Happy Anniversary, Dear!!

  We got new phones which brings us up to speed with the new technology out there. I just figured out how to upload my phone photos to my computer.. Yeah for me!! It took a little while with a little help from Verizon's Support website, but I got it.
  Russ and I celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary this past week. We decided to walk the beach at Popham in Phippsburg. It wasn't a sunny day , but it was a lovely day. We took about an hour and enjoyed the scenery all the way around the beach.

Thanks for 8 wonderful years....

   We also celebrated my son's birthday in September. He asked me to make cake pops because he liked the ones I had made for his housewarming party. I was so touched. It is only the second time I have made them. I think they came out great. I used three different candy melts, chocolate, peanut butter ( Cause my husband and Kristin love peanut butter.) and speckled vanilla. I used my die cut to make a little sign with "Happy Birthday" on it. The ribbon was a nice  touch.

This is a peanut butter one...

Nathaniel and his fiance, Kristin.

Nathaniel's card

 We went to Canobie Lake Park to continue the celebration. We all had a great time with great weather. I made Nathaniel's birthday card using my new Pop 'n Cuts die cut.. It is so easy. I was amazed at the ease in which I could make this card. I used SU's Baroque Motifs stamp for the background.
  I like using up my scraps for the banners since I have so many scraps.. I punched out the flower using my SU punch and glued it to yellow paper for the inside look of the petals.
  

Inside the card

 The sentiment is a stamp from Hero Arts that I really like to use for birthday cards. 
  I glued the birthday cake die cut to the pop up mechanism. I think I could just about glue anything to the mechanism for a pop up card. I added the banners using my die cuts from Sizzix.
  We had a barbecue at Nathaniel and Kristin's home with all the fixin's.
  

Hal and Charlotte's vacation album.

   I finished adding the photos to Hal and Charlotte's vacation album. Boy, I really do like making these pocket page albums. They use 6x6 paper which I love to purchase. There are so many patterns to choose from in stores. I used shells for part of the embellishment for their album since they came to Maine... of course.  Glossy Accents  is a great glue. It will hold anything down and that puppy is not coming off.

Two  of my favorite pictures in this album.

  

Waterfall cards

  I made a waterfall section to hold the images that I could not fit in the main part of the album. The only thing left to do is add the journaling and the chunky charm to the spine. I love making chunky charms for my albums. It is so much fun picking out the charms and beads to go with the theme of the album . I used Tim Holtz's chain and his small glass bottle. I added sand to it

Shells, beads, lobster, and other nautical charms

using a tiny eye hook to get it on the chain. The big piece is a domino that I glued pictures to and then covered them with gloss accents. It is gonna look great. I am going to give them the album in October 'cause we are heading to their home for Russ to go to a football game with Hal. Mom and I are shopping with Charlotte.. Love shopping with Charlotte. She knows all the cool places.
  Russ and I are "dirting" this week because the weather is cool and just right for working up a sweat and not dying while you are doing it.
 

Loam to spread....

   We are smoothing out humps and bumps in our lawn in hopes of having a better lawn. We seed the loam after spreading and rolling it. It is quite the project. We are waiting for the grass to grow out back and then it is on to the front. I will show you pictures of our lawn, if the grass actually grows. Right now I am doubtful.
  I will end with a great picture of Fall that I took on the way to Cornish, Maine for a lobster roll at Bay Haven. The best seafood is found there. Happy Fall, Everyone!!!

Hard to choose just one pumpkin....

 

The Month of August!

  Wow! August has been wicked fun so far.  My brother, Hal and his wife, Charlotte, and their daughter, Cindy , came up from New Jersey for a short visit. We had fun. It started out with giving Hal his birthday card. I loved making it 'cause I used punch art. I cased a card I found on Pinterest.

Love the bird!

Wacky Bird!  Here is the link to the blog that gives you more info on how to make it. I did a little change here and there 'cause I didn't have all the same punches and dies. I think he came out pretty good.
   I love making my own cards to fit the size of my card. The envelope punch board is great for that.
 

Looks yummy...

