a twisted bowel - surgery on Monday morning, June 14, and today she is still in the hospital, but getting a little better every day.  All four of us sisters are here now, hovering and hoping to get her back to her independent state of living.  We realize that at 89 it may be a long journey but I hope and pray that she will make it!

I had a project I wanted to make for Jay for Father's Day so I worked on it a little every day, when I wasn't at the hospital, and it is finally done.  I originally got the idea from Ellen Hutson's blog, Simple Dreams.  I tweaked it a little bit because of our grown boys and she has two cute little girls - but I love the poem and I thought it came out really nice.  

Friday, May 21, 2010

Packing Up. . . and. . . We have a winner!

We leave for North Carolina on Saturday afternoon so I need to start packing up today.  Here are a couple of my last projects done this week. 

First, a little altered journal.  I am lost without my little book of passwords for my computer and I have been carrying it back and forth every year to NC.  This year I decided I needed one in each location.  I had a journal I had never used (I'm really not into journalling - I wish I was!) and decided I'd make it pretty for my passwords.  Now all I have to do is enter everything and remember to update both books!


This is an ATC I made for the Smokey Mountain ATC group I'm in.  The theme for June is "wings" so I decided to use some neat bee stamps I purchased last summer from Invoke Arts.  They have some of the most unusual, beautiful stamps I've seen, esp. the nature ones.  Thanks to my friend Bonnie Brock for introducing me to that company!  I used watercolor paper and then used watercolor crayons on the card after I stamped the bee skep.  Then I took my waterbrush and wet it and blotted it.  Added the charm (there is a little bee image underneath it), stamped "Queen Bee" and put a little glitter on the text.  I almost always use glitter, I can't help it!


And now we have a winner!  Thanks to my faithful little group (esp. my sister!) for looking at this simple little blog occasionally and leaving comments.  Sue has won the free collage sheet from Altered Pages!  Have fun with it, Sue!  I'll try to offer another giveaway once I get settled up in NC!