Makin' Cards with Kim

With the imminent tropical storm on the horizon, Kim F. and I decided that a great way to spend the day would be to hang out and make cards ALL DAY LONG. Literally! We started around, oh, 9:30 am and reluctantly pulled ourselves away from all the masses of supplies around 6:00 pm this evening. One word to sum it up would be FUN!

We tried various techniques...

Crystal effects and coffee filter


Wax crayon resist, water colors and shaving cream

I’m so lucky to know people who want to come over for hours on end to make cards, scrapbook, and be silly. Kim and I laughed a lot, especially about the shaving cream… and are already talking about what we can do next time. On that list are ironed wax paper and rubber cement techniques.

But even before that, it’s time to think about Christmas cards and what kind of card I’ll make. So, that’s my priority. After all, I have to make about 125 of them…

Well, I've just finished cooking a nice dinner for the family… I think I may snuggle on the couch now with whoever wants to share the big blue chair with me. My bet would be on Melissa.

Getting Back into the Swing of Things

Well, it’s here. That time of the year where I feel like I can get my sometimes unmanageable life back in order. The kids are back in school and start their full days on Tuesday. Yay! And I can have that uninterrupted time to get my focus back. I know I sound like a scrooge, and I love my kids more than anything. But being a working mom is sometimes hard to balance, and the school year just feels most manageable for me.

The sports schedules are PERFECT this fall. How did I get so lucky?! Both kids have practices on Mondays and Thursdays, so we won’t have to be running around every night of the week like we did last year. Ahhhhh… relief.

So, that is the summarized scoop for fall.

As for scrapping and stamping, I had two friends over last week to make cards. We had such a great time! They were both new to card making/stamping and so I pulled out all of my supplies and we “created” for almost six hours. Fun! During that time, I was able to make my thank you cards for a swap that I’m in. Here is what it turned out to be:

I love that multi-layered look, but don’t always take the time to do it. And that double-stitched Stampin’ Up ribbon is my favorite. I think I need to get it in all colors!! (Yes, AS IF I need another thing.)

That’s my share for today. I’ll be catching up on swaps tomorrow and will surely have plenty of ideas to post after that.

Have an enjoyable, safe Labor Day, my friends. Take care!

A Special Gift-Nantucket Sailor’s Valentine

When the kids and I went to Colorado to visit with my parents, Melissa was given a unique project to work on… a Sailor’s Valentine. My mom’s friend, Susan, sells these online (www.nantucketsailorsvalentinekits.com) and they are stunning once completed.

Did I mention that Melissa is just 9 years old? And her valentine turned out to be absolutely gorgeous! Here’s a picture of Melissa and her completed valentine with Susan. Isn’t it just fantastic?! Her kit was the “Baby Girl” design.

If you are looking for a gift idea (for almost any age), look no further than Susan’s website. It’s a great gift to give to the crafty person who would enjoy putting it together. And it’s also the perfect gift for someone who lives near the ocean, vacations at the beach, or just loves the beach. You could put it together and give it as a completed item.

Here's a close-up of the valentine:

I’m hoping for the “Island Memories” or “White Star” for Christmas. (Mom: Hint, hint!) OK. It’s really pitiful that I’m starting my Christmas wish list in August.

My next post will be scrapping related, so stay tuned…

Oh, to get back into a routine…

It has been a wild few weeks! Traveling for almost two weeks, back to back sure was more difficult than it originally sounded. And to top it off, our second trip was extended by two days. So, when I got home… phew! I didn’t know where to start. I’m just now beginning to feel like perhaps I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.

One of my “to do” items was to finish a page sketch swap that I was in. Pressure on! I haven’t done many sketches and found it hard to put this at the top of my list. Getting those done and in the mail to my Canadian buddy, Char, was SO relieving! Why did I wait?? I must not have been up for the challenge. Here's a photo of my winter swap. I was also in a holiday group where I did a Christmas themed swap.

Camps are winding down. Freddie is at Cornell this week for a hockey camp with his friend, Aidan. And Melissa is at Wakeman Boys & Girls club for an all day camp. At least this schedule has allowed me to keep up on work so I don’t feel like I’m driving the kids around all day and working all night. That becomes a vicious and draining cycle QUICKLY.

The countdown until school begins… just 15 days. Yay!! Yes, it’s the most wonderful time of the year… just like that old Staples commercial.

Tomorrow, Fred and I have taken the day off so we can pick up Freddie from camp. I can’t wait to hear about his adventures at Cornell. It’s a beautiful place to be and I hope he had a wonderful experience! While I’m not looking forward to 10 hours in the car, picking up my son is the perfect reward. I’ve missed him!

Catching up… or trying to!

I’ve been out of town for nearly two weeks and am desperately trying to catch up on things. It’s been quite a whirlwind!