   I also made Hal a birthday cupcake box and bought him a yummy cupcake at Hannafords.I wanted to take a lick wicked bad, but I held myself back. The box was so easy to make. I got the directions from a blog I found, guess where? Pinterest: Surprise, surprise!
 Here is a link to that blog. Her video is quite good. Cupcake Box  I decided to glue my corners inside the box and for some reason the top did not fit. It was too small, so I scored the top a little smaller than an inch and it worked fine.

Side view

I borrowed some glass beads from my sister, Chris, and put one in each corner for the legs. I had seen that done on a box at Stamped Designs in New Hampshire. It looked great. Here is a picture of the legs on this box.

You can just see the glass legs.

  Well, we decided to take everyone to Shaw's Wharf in New Harbor. What a gorgeous day to go eat at a wharf. It was a beautiful drive down on a wonderful summer day. We ate lobster rolls, seafood casserole, and  lobster and fish chowder. We were full of the bounty of the ocean. Yum!

Great food...

 We got some great pictures of  a working wharf. It was a very busy place with lobstermen, and tourists everywhere.

Selling their lobsters...

Here is a picture of Cindy acting like a typical tourist. Love this picture of her.

Now that is a lobster...

Pemaquid Lighthouse

 

See ya soon!

  We headed to Pemaquid Lighthouse after lunch 'cause they had never been there. Again it was gorgeous. We checked out the gift shop and the locals...

Friendy locals...

 What a great time with family ... The next few days we took them to Ken's in Old Orchard, and  a Sea Dogs game. The time went way too fast. We hope to see them this fall.
  I have just finished my brother-in-law's birthday card. Yes, another birthday in August. He is an avid golfer, so this card was perfect for him. I really loved making this one 'cause it was so easy. I used a scrapbooking pair of scissors for the grass. I also cut out the circle with my  Big Kick and a Spellbinders die. The dotted swiss embossing folder gave the golf ball its dimpling.

Wicked cute!

 I used a Sizzix die for the tag that says "enjoy". That sentiment comes from Tim Holtz. I really like the colors that make this card stand out. I cased this card from another great card I found on Pinterest. Here is the link to that card: Golf Card
  Well, Russ and I are headed to Denver, Colorado to visit with his daughter, Kristin. We are looking forward to seeing her for a few days. When we come back  August will be more than half over. Where has the summer gone?
  Here are a few more pictures of my brother's visit.

View from Shaw's Wharf

Great picture

Good day for a boat ride.

Pemaquid scene

Sea Dog's Game

Summer Fun!

   I have been having alot of fun doing the things I love to do in the summer time: going to the Yarmouth Clam Festival, working in our garden, canning, and paper crafting; just to name a few things.
   My sister-in-law, Bette, is so thoughtful. She was working at the Unity Fair Circle in Sebasco when she spied a table with a number of stamps on it.. She thought of me immediately.. What a sister-in-law. She bought all of them. And what a find it was for me.  Most of the  stamps were from Stampin Up and they were stamp sets where most of them had never been used. Whoopie!  Love 'em.
   There were four angel stamps that I absolutely love. I used one on my altered cigar box ( Check an older post.) inside cover. I used my copic markers to color the cherub and he looks so cute.

One of the stamps Bette found for me

I used a Spellbinders die for the corner embellishment and glittered everything in sight. Love that glitter....
  The sentiment is a stamp from Inkadinkadoo. I have used it before on other projects.

Inside my altered cigar box

   Thanks, Bette, for thinking of me. I am going to enjoy using these stamps on future paper projects.
   I also finished my sister, Rochelle's birthday card. I gave it to  her early 'cause I wanted her to see how clever I was in finding a new type of card I had not made before. When she came to the house to show me her new card, it was the same waterfall card. We had a good laugh about how great minds think alike and all that. She actually made her squares a little bigger, which I liked. She gave me some tips, so I am going to try another one.

Waterfall card for Rochelle!

