I'm Addicted....to Pinterest!

I recently was told that I "had" to get on Pinterest." What's that?"....well little did I know...it is total addiction to everything lovely!!.........beautiful scenery....fun crafts....lovely homes....plants, quotes, and even art journals!......no one needs to every buy a magazine again cause it's all on line at Pinterest!

So I found a great quote....and I doooo love quotes....that said.......this is it...."Don's let a bad day make you feel like you have a bad life.".......well...THAT spoke to me. I have depression...and usually it's kept at bay by good medication.......but some days.........well...some of you will understand..........so here is what I did with the quote!

Oh that poor gal..........she's definately having a bad day!!..........I'm printing this out and goin over to my craft station and glueing this right in...........Have a GREAT day!!...(yes...this is a good day!)

Digi Layout of Sierra and Nathaniel

With a new greatgrandson I had to start a new Digi album.....here is Nathaniels first page.

A New Addition to the Family

Today our family has been blessed by a new Great Grandson...Nathaniel....born at 9:34am (with over 12 hours of labor). He is 8lbs and 21inches..........Congratulations Sierra....

Where are the clean clothes?

When things go missing............
                 and you live with youngins.............
                                        you NEVER know what you'll find...................

Oh.....Alexander has been helping with the laundry again!!

It's Game On!

Hello World!

How have you all been doing? It's been crazy here and I tend to zone out when that happens....hiding in my bedroom. Drawing and watching British tv series and movies.....love them.

 And....while I'm in hiding the family is in full swing....Sunday the football season began...RATS! But my honey now has others to watch the games with Him. DD and her hubby...plus the 4 and 2 year olds chanting the whole time...."GO RAIDERS!!!!........yes...the are hopelessly lost to us....Hubby is a 49'rs fan....and so the game is on....who will win more games this season....Raiders or 49'rs

And....due to a bet the dueling duo made LAST season......Hubby lost...Raiders did better than the 49'rs soooooo.........Hubby had to wear a Raiders shirt....ALL DAY.....when the new season started. Well... that was this last Sunday and Hubby humbly wore the shirt to church...he wasn't happy...but he honored the bet

...(see....he really isn't a betting man...now I know why)...

Let's see how the rivals do THIS year!

Look at the Great Font

Hello World...

I wanted to show you all the wonderfull font I found in the new fall Lands' End catalog.

I think this is a fabulous font because of the flow of letters and also the tall letters are slightly exaggerated. Any know what this font might be? The search is on....

Back to Work....

It's been FOUND!!...YIPPEE.......I had posted on Two Peas In A Bucket forum a request for help in finding this font and wooooohoooooo it's been found. Cost a little bit because it's a commercial font, but it will be worth it. Here is the link if anyone want's to know. Font in Lands' End Fall Catalog and fyi this is the first link i've done...hummmmm wasn't so hard afterall!!

Have a GREAT day everyone!!!

Happy Birthday Katherine

Hello World........
.....it's Saturday and it's already a day packed with errands and such....but I had to give a Birthday greetings to my friend Katherine........another fall nut....(Katherine in Yosemite with her pumpkin).......
craft nut, and my friend for over 31 years. When we met I had one child age 3 and she was pregnant with her first....now we have 6 children(3 each), son's and daugher in-laws, grandchildren and even great grandchildren....and thru all this time we only lived in the same town maybe 9 months total.....it's been a long distance friendship and we have shared sooooooooooo much together over the years. So Happy Birthday My Friend!!!!!!

September 1...W00-HOO

Hello World!!................Two Big Events for Today.

1.....Its been 38 years for my honey and me...where does the time go??? We met in our first (on only) year of college and majored in each other. ...here's a pic of Honey. It's been an adventure with ups and downs, any sooo many blessing along the way. I'm so glad he's my hubby and God willing we will have many more years together.