After our delightful trip to Colorado, we came home and turned around in less than 24 hours to go out of town again. This time, we were hitting the beaches at Block Island. Fred’s sister, Judy had rented a place for 2 weeks and we were excited to join her for a few days. Our planned three day vacation turned into a five day vacation! The ferry ride from Point Judith, RI out to the island was a little nerve wracking with all the thunder and lightning. Ugh. But, we arrived safely and dried out at the house. The next 4 days were fabulous and sunny. We could hardly keep the kids out of the water, except for one day where there were jelly fish EVERYWHERE because of the warm water. Needless to say, the kids still ventured into the water and nobody got stung. Freddie, despite his usual indifference to the water, rode some waves with Judy’s friend, Ed. We bought Melissa a boogie board and she was attached to it, not to mention quite good at it, as well. Don’t worry, everyone. We wore 30 SPF sunscreen all week… still managed to get some sun, but avoided more sun poisoning!

This evening I am having a workshop at my house. I’m looking forward to digging back into my scrapping supplies and getting some pages done! I’ll be posting some swaps and layouts in the next week, so stay tuned.

Now, I must get my house in order… just a few hours left before people arrive!

Somewhere over the rainbow...

Last night, my parents took the three of us out to dinner at the Red Lion Restaurant. It is a favorite dinner spot for my kids (and husband… sorry you missed it, Fred!) and they were asking about going all week. Generously, my dad made reservations and off we went.

Colorado is not known for having much rain, so it was an unusual evening with a fair amount of rain. When we were finishing up dinner, my dad announced that we would not be eating dessert at the restaurant because he thought we’d go to the mall (aka Pearl Street) and grab an ice cream. However, as we left the restaurant and began the trip down the canyon, it was raining pretty steadily. So, there was a quick change of plans. My dad took the drive on Four Mile Canyon, which connects Boulder Canyon to Sunshine Canyon. I was thrilled! It was a wonderful drive with plenty to look at. This was old mining territory and we drove clear up to Gold Hill. I’m not sure how excited the kids were about this winding drive through the mountains, but I was in the front seat and was enjoying every moment. As we began to head down into Sunshine Canyon, the rain had just about stopped and this huge rainbow came out. At times, it even looked like a double rainbow. The views were breathtaking and we could not resist pulling out the camera and looking like a bunch of tourists. Who cared? It was an amazing evening. Even when we got down to Pearl Street, there were people everywhere taking pictures.

So see. I have found what is at the end of the rainbow. Boulder, Colorado.

Blogging from the Rocky Mountains

Since we are out of town and I couldn’t bring any of my crafting supplies, I won’t be able to share any creations with you this week. However, I will take a moment to post a couple of family photos in another day or so.

The kids and I are enjoying our visit to Colorado. The time spent with my parents is so precious because it’s so infrequent. I hope my kids grow up with some impressionable memories of their visits with the “Colorado grandparents.” I know that as a child, my parents took us to Colorado pretty much every Christmas and I still have fond memories of those trips.

On Saturday when we arrived in Colorado, we took a little outing to see the traveling Viet Nam memorial wall. What a sobering experience to see those thousands of names etched into this massive wall and to know they all died defending our country. This wall is transported by a huge tractor trailer and was only in town for 3 days.

My dad planned a surprise outing for us on Sunday. We went to the dinner theatre in Boulder and saw Will Rogers Follies, which was fantastic! Perhaps it was a bit long for Melissa, but it was a wonderful treat for all of us.


Monday and Tuesday have been filled with day to day activities such as going to the gym (the boys), going for walks (the girls), cooking (Freddie and Melissa will take turns doing this), time in the hot tub, and of course lots of playing games.

Our next surprise is not until Thursday, and I am being kept in the dark as much as the kids are! But we have been instructed to wear “nice” clothes, so I’m sure it’ll be something fun.

Check back soon for some family photos!

Where is that monogram card?!

Where, oh where is that card I promised I’d post? I had it out at my scrapbooking workshop last weekend and I must not have put it back where it belongs. I hate when I do that! I’m working on being more organized, but obviously I’m not there yet!

In lieu of the “missing card”, I am sharing with you a card that I made at a technique class a few months ago. The technique is called burnishing and I think it gives this card a calming, dreamy look. I’m not sure the photo captures that, so you’ll just have to trust me on this one! You stamp your image first and then apply the burnishing by using daubers.

I’ve got lots of packing, getting organized and running errands in store for the next couple of days, not to mention working! So, I need to get busy.

Mom and dad, we can’t wait to see you!

July 16th

As I sit here ready to type my first post on my new blog, I've got a few questions flashing through my mind. You know, things like:

• Am I crazy to start a blog?
• Will I have enough to say and share?
• Will I be able to keep it current?

The answer is, of course, I do not know. But I won't know unless I try!

So, here I sit glued to my computer when I should be cooking dinner. Melissa is eating out this evening at a friend's house and the boys are not complaining yet that there is no food in sight. But, perhaps before they start, I should refocus my energies to the kitchen!

The slideshow at the left of the page contains every page layout that I did for the infamous scrapbook for my kids' school. I put it together basically within a week and feel like the results were pretty good. So, for all of you that listened to me talk about this book, now you can see it for yourself!

And, later this evening I plan to post a picture of a monogram card I made for a monogram card swap. While it's a simple card, I thought it was beautiful and hope you agree!

Off to cook dinner for the boys. I'm outnumbered this evening so I best be on good behavior.

Until next post... Shannon