  You pull the ribbon at the bottom and the squares move up and away. Love it !  I found the tutorial on Pinterest. ( Boy, if you are not on Pinterest, you are missing out on some great ideas and  inspirations!) The tutorial is for a Halloween card, but Dawn really does a great job explaining each step. Here is a link to her video: Dawn's Waterfall card

   I used Graphic 45 paper, which is my new favorite paper. I used brads from Stampin Up. I also used SU stamps from Loads of Love, Flower of the Month, So Many Scallops, and Love Ya Bunches. They all worked well here for a birthday card.
    I really had fun making this waterfall card. Check out Dawn's tutorial, if you are interested in making one of your own. My sister's blog at Creative Corner Studio has more examples of this type of card, too.

Voila! There is the message!

Pull the ribbon!

Keep pulling...

   Well, in between my paper crafting fun, my husband, Russ and I , have been picking cucumbers from our garden like mad. We found a recipe in a canning book Bette and Tommy gave us for Christmas a few years ago. We still have some relish we made last summer to use up this summer.
I don't know what it is about gardening, but we are into it.  Check out these pictures of our canning fun.

All clean and ready to be filled.

Funnel thingie comes in handy.

Good eating this winter!

    Well, tomorrow we are going to have some rain. That's okay 'cause I will continue to work on my paper crafting projects. I hope to be done with my Disney album and get ready to make some more mini albums.

Chickadee Sighting!

Mom's birdfeeder

   I have been thrilled this winter to have a sanctuary for the birds in our neighborhood. The family  gave our mom a bird feeder for Christmas this year. She has been delighted to see so many birds coming to and fro. Chickadees are so cute and skiddish.
  It inspired me to make this card for my friend, Elaine. She and her husband are bird watchers, so I know she'll like the bird punch from Stampin Up. It's her birthday in March and I am ready this year.

Happy Birthday, Elaine.

  I looked at a bird book which helped me get the coloring right for a chickadee. This was my second attempt. I think he looks rather grand.
   The branch and all are a die from Memory Box. I recently discovered this company and love their products. The sentiment is from a Stampin Up set. The name was not on the box so I do not know the name of the set. Let me know if you have it. The paper is from K & Company.
   I think sometimes a simple card can be quite elegant. This one was easy to put together. I did use my special scissors to make the edge of the green paper ragged.
   I loved making this card and I really like how it came out. Hope you do, too.  

Cindy's Birthday Bash

Pretty in Pink.

  We are having a birthday party for our friend, Cindy. She loves pink, so I am guessing everything will be in pink. My birthday card will be no different. I had wicked fun making it.

   I used Martha Stewart's lattice punch to make the fence. I added SU's flourish stamp for ivy. I just bought the Mixed Bunch stamp set and punch from Stampin Up. Love them. It makes beautiful blossoms when you stack them and raise them with dimensionals. 

  The leaves are die cuts from Spellbinders. The little bee is from SU Full Blossoms set. I love Martha Stewart's butterfly punch, too. I made the flower in the lower right hand corner from punches and yes.. pink paper. 

  The sentiment I typed on the computer to get the right size and used a Spellbinder's die cut mount the words. I think it came out pretty good. Hope Cindy likes it , too.

Pretty in Pink, too.

Wish I could eat one....

Great display

   We went indoor flea marketing a few weeks ago ad came across a great candy store in Wells. I think that is where we were. It was called "The Harbor Candy Store". Great place. Loved their displays. This pink mask reminded me of Cindy. I snapped a picture of their masks.

More pretty in pink...

We plan on going back to Wells real soon as their stores on the Main Street are so cute and full of things that interest us. 

For Aunt Syvilla!

I love cupcakes, but stamped images  will have to do...

   My mom needed a birthday card for her sister, Syvilla.  I don't know how old she is and she probably wouldn't appreciate me blogging that info anyway.
   I wanted to use my cupcake stamps from Hero Arts. I really had a ball coloring them with Copic Markers. I used Martha Stewart's fine glitter to add a little sparkle.The row of gems I bought on one of my crafting journeys.
  The inside of the card I had planned to be simple, but I got glue on the side when I dropped the sentiment. So I improvised and used my Sizzix border die cut of a branch and a bird. I used glitter over it to hide the glue "smudgies".  I used my Copic Markers again to color the leaves and the bird.
   I really like the color combo of blue and green. It gave the card a "fresh" look. I haven't decided on what I am going to do to the envelope. I am working on that one.
   I like working on birthday cards. I think I will make a few ahead to be ready for the next birthday. There's always someone having a birthday, right?
   
