Don't look, Rochelle!!

   Russ and I , along with my mom and my sister, Rochelle and her husband, Mark went to spend the day at our friend, Cindy and Dave's camp in Limington, Maine at the Lake. I'd tell you the name of the lake,but I am not sure I can spell it.. I'll give it a try: Lake Pequawett. I know that's not right,but hopefully it's close.
   We had a great time. The weather was perfect and the food was awesome. Dave grilled steak tips from the Steak House in Scarborough. Yummy....

The pink chair, so Cindy..

Wicked good salads, too.

Is that life jacket too small?

   We sat on the little beach out in front of their camp. Cindy and Dave have alot of lake gear: kayaks, canoe, and flotation items. Mark decided to use a kayak to go out towards the middle of the lake. His oar hit his glasses and as he attempted to catch them, over he went. Lost his glasses to the bottom of the lake. As the guys tried to retrieve them with diving trips to the bottom. We girls got a boat ride from Cindy's friend, Nancy. She can drive/steer a boat. What a boat ride!  Later, Nancy showed us her embroidery work on a child's quilt. Absolutely gorgeous. She sells them... wish I knew a little one that would love one of these beauties.

Rochelle rescuing her husband, Mark.

   It was a great day... We were all pooped from enjoying this funtime.  It's back to the grindstone today. More packing... for our upcoming move to Yarmouth.

For Rochelle...

   I did finish my sister, Rochelle's birthday card last night. Since I am packing up my craftroom today, I wanted to finish all my birthday cards that I need for this month.Who knows how long before I get my craftroom up and running in Yarmouth. SO ROCHELLE, DON'T LOOK!
   I used my Just Rite stamp for the "Happy Birthday" circle, and I used the Kindness set with Spellbinder's new die cut for around the "Happy Birthday" circle. I embossed the design in white. Blue gems finish the look.
  Just Rite has a new stamp set called "Forever Friends". I love the "Sisters Forever" stamp. It's perfect here.... The book die cut is from Spellbinders, too.
   I used Martha Stewart's punch around the page to surround the card. Prima flowers and a butterfly embellish the card. Love the bling on the butterfly.
   This is a stand up card where I used Tim Holtz's brace die cut on the back. Can't wait to give it to her.
   Well, I guess I have to start packing. I will be blogging about the move since my card making "stuff" will be in boxes. I hope all goes smoothly.

Too Long....

   I've been away from my blogging for a few days now. It's been too long because I have been working on so many things. I finished painting my bureau and adding the glass knobs. That was a huge project... I painted the bureau in the basement... Bad idea.. Lighting is terrible. At least that's what I told my husband when he noticed the drips here and there... So he helped me bring it upstairs and sand a bit more and cover the blemishes.. I absolutely love how it came out.. I'll post pics tomorrow..
   I haven't had a chance to take any pictures 'cause I was cleaning house for today's Memorial Day barbecue with family.. It was really a nice time.. Hope everyone had a chance to remember those who have served our country..

Sunflowers make me smile!!

   I also finished a card. I really like how it came out.. I had purchased the designer paper at Tate's in Bath. I believe it was K& Company's paper. I bought the black ribbon there , too. I am not sure where I got the sunflowers.. It was a little sprig of them.. I cut them up and applied with glue dots. 
  I love Just Rites new stamps. They are called "Kindness" ... good name. Spellbinders make nestabilities that match this set. Really very pretty. I used my enamel accents to make ahhh accents with black and white dots. I even outlined the stamp.

Ummm... What shall I do??? What shall I do???

   So I am off to work on my next project... I took a watering can my Mom gave me 'cause it leaked. I applied silcone gel to the bottom.. Voila! No leak. Now what shall I do to make it look pretty... Just check back and see.... Thanks for looking...

Onward to Mother's Day!!

   Happy Easter, Everyone. Today it rained like mad, but tomorrow is suppose to be a sunny warmish day. Perfect for Easter. The family is getting together to go to church and then afterwards a lunch at the Taste of Maine in Woolwich. I finished my Easter cards and gave my Easter baskets away. So now I am onward to Mother's Day.
   I made this card using the funky fold. I hadn't tried this fold yet and found it quite simple. I went onto Cheryl's blog for a video of the directions. Here is the link to her blog: http://sweeetdesignsbycheryl.blogspot.com/2010/10/i-believe-in-youvideo-on-funky-fold.html Her directions are quite good.
   I used my new Shapeabilities die cut for the circular message: Celebrate. This stamp is from Just Rite.  I used white embossing powder for the flowers from Stampin Up called Oh So Lovely. The small purple flowers I made from my McGill punch and just added a pearl to each center.

Funky Fold Card

   I found the poem about mothers online. It reads:
     At the family's heart is Mother
     Whose love is warm and true
     Our family home was a special place
      All credit's due to you.

Side view

 I thought that was quite appropriate since Mom did such a great job with all eight of us. We had a busy, but warm childhood. Mom and Dad did a great job with such a big family. I miss Dad so much.....But I want to let Mom know how I feel. I am not sure this is the card I will use, but it will be fun trying out a few cards and picking the one I like the best. Mother's Day is right around the corner, isn't it?


tomorrow.

A Retirement Card for Don

   I just finished this retirement card for a good friend of ours.   We are so happy for him. His wife is already retired, so I think they will be traveling in their "new life". I designed this card with that in mind.
   I used watercolor paper and a wet paint brush to give the "little" picture the look of a watercolor painting. The palm tree stamp is from Stampcraft  I borrowed it from my sister, who lives just down the road.  I used SU ink to give the picture a  beach look at sunset. 

A Tropical Theme

   I used two Sizzix die cuts to make the coat tree: Decorative Accents #2 and Dress & Accessories. I just connected the top part of one to the bottom part of the other with a thin strip of the same color.
  I just bought this great paper from Mind's Eye at Jeannette's in Dover. It's really quality paper. I used it for the wall paper in the room and for the wainscoting below. I just drew lines with a brown marker to give the wainscoting  a painted wood look. 
  My oval Nesties helped me with the sentiment. I used my Just Rite alphabet stamps to print out the message. The little Prima flowers help it to look a little tropical. I found these great sandal buttons that I just cut off the little shank on the back. I thought it was a great touch.
  Spellbinder"s fancy tags helped me to add the sign at the top. I just cut part of it off to make it look more like a sign.
  The shirt was wicked fun to make. This was the first time I had done a shirt. I wanted it to look tropical, so I used a colorful piece of designer paper. Here is a video I found to help me with directions. I am a very visual learner.

 
   The hanger for the shirt was the toughest part. I've seen tiny ones in the craft stores, but I didn't have any, so I made my out of wire. I believe I will purchase some now that I know how hard they are to make.

   The inside of the card has more of a message for Don. I found the Irish Blessing on line. The palm tree and monkey are from Sizzix. The water picture is a picture I took when we went to Popham Beach. I faded it a bit to give it a lighter look.
   I hope Don likes his retirement card. I know he will enjoy his retirement. Russ and I love being retired.