Easter Sunday Basket

One side

  I've been working every morning for about three days on finishing this basket. I used a Wheat Thins box that I thought had just the right shape for a basket. (The crackers are really good, too.) I love using recycled items for my paper crafting, but the shape has to be just right, though.

Good crackers...

   I used paper I purchased on sale from JoAnn's Fabric Store. It's from DCWV called the Mariposa Stack. It's beautiful paper with lots of butterfly sheets. The flower is from Prima. Don't you just love their flowers?
   I really love the fleur de lis  die cut shape  from Nestabilities. I used two together, but slightly askew. The "Happy Easter" stamp is from Print Works. I found it at JoAnn's.

The other side

   I used my Nesties for the oval around the bunny.  The bunny stamp is from Stampendous, I think. I colored with  my Copic markers. I just bought this swirly die cut from Sizzix and I love it. It was just right for this basket.
  The butterfly is a Martha Stewart punch, that I double layered.  I was really excited to find this lace with the loops already added at Tate's Store in Bath,Maine. They have recently expanded their crafting section. Loads of different lace priced by the bolt. Really inexpensive compared to other stores. I am definitely going back there for more. I used white ribbon around the bunny oval using the technique found on Splitcoast Stampers. The little bow was also purchased at Tate's.
   I continued to use the swirly die cut on both side of the basket; adding the Prima flowers and Tim Holtz's bird die cut. I ran the lace with ribbon along the handle after I covered it with the same paper that I put on the basket. Brads hold the handle on with tape inside for extra strength. It seems to be quite strong as it will hold Easter candy;including a chocolate bunny. I haven't purchased this yet as Easter is a ways away and chocolate does not have a long "life" in my house as it calls to me especially in the afternoon.
   I had a great time making this basket for my son. I hope he likes it even though it's not very masculine. I think the chocolate will win him over, though. Can't wait 'til Easter Sunday....

Side view

Other side

AhoyThere!

 Russ and I went  to Popham Beach this past week to see a BIW ship go on trials. It goes up the Kennebec River and returns by Fort Popham. Many people like to go to the beach to see it sail on by. It is quite impressive. We enjoyed watching it come and go by Fort Popham.

Headed Home

High tide

It was freezing out,so we didn't stay long. The tide was too high to even get the chance to take a walk. I think the full moon was out.  A nice memory for us.

Whew! What a Week!!!!

   It's been a whirlwind week. My niece and her husband arrived from Georgia. What a lovely couple. The first night here my husband and I took Danielle to the ER. The next day I was with my sister, Chris, when she stepped up on a chair and her knee popped. She and her husband took off for the ER. I walked next door to my mom's to find her having a hard time breathing, so off the ER again. I saw my sister in one room and my mom in the other. I think the people in ER thought we were bringing them off the streets. Everyone is find now. Amen.
   So as you can see I was a busy girl. I just finished this card for my niece's husband, Kyle. It's was his 26th birthday and we are giving him a belated party on Saturday. He's our newest addition to our family, so we want to make him feel welcome. Love his Southern accent.

Fireman's Birthday Card

      I cheated a little and found an outline for the shape of the firetruck. I then began to add the accents to make the truck look more realistic.  I used enamel accents from Inkessentials on the tires, knobs, and stuff. The white lines are from an opaque pen from Inkessentials.
   I stamped the tree and tire swing from Stampin Up's Branch Out set. Love that set. The cat was from SU's Window Dressing set. I am pretty happy with the results, but I think I went overboard with the enamel accents on the balloon strings. Oh well, live and learn.

Hope he likes the joke...

   My husband helped me come up with the sentiment. Kyle is a fire fighter in his home town in Georgia. I can't remember the name of the town, but it's in Georgia.
   The birthday cake I picked up at JoAnn's Fabric store in Topsham. It was one of those dollar stamps, but I kinda like it. I hope Kyle does, too.

Bee Happy..Think Spring!!

   I went to get the mail and couldn't believe how warm it is outside. The sun is shining and warm on my back. I didn't even wear a coat or boots. Yippee!!

Bees Three....

   In honor of this great weather I worked on my Bee Card. I took a picture of some bees on  my Disney trip.  Aren't they cute? So I thought I can make a bee using this picture as a guide. It took a little time and some messed up versions, but I finally came up with this card.