2......FALL begins today for me and a few other nuts (my friend Katherine and my youngest daughter Catherine)....this is OUR first day of fall...............summer is soooo over rated.......yuck....but fall....yummmmm, the colors, the feel of the air on your skin, the smells of the fall season.......and I live in California and I'll take what I can get of fall in the area, but I can't BEGIN to imagine what living on the northern EAST Coast would be like where it is a it is a feast to the eyes..............(...hummmmm, some day)
So....to start the season off right I had to may my favorite fall receipe "Great Aunt Myrtle's Pumpkin Bread"....which came from my friend Katherine........yummy.........want the receipe?
                          sure I'll share........I think Aunt Myrtle would get a kick out of it!!
                                       AUNT MYRTLES' PUMPKING BREAD
          3 CUPS SUGAR
          1 CUP COOKING OIL
         4 EGGS
         2 CUPS PUMPKIN (FROM A CAN)
         2/3 CUP WATER
         2 TSP. SODA
         1/2 TSP. SALT
         1 TSP. CINNAMON
         1 TSP NUTMEG
         3 1/2 CUPS FLOUR  
Cream sugar, oil and eggs at low speed, add pumpkin, water, dry ingredients and nuts in given order. Place in 4 greased and floured 1 pound coffee cans. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Can you guess that this is an old receipe? I have used all different sizes of loaf pans and even a bundlt pan for this receipe. It makes a lot of batter...so have fun...............enjoy the yummy bread.

NOTE......cooking time REALLY varies due to size of pans....just play with it...it always comes out good!

Heres to hoping you enjoy the season.................

Struck Gold....or....Look at all the Loot!!

Good Morning World........

I wanted to show off all the wonderful scraps that came in an envelope swap that I joined over at LaWendula... www.lawendula.blogspot.com  a few weeks ago. The most WONDERFUL paper and ephemera was sent to me and just made me giddy....yes people, giddy....I just LOVE paper.
                             
                                         Just LOOK at all the loot!! whooo-hooo!

Monopoly money, tickets, B&W photos, a lotto ticket...music, wallpaper, a red Chinese money envelope, stamps from all over the world, scraps of paper, tags, an 1915 receipt...from Jayne in Oklahoma. Thanks SOOOO VERY much Jayne.........

Hope your heart went pitter-patter like mine did!!!

My Own "Remains of the Day" Journal

Good Morning World!

In my previous post I showed a "Remains of the Day" journal that I made for my friend Doris. Does everyone know who coined the name, "Remains of the Day?" Besides being one of the most boring movies I ever watched.....this is a Journal class taught by MaryAnn Moss www.dispatchedfromla.typepad.com that is incorporates sewing, using recycled paper, and really anything you want to use, making it a fasinating hodgepodge journal.....which is why I fell for it and paid for a class. Even though my craft money it tight, taking classes expands my creativity and I find that I start combinging ideas that eventually gives me my own style.

So here is my own "Remains of the Day" journal...hope you like it!

I used Mary Engelbreight fabric, old uphostry fabric, and a crochet flower (pattern from Attic 24)....using my favorite colors...red and yellow..

and here are just a few of the pages. After I figure out how to add Flicker to my blog the rest of the pages will be there.

This pic is showing that there are two signatures....(Learned about that in the class)

old envelopes

paper sewed together to create the page size

isn't paper grand!!

Remains of the Day Journal for Doris

Hello World!...

It's time to show you what I have been working on for the last two weekends. A journal for my friend Doris..........who loves green and pink and everything feminine....

The journal cover has a lace doily sewn on it.........a heart made from vintage fabric, and the other heart is from the fabric of her bed set. Vintage button and fabric for the closure.

 

 

I am pleased with the way the journal turned out, but more than that.....Doris REALLY liked it...and that made me REALLY happy!!

Now What?

Now that the Summer of Color Challenge is over, I see the need to belong to groups.....keeps the momentum rolling. So with that.... I am joining some of my friends in a Calendar of the Year ATC swap. Every other week we will make an ATC for the designated month and by the end of the year we will have 12 ATC's times 6......WOW.....72 ATC's. That should be fun and then we can display the cards of the month all thru 2012.

