Another Birthday in August!

   I finished Tom's card ( my brother-in-law) in time for us to go out to dinner to celebrate him turning 60. We didn't make too much fun 'cause we are going to be that age come the end of the year. We went out to Marco's in Auburn and had a fabulous meal.  Tom is an avid golfer so I used my Stampin Up set of stamps that has golfers and a golf bag. I bought it used so there isn't a name on it. I'll have to find out by going to Splitcoast Stampers and asking. Anyway, this is the card I made for him.

Stampin Up golfing set

   The inside was fun to do 'cause I was trying to be funny with the sentiment : "Staying Young.... Take your irons everyday."
Oh well, I tried... Here is the inside of the card.

More golfing stamps

   I have two more cards to make for August birthdays. I should be finished with them soon. I'll post them as soon as I am done. Whew! August is a busy month in my family for birthday's.
    We are so excited to have our deck completed. We have been enjoying it since the rain stopped. Patrick McDonnell and his crew did a fabulous job. We couldn't be happier. It is just what we pictured it would be for us. Here are some pics of the deck finished.
 

Finishing up

Side view

We even cleaned the gas bottle.

Inside view

Screens on and barbecue ready

When's lunch?

Wicker furniture in place

Umbrella ready

   Well, we have had a great summer so far. After we finished the deck we found out that we had an offer on our condo. Looks like we might have sold it... Pray all goes well... This would be an answer to our prayers. We didn't want to go through another winter with the condo on our minds.
   I am off to finish the last two cards. Hope you are having a great summer, too.

August Birthdays and happenings.....

    

   August is a busy month for my family with many birthday celebrations. I have been making cards like mad to keep up.... These two cards were for my brother, Hal and my sister, Rochelle.

For Hal

For Rochelle

  For Hal's card I used Tim Holtz's jalopy die cut. I played around with it, using an embossing folder, and painting it different colors 'til I ended up painting it black with some color showing through. I added the Tim Holtz  gears and put acetate in the back to give the windows a more interesting look. The time piece die cut is from Tim Holtz, too.  I had seen this saying somewhere so I just printed it out and used a spellbinders label die cut with some bling from Heartfelt Creations. I hope he liked it..I took so long to make it I was late for his actual birthdate... Oh well...better late than never.

We are trying our hand at cake decorating.

   For Rochelle's card I was on time..It helped that we were having a birthday party for her at my house. I love Stampin Up's owl punch. You can use him in so many ways. I cased this card from a card I pinned on Pinterest. I went back to try to link it here, but I couldn't find it to save my life. I used different colors and added the hat and balloon. I used my Cuttlebug tree bark embossing folder to make it more interesting. It was a fun card to make.  I think Rochelle liked it.

Black-eyed Susans

Some of my milk glass collection

   Her party was alot of fun. I used flowers from my garden as a centerpiece. I was inspired by Donna Hebert's blog on tea time. She has beautiful tablescapes. She blog is linked here: Donna Heber Designs

cukes

cherry tomatoes

cukes

   We have been busy with harvesting veggies from our very first garden together. The tomatoes are starting to turn red. We hope to make spaghetti sauce using a Christmas gift of canning supplies from Russ's sister.   
   The other exciting happening is to our home. We have hired a carpenter Patrick McDonnell  from Augusta. He is doing a fab job on building our deck. We are so thrilled to be getting this project done. We have wanted to do this all summer and decided we might as well do  it so we can have use of it for part of the summer and all fall. It's not completed as you can see, but I will post more pictures when it is fully done.

View from inside where the windows were....

Some electrical work needs to be finished.

View from outside

Towards the backyard

Side steps

Towards the road

I took the film off the door glass, better viewing.

   As you can see the railings, trim, and electrical need to be finished. I can't wait to put out the barbecue grill, umbrella and table, and wicker furniture. It seems to be just the right size. Check back for more pics when Patrick completes the deck. Hoping for tomorrow... Happy August!

A Hot Summer July......

    My sister, Phillis, came for a visit. She was up from Florida. She loved our weather 'cause we can keep our windows open during the day... at least when she was visiting. We took her to our Clam Festival here in Yarmouth, Maine. It really is a lovely parade....

This is "Steamer".

Everyone showed their respect.

Conestoga

Love the music

How do they do this????

   We had a great time at the parade. It lasted about an hour and a half. Beautiful weather. The Shriners are always great to see.










Shaw's Wharf in Bristol, Maine

A Maine harbor

Lobster boat

   While Phillis was here we took her to Shaw's Wharf in Bristol. It's a great place to eat seafood on the water. It's a working wharf, so you get to see the boats coming in the harbor. We had a great time except it decided to rain, so we had to eat indoors. The rain stopped by the time we finished eating our clams, shrimp, and lobster. The views from the harbor are typical for any Maine harbor up and down the coast of Maine: breathtaking...

Me... I think I'm a soft shell.

Phillis.. Cute, huh?

   The week went fast and it was sad to see my sister go back to Florida. We had a great time. We will be visiting her in Florida in October. Can't wait to see her again.  July went by way too fast.