Isn't he cute?

   I used my circle Nestabilities to make the head and body of the bee. Stampin Up's corner punch made the arms. The wings are from SU's butterfly punch. The hands I just punched out yellow paper with SU's word window punch. SU's butterfly punch was used to make the feet but cut to proportion.
   I used white beads for the antennae,but colored them with black enamel accents from  Inkessentials. In fact, I used the black enamel accents for the head, eyes, nose, body, arms, and the center of the flowers. I love that stuff... The white enamel accents decorated his wings.
   The vine is from Sizzix's swirly vine. It's the long die cut. I punched the flowers from McGill's punch collection. The trellis I did not make. It's part of the card. I bought these cards, I think, at JoAnn's 'cause I thought I could figure how to use them. That was a year ago.  This is the first project that I've used them. I kinda like the cards better now. Thank goodness...
   The paper is from Bo Bunny, I believe. I've had it for awhile now. I made the sentiment on the computer. I am really pleased that I was able to use my inspiration picture ( which is from Cracker Barrel). I wonder what else I can do with my inspiration pictures. I think there is one of a bunny I found at Home Goods. Oh boy...

Drawer Card Done!

   I've been working on this Drawer Card  since I got home from our Disney trip. I had started the drawer part before we left.  I used some paper that I had purchased at my favorite scrapbook store in Florida called Scrappy Boutique. I used my nesties to make the circles. Just Rite stamps is the sentiment, which I really like here. Pearls and beads outline the circles.
   Prima flowers with Martha Stewart"s leaf punch and stamp give it a more natural look. I painted the butterfly with SU markers and used Ranger's stickles to give it a glittery look. 
   I found the template for the drawer card on Splitcoast. You can make drawers that hold different amounts of the nugget candies. The templates helped me in my design of this card/box. Drawer Card Templates

Love the sentiment!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

Side view

Before adding card part

 
  

   This card/box takes a little time in the construction, but it is really worth it. This is my first card, but I hope I get better in the design. I am pretty happy with this one, though. Can't wait to give it to someone.
   This is Bellisma's drawer card that inspired me to try a drawer card  of my own. Check out her beautiful drawer card.Bellisma's Drawer Card
   It's so good to be back in my studio. We had a great time on our trip,but home is where the heart is the happiest.
   I took many pictures that inspired me. My next project is to use some of these  ideas in my papercrafting.   Keep checking to see how I do it. Thanks for looking.

All the Way Home!

Adorable, Guiness!!

   We are HOME!! Yeah...We spent the last night on the road at Hal and Charlotte's home (brother and sister-in-law) in New Jersey. They have a lovely condo that they just moved into about a month ago. We got to see my nieces, Cindy and Jill, their daughters. It was a wonderful family gathering. Jill and Rob,Jill's husband, brought their dog Guiness.What a cutie!!

   Hal and Charlotte made an awesome dinner for us: grilled steak, hamburgers, and salmon with rice and green beans. We had cheesecake and ice cream to celebrate Cindy's boyfriend, Taylor's birthday. It was fun all around.

Bling..bling at a diner.. Cool!

   The next morning after a restful sleep we headed to the Star  Diner and had a great breakfast. They even had a chandelier. You know how I feel about chandeliers. Food and service was perfect. They even gave Taylor a huge piece of birthday cake free. So nice of them.

  Charlotte told us about this great indoor Farmer's Market, so we had to go and check it out before we headed back to Maine. It was a great place with all kinds of fruits, veggies, and nuts at really reasonable prices. We loaded up since we had no food at home.


Charlotte looks great with tulips.

   We said our good-byes after loading up the car. We will miss them all 'til we see them in May. Our road trip is over and we are back home safe and sound. It's so true though,"There's no place like home", even when you have had a great time away.  Thanks for looking...

Road Trip Home with Mom!!

   We picked up Mom at  Land o'Lakes where my sister, Phillis lives.  Tearful goodbyes all around.  We pointed the van north and just kept driving. We landed in Smithfield, North Carolina. I think this is where they make the bacon. It's been a great trip so far. We ate at Cracker Barrell. No pics of food, too hungry.
   But I did take pics of cute items in their gift shop. I think I can get some ideas for cards from these cuties. Check them out and see what you think.

