This blog is officially 10 YEARS OLD!

On this date 10 years ago I began this journey.  For all of you who have hung in there with me throughout the 1469 posts - all of you who have visited over 158,,000 times - THANK YOU!

I am not always consistent (so what else is new), but the thing I have been very consistent about is my gratitude to all the wonderful friends that I have made through this blog.  Friends that I have and haven't met in person, but love just the same.  It has been a journey that I am grateful to have taken. 

I don't know exactly what the future holds, but I know that spending time with you (even if infrequently) is totally a worthwhile endeavor.

It is probably time for a re-design and I hope to tackle that when we return from our sailing journey this season.  We shall see what the future holds and I am not confident enough to even attempt to predict what that might be!  Stay tuned!

Thanks for visiting! 

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Marry Christmas Everyone!

Wishing everyone a very Merry Christmas and happy and prosperous New Year!

Thanks for visiting! 

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Update

Well, as usual I am remiss in my postings.  Needless to say, things have been a bit crazy and therefore I am (more than) a bit crazy, but you already knew that right?  I really did think that if I could just get through September without losing my mind, things would be great!  Well, September turned into October and October turned into November and November turned into December, and well, you know where this is going.

I have been making things and doing things and teaching things like crazy.  I just don't have enough time (or energy) to chronicle them all here.  Suffice it to say though, it has been a fantastic fall/winter season so far in the crafting (and personal) side of life.  I will admit to still being more than a little depressed over the state of things in this great nation of ours, but we won't go there.  It has colored nearly every aspect of my life and I am holding out hope that things will get better in the new year.

I have been making cards, making gift tags (like crazy) and generally enjoying a good bit of crafty fun.  I have been coloring, painting, stamping, crocheting, knitting, reading and overall becoming immersed in the art of creating.  Whoever said that retirement was an opportunity to kick back and relax has never been part of our lives!  DH and I are enjoying our retirement years in the only way we know how - BUSILY!

My baby turned 42 yesterday:

I still have trouble believing that so much time has passed since his birth.  He is truly a marvel and a wonder and I am thankful every single day that I can call him my son! 

We are frantically preparing for an unexpected Christmas Day celebration at our house.  Trying not to over-do things, but also trying to keep things festive and fun.  Kids, spouses, ex-spouses and grand-kids will be here celebrating with us and we are looking forward to a food and fun-filled day.

After Christmas sometime, we head out for several months aboard Belmira.

This year we hope to make it to the Bahamas and get in some sailing, fishing, relaxing and snorkeling before heading back to Colorado in the spring.  I hope to be able to stay in touch with everyone, but sometimes you just need to get lost!

Thanks for visiting and hanging in there with me as I muddle through this wonderful life! 

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Falling off the blog train ...

As usual, I am behind in most everything.  Whoever said retirement was a time to relax and kick back needs to have their head examined!  Busier than ever (and really happy about it too!).

This weekend is the Rose Hill Grange Stamp Camp.  Miss Isabella (she's 11 and has more creative talent in her big toe than grandma has in her whole body) accompanies me to this camp and we both have a lot of fun.  Here's the card the campers will be making at my table:

Here's some details on the camp in case you are in the area and want to stop in and get crafty with us:

We always have a wonderfully creative time at this camp and if you are in our area I would definitely encourage you to come and play with us!

Thanks for visiting! 

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

It has begun ...

It was inevitable:

The heavy wet white stuff fell from the sky and tore up trees and power lines, but luckily did not affect our roads too much.  We managed to cover up most of our beautiful flowers, and we shall see tomorrow afternoon how well they fared.  Overnights will still be quite cold, but daytime temps should rise to the 50's and 60's by the end of the week.  DH got the garage cleaned out enough that the car had a dry place to spend the night last night, but the RV and the van had to weather the wet, heavy stuff along with falling branches.. Lots and lots of branches down throughout our neighborhood and sporadic power outages, but nothing that can't be cleaned up.  Life in the Rocky Mountains!

Thanks for visiting! 

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Freebie Friday (on a Monday) - October 9, 2017

Well to say it has been busy around here is a bit of an understatement.  As a result, my Freebie Friday digital sentiment is a couple days late.  But, better late than never right?  Here it is:

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I have tons of photos ready to share with you and hopefully will be able to get some posted throughout the week.  I am surrounded by amazingly talented women and really want to share some of that with all of you.

It has begun and I will also have a photo of that once it is light enough outside to snap a pix!

Thanks for visiting! 

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Freebie Friday - September 29, 2017

Another week has flown by.  It has been very wet and cool here, but so far ... no snow!  I am pretty sure there will be some before Halloween, but it has prevented the kids from playing in the backyard on their swing due to the mud.  We harvested our single bunch of grapes from our vines.  They were very sweet and very small, but considering it is a 3 year old vine and these are the very first grapes - we are happy and have high hopes for the others next season.  Garlic will be going into the ground soon as well and we shall see what kind of crop we can get.  Considering the absolute failure of the garden to produce much this year, the soil will be getting a little compost help before we put the garlic in.  Fingers crossed!
Here is your freebie for today:

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Right click and choose "save as" to save these to your computer.  As always, if you use one of my digital sentiments on a project, I would LOVE to see it.  Send me a link via a comment on this message or via email (address in the sidebar).

This weekend is our monthly gathering at the Rose Hill Grange.  Here's the card the campers will be making at my table:

We always have a fantastic time at this event and this month is even more special because we have a visiting demo from North Carolina - Wanda Williams!  I have missed her smiling face at our camps and demo meetings and it will be so fantastic to have her join us this month!  She is not only a very talented demonstrator, she is also just an awesome human being!  If you want some more information about this fun event:

Thanks for visiting! 