  

Happy Birthday, Russ!!

   It is my husband's birthday today... We celebrated it last night with a movie and dinner out with family. We had a wicked good time. The movie was "Sherlock Homes- Game of Shadow". We loved it.. Full of intrigue and surprises. We had dinner at Longhorn.. Yummy!!

Football addict...

   Today Russ gets to watch football all day.. He loves that, too. So I made him an appropriate card. Here it is:
I wish I could say that I drew the football player, but no I didn't.. I "googled" it and cut it out after I had blown it up a bit. Then I glued it to black cardstock. I typed in the sentiment and used my Spellbinders square die cut.
   I got the idea for this card from a card I saw on Splitcoast. Here is the linkFootball card
She did a great job on her card and I loved the stadium full of people, so I did the same  thing on the inside of this card.

Aren't they all cute!!!??

Pretty swirl...

   Lately I've taken to decorating the envelope, too. I just purchased this steel die cut from Stamped Designs in Dover, N.H. and wanted to use it on Russ's envelope. It's from Memory Box and I love it. I put a little glitter on it to give it a snowy effect.
   He got his card this morning and really liked it. I had fun using my thumb to make all the fans in the stadium and giving them faces. Thumbprint people are so cute.
   My Christmas shopping is done except for stocking stuffers. I think I will finish that this week at Reny's and Target. Happy Shopping!!

Cindy's Owls

   It was my niece, Cindy's birthday last week. Her mother asked me to make a card for her. She has many interests, but she particularly loves owls. So I cased this card from the Splitcoast Gallery. It is such a cute card. Check it out here...Owl Window Card   I didn't have the same materials, so I improvised. I used Cuttlebug's embossing folder for the tree accent. I "rubbed" Tim Holtz's distress ink pad, Mahogany, over the surface.

   I cut out the center of the card with my rectangular Nestability die cut. Also using the same technique I cut the branch free hand and attached to the back of the window part.
   I added the tree leaves using the scalloped punch from Stampin Up. Again the distress ink Vintage Photo around the edges of each scallop gave the desired effect.
   I used SU's owl punch and put them together in a similar way that the cased owl card looked. I added the hearts and kept their eyes quite large. I cut a scalloped circle out of the brown paper and trimmed it to look like a feathered arm. Martha Stewart's balloon punch was used and the balloon wrapped around the owl's wing gave the card a more festive look along with the cute party hats. I only had Stickles to give the hats a pompom.
   The banner is from Spellbinders and the stamp is from Hero Arts.
   Cindy's family celebrated her birthday last night. I know it was a joyous occasion. Happy Birthday, Cindy!!!

He's turning 30!!!

A smiling computer....

   I have been working on my son's 30th birthday card...He works at Unum on computers all day.. He loves it...so I tried to think up a card using a computer as the theme. I typed in computer image and found one with a smile on it.. so I gave it a try. This is what I came up with for his card.
   I used Stampin Up's Pretty Petals background stamps to make it look like wallpaper. I pieced together the monitor screen: easy enough. Then I use SU word window punch for the place for the computer's buttons. I printed out and scaled down the computer keyboard and added it below the monitor. The smile was a little tricky , but I think it came out okay.
   I started working on the inside of the card by taking white paper and folding it for a pop up card. I again made a simpler monitor screen and attached that above the keyboard. I used Cuttlebug's embossing folder to make the table look wooden. I used Distress Inks from Tim Holtz to accent the raised wood.
   The balloons were punched from Martha Stewart's punch in different colors and patterns.

The mouse I thought was a clever addition!

   I used Stampin Up's Baroque Motif's flourish to add a little birthday look to the inside. I used SU real red ink and added touches of many colored dots.
   I found the sentiment online and thought it was perfect: "Another Birthday? That Bytes! Happy 30th"
Wicked fun making this one for him.. Hope Nathaniel likes it....