Wouldn't they make a cute card?

Awful cute.

   We are heading to New Jersey in the morning to spend the night with my brother, Hal and his wife, Charlotte. It will be a long drive, but we make stops along the way to break it up.
  I am anxious to get home as I have accumulated alot of ideas for future projects.
   I hope to start my Christmas cards by June. It would be great to get them done and ready for the holidays. Way less stress when you plan ahead. Don't you agree? Well, we will see if I can accomplish this goal or not... So much to do.. So little time.




What about these two?

Check back and at a later date. I hope to make these ideas into some sort of paper craft. Not sure what at this point, but something.. I hope. 

Love the yellow!







Last Day at Disney!

   Our last day at Disney was wicked fun!! We went to Hollywood Studios to play Toy Story Mania one more time. If you haven't done that game, you should try it out.. Wicked Fun!! Then we headed to Animal Kingdom to see Festival of the Lion King. We had missed seeing it twice before. They gave us priority seating because they felt bad. We had front row seats. Awesome!

   The music was from the movie and was just as beautiful as I remember it. We all said that it was worth walking in the rain to get to the show. The rain had stopped by the time the show was over. Thank goodness. The day was quite lovely after heading to lunch at Downtown Disney at Portabello. Great italian food.



Another great hat!



The candlestick



Cool hat!



  I have been taking pictures that might inspire my cardmaking when I get back home. Here are some more ideas that I want to use; especially the art deco look to the hat. I think I might use this idea on my drawer card that I started before I left for Florida. Can't wait to try it.

   We took Chris and Tom to the airport around 5:00 p.m.. It was hard to say good-bye 'cause we had so much fun together. We head to my sister, Phillis's home around 5:00 a.m to pick up my mom. We then head our van northward towards Maine. I hope the weather has warmed up a bit since we left. It will take us three of four days to get back to Brunswick. I hope to find more inspiration along the way. Can't wait to get back to my studio and use some of these great ideas. Thanks for looking.!!

Epcot Flower Show

     Epcot is hosting the 2011 Flower and Garden show. The flowers and topiaries are lovely. For you people living in the northern parts of the country, you will be seeing these flowers one of these days soon, hopefully. Check out the pictures of some of the beauties I saw.

Vacation Inspirations

   I am just putting pictures up that I took yesterday that made me smile,and gave me ideas that I may work with when I get home. I love that I can look around and something will make me think..."What a good idea!"

Crystal chandeliers

   This first picture is from Downtown Disney. It's the Trend store. I love the different colors of these chandeliers. I think it's a girl thing:


Zentangling!!

   This next picture is actually a tee shirt that was in ESPN shop at Downtown Disney. I loved it because it is zentangling at it's best. It's on Mickey!!! Chris wants to buy it...Love how the colors blend to a different color as you move downward. Check it out:

   This is a window at Magic Kingdom. We headed there after eating at Red Lobster. Tom's FAVORITE place. I noticed the window in one of the stores. Must be a girl thing again. I love the manniquin's ribbon sash. I think Tim Holtz has a die cut of a manniquin.  The ribbon makes it look regal somehow.


Hanging out!

    I almost forgot about these fish. They were hanging on the wall at Red Lobster. I liked how they were colorful and in different patterns. This idea might find its way to a card. Hmmmm...
  Well, those are a few of the inspirations that I found yesterday. Today we go to Universal Studios. What will I find there?  Check out my blog tomorrow and see for yourself. Thanks for looking!  

"Smashing" Idea !

   I found this video on Scrappy Boutique's blog. This is a scrapbooking/cardmaking store in Sand Lake, Florida. We were planning on going there after we picked up Chris and Tom at the airport, but they are closed. It's suppose to rain on Thursday, so we are hopping over there before we take Chris and Tom back to the airport.
   These books are a great idea. I think it came out of the winter 2011CHA conference. I can't wait to start mine. I could certainly fill one with "things" I have loved about our trip here at Disney.
   Thought you might like to see the video I watched. Inspirations....

Florida's Strawberry Festival... Yum!