Let's celebrate

   I just finished making a birthday card for my youngest sister, Adrianne. She is coming in from Mass. with my other sister, Phillis, who is flying in from Florida. We are going to have a week of fun in the sun. The Yarmouth Clam Festival is this week, too. We will be hitting that this afternoon with the parade on Main Street. Love summer.....
   Anyway, I really hadn't done much in my craftroom with the garden and shopping at Brimfield this past weekend... More fun.. I enjoyed working with paper again. This is the card I designed for Adrianne.

Happy Birthday, Adrianne!

Russ and Marilyn ???

   I got to use my new Spellbinder's die cut. I love the look and it's perfect to add pearls onto. The stamp is from Memory Box. First time I've use one, too. The little birds are from Martha Stewart's bird punch. I just cut them off the strip. I love the aqua colors I used with the white . One of my favorite colors.
    What could I do with one of these???

   Two of my sisters and their husbands went with Russ and I to Brimfield, Mass. last weekend to the Antiques and Collectibles event there. It was awesome. We walked in the ninety degree heat for miles and miles. The second day was a tad color, but not much. We loved it , though. Here are a few pics from that fun.

 

Art?

Wouldn't you want this on your front lawn?

This is just a small section of the show.

Waving hands...

It's July already!!!

   I haven't posted anything for awhile 'cause I've been so busy. This hot humid weather we are having off and on makes me sluggish and sleepy... We put the air conditioners in and feel some relief.

For Jenn's Wedding  Day

    It's been a busy summer so far. My brother, Hal and his family, came for a lovely visit this past month. It was so good to see them all. Hal and Charlotte are new grandparents to a sweet little girl names Amelia. It was a nice sound to hear the baby noises early in the morning.. I am going to miss that.. course I didn't have to get up and take care of the baby .. nice sounds, though.
   I have been a little busy with a wedding card for a past colleague at the school I used to teach at in Phippsburg. She is getting married in July. Hope she has a great wedding day. I loved making this card. I got the inspiration and the template from Lynn Pratt's card which I had pinned on Pinterest. Here I a link to that site so if you want the dress template it is there for you..Wedding Card
   I love making wedding cards. I haven't made too many 'cause most of the people I know are already married... Oh well... I had fun making this one.

Portland Head Light

   I used Lynn's template to make the dress out of white cardstock. I put it through my Sizzix machine with a Stampin Up embossing folder...love this look. I got the template for the tuxedo from another site called Lori's Stamps .com.  I cut out the pieces from black cardstock. The fun came in embellishing the outfits with pearls, gems, ribbon,  and flowers.
   I used a Spellbinder's label die cut  to put the sentiment on the front. I found the sentiment on another site I had pinned on Pinterest. I can't remember the address, but it's on my Board called "Cards" .
   I have had a great summer so far. My sister, Phillis, is coming up in July from Florida. I hope the weather holds up. We are all excited to see her.

Walking the beach in Old Orchard

   I am closing with a few pictures of my busy summer so far. Today we celebrate July fourth. I'll have more pics of food since we are having a barbecue at my  sister, Rochelle's,  home. They have  a pool.  So busy.....

Picking in June

Watching Amelia grow

   

Eating Lobster

Oh My Gosh!! Emma is Graduating!!!

   I can't believe my niece is graduating this June... Where has the time gone.. I feel ancient.. My gray hair is getting grayer by the minute... Wait.. that's right. She's graduating from Middle School.. That's a little bit better. I am so happy for her... High School is a great time..

Love this card... the best.

  I made two cards for her: one from us and one from my mom.. What fun to make these cards. The first one is a case from an idea I found on Pinterest. I have a board I named "Cards". Clever, huh? Here is the  link: A Splitcoast Stamper's Card
   I changed the color to Blue Bayou by Stampin Up. I used a stamp by Northwoods Rubber Stamps  for my sentiment.  I also used the basket weave embossing folder by Stampin Up. I added a little more bling with the "gems" at the bottom. I really like how it came out. Hope Mom likes it, too.

Quilling practice.

   The next card for Emma I decided to practice my quilling skills which are quite lacking since I just started this craft. I used a book I purchased from Barnes and Noble titled: New Concepts in Paper Quilling  by Marie Browning. It's a great book; except she used pins to make some designs instead of using the comb. I think the comb must be a new tool. I love her work.

   The sentiment is a favorite of mine. It's a stamp from Hampton Arts Stamps. I used the 1/8 of an inch quilling paper. I also used a Tim Holtz technique of added water to a splash of stain ink and then rubbing the paper in it. It makes this lovely marbled effect.   

Love making my own envelope , if I have time.

  The other skill I am practicing is lining an envelope with patterned paper. This one was easy since I used Stampin Up's plastic template to make this envelope. You can see the template in the picture.
  June is the month for graduations. It's a time of change and moving onward and upward. Oh, next year Emma "hits" high school. Four years 'til I have another bout of "getting old". I should make her card now 'cause I am younger.. and won't forget it.. Congratulations, Emma!!!