Here is my first ATC for January.....I decided to have a theme of Gemstone and Flower of the month and go digital again. (got to keep at it and moving forward)

(think I will start some fall art....it's ALMOST here!!!!)

Show and Tell for the AWESOME Summer of Color Challenge

Thanks, thanks, thanks....to Kristen for running this challenge. It was so motivating to work in the different colors and then put the layouts on the web each week ......waiting to see if people liked it....and as this was the first challenge I had done...showing people besides my family my work...I was VERY happy to see that people liked my layouts...meaning to me...keep it up...don't give up...I'm finally getting somewhere with Digital Scrapping!

                                                                     Week #1...BLUE

Week #2...GREEN

                                                       
                                                              Week #3...Yellow

                                                                    Week #3...Pink

                                                               Week #4....Brown

                                                                     Week #5....Red

                                                                   Week #6....Purple

Week #8....Orange

And to everyone who participated....I enjoyed looking at your pics..... found some new blogs to follow....and was truely inspired by all. It's amazing what talent there is in this world!!!! 

The Last Color of the "Summer of Color" Challenge

The "Summer of Color" Challenge has been so much fun. I think it has actually helped me to make the summer go by faster....cause I'm EAGERLY waiting for fall...(I'm so not a summer/heat person).The color challenges HAVE been challenging as some colors have been more difficult to work with...and I can proudly say....that I have done a layout each week....and not given up...which is my usual style...but one that I need to ditch...forever!!

It's orange for this week...........and my layout features the sheep barn (there was also another barn for the horses and cows) on my mom's family sheep ranch. Her father loved the ranch and his sheep...and was successful...until...the fire...that burned the barn to the ground...and many sheep were lost. Mom remembers her father being devastated by this. He wasn't able to ever recoup his losses from this and it wasn't long until the depression started and he ran out of money....eventually he sold the ranch and moved into town.

The hill behind the barn is named Middle Butte and on the other side of it is Canada. Mom and her siblings could only climb the butte by going to the back side of it. She is still proud of the ranch and what her family had.... but it is tainted by the sad memories of her early years.

It's Purple This Week - ick!

I knew it had to come........eventually.........purple had to show up.......blick...blah....ick! I don't know why I don't like it... I even had a lavender bedroom once..........but now.................no way....don't wear it...don't have it, don't work with it..............except...........ok.............I'll give it a try.........afterall this IS A CHALLENGE.
So here is this weeks layout...my dear mommy who is 93 now. A wonderful women. I love her sooo!.

that's all folks...

It's Red this week

Hello World!

This past week was a long one for me.......chest cold and lots of coughing.....but I couldn't miss creating a layout for the Summer of Color Challenge...cause it's RED....my favorite color....red just warms my heart......especially red barns, red houses, red Fiestaware dishes....oh...there's no end to the list....I just LOVE RED!!

The layout this week is about my home...the family home where four kids were raised in rural Sacramento....it was country, but now all the surrounding land is gone and taken over by homes. I had a wonderful childhood, running lose all day...(yes... all day...Mom was smart!!) riding bikes, playing in the fields...just being kids. We never got seriously hurt...no one bothered us....we were truely free.....

My father built our home, slowly over four years and in several phases. He completed it in 1952 and we owned the home until Mom was no longer able to keep up with the place......memories...

Summer of Color Challenge

Hello World!

How are you all doing? Everyone enjoying their summer? For those of you who love the heat...lucky you, and for those of us who don't...boo hoo!

The Summer of Color Challenge has sure been fun for me and I am slowly working my way through the stack of old photos that I have from my mom and dad.   This week the color is brown..... which I truely love along with all the fall colors, but I chose not to go that direction.....got to stick to the task of getting a family album done for my siblings and children. So this LO is kind a drab....but done that way intentionaly. It was a drab situation for these kids....my mom and her siblings...

