Faith in Nature

This new hostess set called "Faith in Nature" has three images and two sets of words.  I stamped it in Soft Suede and then used a sponge on More Mustard and Olive Olive ink pads to fill in the pear and the leaf.  I mounted it on a piece of Pool Party card stock cut with the Scallop Squares Duo die.  The background paper is from the "Spice Cake"  collection from the upcoming Holiday Mini Catalog.  I added an Antique Brad at the top and a Pool Party 3/8" Ruffled Ribbon toward the bottom.

Boredom Busters

I made this fun activity basket for my three-year-old grandson.  A few people have asked about it so I decided to post some pictures.  My friend, Peggy, made one as a gift to entertain two little boys while their mom is busy with a newborn baby.  I thought it was a great idea, especially when she told me about most of the things she had found at the Dollar Store.  Here's what I purchased there:   The basket and ten gallon size Ziploc type baggies.  Then I looked for more things in the kids' section in the store and went home and typed up the labels for each bag.

 Pipe cleaners to bend into different shapes such as a star, circle, square, triangle, and people.

 Adhesive backed small foamed letters to spell a name or anything else.

 A foam nine-piece puzzle.  I found "Cars" which is one of Blake's favorites.

 Plastic cookie cutters, construction paper, and pencils to trace them.

 I drew lines on card stock to practice cutting and enclosed a scissors.

 I found this matching game (deck of cards size) for only a dollar!

The other ideas in the basket are:  stringing straw segments or beads onto shoelaces, drawing shapes, letters, and numbers onto a small dry-erase board, making a paper chain (1" strips enclosed), dice games, a pad of school-lined paper for practicing letters, and ribbon to braid.  It's a great rainy day activity, or "Mom, I'm bored" box.  They especially enjoy choosing which thing they'd like to do.

Poppy Parade & Pool Party

I love these two colors together:  Poppy Parade and Pool Party.  I used the background papers from the "Domestic Goddess" collection and the stamps are from "Patterned Party".  I topped it off with a Poppy Parade 1/2" Stitched Poly Ribbon.  What a fast, easy card!

Button Buddies

This new set, "Button Buddies", is designed to pair up with Stampin' Up!'s coordinating buttons.  I used Rose Red, So Saffron, and Certainly Celery and the words are from "Friendly Phrases".  I added some trim at the bottom using the Scallop Edge Border Punch and 1/8" Certainly Celery Ribbon.   

Adorable

Is this just the cutest card or what?  Kristi came up with the design and I came up with the colors--Daffodil Delight, Old Olive, and Cherry Cobbler.  The stamps are from "Printed Petals" and I ran the card base through the Big Shot using the new "Stripes" Embossing Folder.  The Daffodil Delight center was made using the Perfect Polka Dots Embossing Folder and then punched out with the 1 1/4" Circle Punch,.  Last, I added an Old Olive button and 1/4" piece of Grosgrain Ribbon.

Mocha Morning

I know this card is similar to one I posted a couple of weeks ago, but I wanted to use the "Mocha Morning Specialty" DSP again to show how a different background can really change a card.  The cake is from "Patterned Party" and the words are from "Pennant Parade".  I used Soft Suede Striped Ribbon, the Boho Blossoms Punch, and a Very Vanilla Brad.  The trim on the bottom was made using Soft Suede card stock and the Houndstooth Embossing Folder.

Michigan Seems Like a Dream to Me Now . . .

This title is from the lyrics to a Simon and Garfunkel song I can't get out of my head.  As we were cruising west, I took this shot from the window of the car!  I obviously wasn't driving.  He drives and I knit.  I watch DVDs too--"Music Man" when we go through Iowa and "Twister" when we go through Oklahoma.  I know, I need to get a life. 

  Speaking of Oklahoma, a tire on the trailer blew when we crossed the state line.  The exact same thing happened last fall, when we crossed the state line into New Mexico (opposite tire).  Anyhoo, we had to wait for a tire store to open the next morning to have two new tires put on the trailer.  Talk about bore city--luckily I was able to pick up an internet signal on my laptop whilst sitting in the air conditioned car in the parking lot.

 This side of the trailer lost the fender when the tire blew out.  It was just dangling down I-44.  Soon, we were off again with TWO new trailer tires and a spare.  Goodbye Oklahoma, you are one long state.

 Here's another "out the window" picture.  It's hard to focus at 70 mph.  Yesterday, someone asked me, "Is it hot there?"  Seriously--it's summer and it's Arizona.  They're calling for a cool down over the weekend.  That means it will be 108 instead of 115.  Is there really any difference once you hit one hundred degrees?

Stripes or Polka Dots?

Which one do you like better--stripes or polka dots?  I used the "Patterned Party" set along with Melon Mambo, Lucky Limeade, and Night of Navy markers.  The background papers are called "Cheerful Treat" and they certainly are that--lots of bright colors.  I used the new Lucky Limeade 3/8" Ruffled Ribbons across the middle of the cards. 

Bird on a Branch

I love this little birdie from "The Best of Everything".  I used Melon Mambo, Lucky Limeade, and Concord Crush.  The background DSP is from "Cheerful Treat", a new hostess pack of coordinating papers.  I stamped the "Buttons and Blossoms" jumbo wheel on the card and added a Melon Mambo 1/2" Scallop Dots Ribbon. 

Sweets for the Sweet

These cute pinwheels were made from the  new "Sweets for the Sweet" set.  I used Island Indigo, Calypso Coral, and Lucky Limeade (3 of the 5 new In Colors).  The border at the bottom was made with the "Borderlines" set.  I also used four punches: 1 3/8" Circle and Square Punches and 1 1/4" Circle and Square Punches.  The Designer Printed Brads are also in the new In Colors and popped up with Dimensionals.  Last, I added a Calypso Coral Ruffled bow.

Patterned Party

I love this new DSP called "Mocha Morning Specialty".  These polka dots are so cute, I can barely stand it.  I stamped the cake in Soft Suede with a stamp from the set called "Patterned Party" and double mounted it with Very Vanilla and Soft Suede.  I made a loop with a piece of Soft Suede 1 1/4" Striped Grosgrain Ribbon and popped the image up with Dimensionals.  Last, I added a little punched out flower with a Silver Mini Brad.  We are definitely making this one a class on Wednesday.

Cuteness

The flower on this card was stamped from the set "Raining Flowers" which has 13 different stamps.  The words are from "Friendly Phrases", another adorable set.  I stamped the outline in Calypso Coral and then "stamped off" the inside of the flower in the same color.  I chose a smaller flower for the center, cut it out, and then popped it up with a Dimensional.  I added a Wisteria Wonder Designer Printed Brad on top of that to give it a layered look.  The DSP is from the Berry Blossoms collection and features Early Espresso, Calypso Coral, Lucky Limeade, and Wisteria Wonder.  Last, I added a Lucky Limeade 3/8" Ruffled Ribbon.

My Kids Have Skills

Meet my son, the builder of the sand castles--he's been doing this since about age two.

This is the sister of the builder of the sand castles. How can anyone be this limber after having two babies, really?

Here's the nephew of the builder of the sand castles and the oldest son of the limber daughter.

He's in training to be a master builder.

There's no better place to spend some time in the summer!