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Freebie Friday - September 22, 2017

Happy Fall everyone!  The days grow shorter and the nights grow longer.  The leaves are turning and the sweaters are coming out of the closet!  No snow yet though!  We have had blizzards in September here before and I am grateful that there has not been one this year!  Warm days and cool nights are just fine and the snow can wait just a few weeks more - please!

I have a freebie for you today, but once again no sample card - sorry about that.  I have tons of cards to share, but need to get them all cropped and ready.  Hang on, they're coming!  In the meantime here's this week's Friday Freebie:

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For some reason my save to png format did not want to work today, so there's just the jpg file for you.  Enjoy!  Right click and choose "save as" to save these to your computer.  As always, if you use one of my digital sentiments on a project, I would LOVE to see it.  Send me a link via a comment on this message or via email (address in the sidebar).

Thanks for visiting! 

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Freebie Friday - September 15, 2017

Hello everyone!  This has been a week full of worry for mother and boat (both are safe but not yet sound) and lots of prep for all the wonderful and creative activities that fill this very busy month.  I do not have a card made with today's freebie, but I do have the freebie for you:

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Right click and choose "save as" to save these to your computer.  As always, if you use one of my digital sentiments on a project, I would LOVE to see it.  Send me a link via a comment on this message or via email (address in the sidebar).

And I do have a card to share:

This is the card we will be making at my table at tomorrow's Stamp Camp North in Westminster, Colorado.  This is a great event and if you are in the area you should really try to make it:

If you have any questions about this event, leave me a comment or send me an email (link in the sidebar)!

Thanks for visiting! 

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Freebie Friday - September 8, 2017

Here is the card I created using this week's Friday Freebie:

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This card was created using another of those fun backgrounds I created on my play date with my stamping buddies (thanks Bev and Cathy).  The paper was sponged with Distress Oxide inks and then a stencil was spritzed with water and laid onto the stamped paper.   This is a really fun techniquet.

The card base is Crumb Cake and the solid layer is Calypso Coral.  The scalloped oval is also Calypso Coral.  The stencil I used is from the Pattern Party Decorative Masks from Stampin' Up!

Thanks for visiting! 

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Sassy Chic Stamp Camp - Spetember 9, 2017

This Saturday is our Sassy Chic Stamp Camp.  This month is also our garage sale and there will be tons of bargains to be had on Stampin' Up! and lots of other crafty merchandise.  If you want to make some wonderful cards, share some creative crafting time with lots of lovely folks AND find some bargains to boot - this is the camp for you.  Here is the card we will be making at my table:

The garage sale is open to everyone, whether you come to craft with us or not and will be open for the duration of the camp.  Come on out and check out the great products we will have for sale!

If you want some more information about this fun event:

If you have any questions about this camp or the sale, please feel free to send me an email (link in the sidebar) or leave me a comment.

Hope to see you all there!

Thanks for visiting! 

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Freebie Friday - September 1, 2017

Happy September everyone!  I cannot believe it is already September.  The kids are back to school, the evening temps are dropping below 60 and the leaves are starting to turn.  How did we get here so fast?

I have another Freebie Friday sentiment for you today.  Here's the card I made using the sentiment:

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Right click and choose "save as" to save these to your computer.  As always, if you use one of my digital sentiments on a project, I would LOVE to see it.  Send me a link via a comment on this message or via email (link in the sidebar).

I saw THIS CARD while browsing my favorite blogs this morning and decided I just had to try it.  I love the colors!  The sunflowers are stamped (and stamped off) in Dapper Denim and the leaves are Old Olive. The leaves were punched with a new leaf punch.  Those of you who know me know that I NEVER fussy cut, but this card just would not be the same without that fussy cut layer and luckily these flowers are really easy to cut out.  I sponged the edges so there wasn't a lot of uneven white space due to my lack of skill with a pair of scissors! The stamp set is called Painted Harvest and it is absolutely gorgeous.  Both the stamp set and the punch are available for purchase on my Stampin' Up! website as of today!  The card base is Dapper Denim and the sentiment is layered on a die cut piece of Old Olive.  I added a few Glitter Enamel Dots (I love, love, love these) to add a bit of sparkle.

Thanks for visiting! 

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Rose Hill Grange - 8/26/17 - Cards

I intended to post these much earlier this week, but ... I lost them ... and then I found them!  So here they are:

As always, the demonstrators and the campers had a ton of fun!  We had several demonstrators that were new to this camp and hopefully they will be back in the future!  Lots and lots of creative fun was had by all.  The next camp is on September 30 and I think we are all really looking forward to it.  I will have more details on that soon!

I will be back tomorrow with a new Friday Freebie so please check in tomorrow!

Thanks for visiting! 

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.

Freebie Friday - August 25, 2017

I have a whimsical (and hopefully also encouraging) freebie for you today:

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Right click and choose "save as" to save this to your computer.  As always, if you use one of my digital sentiments on a project, I would LOVE to see it.  Send me a link via a comment on this message or via email (address in the sidebar).

I created this background while playing with two of my Stampin' Up! buddies (thanks Bev and Cathy)!  We were experimenting with a technique we saw HERE using distress oxide inks, water and stencils.  It was so much fun!  This card is actually very, very sparkly in real life, but I couldn't quite get the camera to pick up on that.  Once the inking and stenciling was done, I sprayed with with a gorgeous shimmer spray and I really like how it turned out.  I created several backgrounds and you may see more of them cropping up here from time to time.

The card base is Daffodil Delight and the first layer is Melon Mambo.  I used a couple of leaves and a stamp from this month's Paper Pumpkin kit too!

Thanks for visiting! 

If you have any questions about the techniques or materials used in the work displayed on this blog, feel free to use the email link on the left and I will gladly answer your questions.