First the kids had lost their mother when the youngest child was only a few weeks old. The family was quickly divided up to relatives because their father was a rancher and couldn't care for the kids. Mom was at the boarding place across the street from the school when she was 4 years old. She remembers being so afraid.......

Then were sent off to Ursuline Academy in Great Falls, Montana as live-in-boarders for three years, possibly returning to the ranch in the summer, but mom is not sure.

My mother is still alive and lives with me......the only one left in her family.......she is 93 1/2 years old...and still misses her mom..............

Happy 4th of July!!!

Good Morning World!!.....

Happy 4th ..............We are so proud in America of our country's history...and all that we stand for. All the men and women who have given their all in the protection and defense of the US...and for others as they have deployed to other lands to help them in defense of tyranny. To have freedom and wanting others to have that choice....hummmm. Such a tall order......and costly......

Many people will celebrate with fireworks at home................or go to places that have scheduled HUGH blowout extravaganzas. Picnics.........family and friends getting together.....but we must remember what this all cost......"some gave their all"......."Home of the Free, Because of the Brave"....

ok......deep breath........

Summer of Color Challenge.........this week is yellow........and I do LOVE yellow....but I choose to only used it minimally in this layout. I seem to be on a roll with family pics...I am sooo blessed to have a large amount of my family's photo's (on both sides) and it's time for me to start getting them scanned and protected and then distribute to my siblings and children.

The house is my mothers home.....she grew up on a sheep ranch (the largest one at it's time) in Montana. The lady of the left is my grandmother (I never new her) with the two eldest kids....in total there will eventully be five kids..........the other lady we think is her mother-in-law......soooo...here is this weeks layout.........

sorry for the long post....I got a little sentimental!!!..........

ohhh myyyy....who knew

Wow!......I touched paint for the first time since primary grades.........It was SOOOO much fun. I didn't know it could be....really...I didn't! I even had someone say to me "what???...you don't own any paint?" and I responded "what for?"....lol............and......the reason I never did was...
          my oldest sister did beautiful water colors........
              my brother drew....
                  my younger sister drew charcol drawings....that were fantastic...
                      and there was me.........hummmmm...
so I took the route of quilting....and loved working with fabric...(all the colors.. since I was 5)...but I wasn't creative....in fact I found it very constricting to try and make things perfect....(I'm just kind of a hit and miss person...even play the paino that way...)
                        ...then I went into the paper mode.....love, love, love paper...making little books, tearing it, staining it...wadding it up....etc...so creative....so now..........
     with all the art journaling........it's on to new territory........after reading all the art journal blogs, buying supplies....it was time to start...........and these two pictures just came of out me.....who knew????

I actually got scared...........it's soooo hard for me to "take the plunge" on something new. I had to stop and put everything away cause I wasn't sure what to do next...AND I didn't have anyother colors...........the second page started as dripping paint...thanks to Journal Artista for that...I love her stuff.........so..........shopping this weekend for more paint....and on to the "great adventure"!

A Bit of Oregon in California

Well........it finally happened............rain....glorious rain........in June...the end of June no less...in Northern California. Thank you God for giving me a taste of Oregon.....I can't move there, darn it, but oh... to hear the rain today and not be melting in 90 degree plus heat.........I LOVED it!!! I just had to shout it out somewhere.........!!!!

It's Pink this Week!!

Good Morning World........

Last week was a great week for me. My grand-daughter and her son were in town and I had a chance to visit with her and play with my great-grandson....whew...who knew...great grandkids would be added to the family mix so soon......but I love it. He is such a cutey-putey!!!...and my grand-daughter is too!!

This week for the "Summer of Color" challenge.........it's PINK!!....I now see why people participate in the challenges....it sure keeps you focused and touching your art all the time....and the prompt sends you in directions you might not have gone...soooo....this is where it led me. I've titled it Vintage Pink as the quilt and photo are truely vintage!The picture is of my Grandmother (who I never knew) and a quilt that she made sometime during the 30's or 40's. She made many quilts in her lifetime, always using scraps of clothing and flour sacks. She didn't have much in the way of extra's in her life but she found a way to create beauty with her quilts. I treasure this quilt and I hope this layout gives her the honor that she deserves.