   Russ and I traveled to Plant City, Florida today to go to the Strawberry Festival there. We picked up my sister, Phillis  and her husband, Cary who are Floridians. My mom is visiting them for a spell, so she went along as well. What a great time. The weather was perfect. We left early enough to avoid the huge crowds that came much later.



Doesn't it look good...

 We tried to see the pig races, but it was too packed by the time we got there, so we headed for the Strawberry Shortcake place. Here you buy a ticket for $3.50 and get to make your own strawberry shortcake. We had a grand time eating the strawberry shortcakes. We found a table and just sat and slowly savored each bite. We won't be eating strawberry shortcake in Maine until July. Love these pictures of Phillis and Cary eating away. Don't they look like they are enjoying the strawberries?

Tastes so good!

   We walked about the exhibits noticing the admirable handiwork. The crafters would not allow pictures or videos as they must think people would steal their ideas, so I took none and bought nothing. One particulplace was quite cute, but alas I can not show you....

   The fair was huge with 5 different types of ferris wheels. It got way too busy around 2:00, so we decided to leave. The weather turned hotter. It was the perfect time to leave as the cars were pouring in.

   It was a lovely day with my family.  Thanks Phillis and Cary.  We are back at Saratoga Springs and tomorrow we pick up my sister, Chris and her husband, Tom for more adventures here together. What fun! Here are a few more pictures of our day..











The Longest Day!!



I could almost touch him!



    We set off for Animal Kingdom this morning wicked early. We caught the first bus going there. The weather was perfect. We went on the Kilimanjaro Safari. We really got close to the animals. We didn't see any lions, but the rhinos were right next to the jeep.





Isn't he cute?

     It was a rough ride,but we got great pictures of the animals. The giraffes were everywhere. Really a great ride.
   I just love The Tree of Life. It

Great details

 so beautiful. Russ and I walked all around it to get some of these great pictures.


Looks real!

 




Go, Russ!

    Russ had to go on Mt. Everest alone. I am too much of a weenie. Once was enough for me. He had to stand in line fo r about 25 minutes while I waited outside hoping to get a picture. I did!! He's the one in purple.

   We spent the whole day there. It ended with Mickey's Jammin Jungle Parade. What a fabulous day.

We didn't get to see the Festival of the Lion King 'cause about ten minutes into the show they told us the show was cancelled. Bummer.



   Tomorrow onto the Strawberry Festival with my sister, Phillis, her husband, Cary, and Mom. I am drooling just thinking about a strawberry shortcake. Hope to have a video of the event.

   These pictures are from Mickey's Jammin Jungle Parade. We had never seen it before. It was wicked cute.















Hollywood Studios or Bust!!



Mr. Potato Head.



   We spent a good part of the day at Hollywood Studios. The weather was beautiful as it has been since we've been here. Not too hot, not too cool. We headed for Toy Story Mania as did hundreds of others. We got on pretty quick. I'd forgotten how much fun it is with those 3-D glasses. We promptly went to the Fast Pass area once we got off to get back on again after lunch.

   The park was pretty busy. They were filming a show for ESPN right there on stage. It's going to be wicked busy this weekend at this park with athletes showing up to give autographs etc. So we won't be going to Hollywood Studios for awhile.

   We have never gone to American Idol,but on the recommendation of my sister, Rochelle and our friend, Cindy , we went. It was very fun. The singing was awesome and hard to select a winner. The girl that won was the one I had chosen. She's going to go right to the top, I predict.



We were in the audience.



We also saw The Little Mermaid show. It is a short show with great visual effects. We waited the longest for this event. Beauty and the Beast was way too long a wait. The line was forever. We will do that one next time. 

   We ate at the Backlot. Good healthy food. Instead of french fries, we had carrots sticks. How's that for will power. 



Remember him?



   We did get to go in the newly renovated Walt Disney exhibit. They have done a lovely job chronicling the life of this gifted man. It was amazing to see all that he accomplished in his lifetime. His brother, Roy, was no slouch either. 

   Well, that pretty much was the end of our feet. We headed back to our resort feeling like we had done Hollywood Studios enough for this year. Resting for our evening at Magic Kingdom to see the Main Street Electrical Parade which I don't think is as good at Spectro Magic.  I am going to give it a second chance to make sure I am not wrong. Big of me, isn't it?