It's a Green Challenge....

Hello World....

Another week and it's time for the next challenge in the "Color of Summer" challenge over at Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star blog. This time it's green.........soooo not my favorite color to work with. I tried to get some creative juices going....but...you know how that can go.....brain clog.... :) but here is the result.

And....again, thanks to Elizabeth at "the Last Door Down the Hall" for freebies that I used in this layout. Her blog rocks!!

....M

WOW...

Hello World.......

......... and what a kind world it is out in bloggerland. I am so amazed that I actually got some feedback on my "Love is Blue" entry for The Summer of Color challenge...and positive at that.

and.............then I asked the lovely Kristin at Twinkle Twinkle Little Star who is hosting the challenge if she could help me get her challenge icon on to my blog...and she emailed right back with such a good explanation that I did it first try........yippee!!!

so thanks people for sharing the excitment of creating art.........I'm loving it!!

(hummmmm........now on to green for next week)  :))

Finally....I did it...

Hello World....

I finally decided to do a challenge. The everso Crafty Dawn over at Journal Journeys
http://journaljourneys-dawn.blogspot.com  is participating in "The Summer of Color" challenge over at http://www.twinkletwinklelikeastar.blogspot.com/. So I thought I would tag along and do my first challenge.( oh I am soooo scared to show my work.) Since I am glued to the desk all day in the office I deceided to do my entry digitally and even though I am not proffiecent at PSE.....what better way to learn. The challenge for this week is blue, and here is my first project to go out in cyberspace!! What do you think?

 It looks washed out......hummmmm....but I wanted it that way but.....hummmm, maybe someone will give me some tips on what I did wrong. Anyway....I did it....stuck to it allllll week...didn't give up....

Also, I would like to give credit to Elizabeth at "the last door down the hall" for all the elements that I used except the sheet music. She generously allows everyone to use various elements that she post.

Dear Jane

Hello World!!

Over the three day weekend I was able to have some creative play time...yippee!!....I worked on my "Dear Jane" book.......dedicating it to "all Jane Austen" stuff. It was soooo much fun creating pages that will soon have text and images on it. Do you want to see a few pages????....ok...

I created the book....it has two signatures of 7 sheets of paper...creating 14 pages....per signature. (maybe that was too many pages...hummm).The book is a compulation of Donna Downey, Mary Ann Moss's " Remains of the Day" class, and Bluebird Paperie blog techniques. I am learning what I like and to just let it flow....it is was it is....and I am VERY happy with the outcome.  Now on to the next phase....yummmmmmmmmmm

Memorial Day

Good Morning World.......

A three day weekend with such deep feelings for those who have served our country.For my generation is was our fathers.......and now our sons. I am proud to have had my son serve four years in the Army after his high school gradution. We were not at war during his service, but never the less......his time committed to our country served us and him well. Thank you my son!

and.......... my oldest daughter is married to a man who joined the Marines after high school and choose to make it his career. He did serve in Iraq twice and I am soooo proud of him because I know from my daughter what a sacrific it was....to him and his family.

So thanks to all our men and women...........we truely appreciate what you have done for the citizens of the United States of America.

Remembering Those Who Have Served

Hello World!!..........

It's been a while since I have posted...feeling uninspired...but as Memorial Weekend is here I thought I would share my thoughts on those who have served our country.

The men and women who have served our country, no matter what branch of service, have always held a special place in my heart. My father served in WWII..Army Air Corp,

 as did my father's brother (Navy) and sister (WAC). Stationed in the Philippines for 3 plus years was very traumatic for my father....I remember his nightmares as I was growing up and knew that the war was deeply ingrained in him. It scared me that he was still scared.
Also...............he and my mother married before he had shipped out and my sister was born while he was gone so he missed all those early years of attachment to her. That is such a sad thing.....our men and women sacrificed so much for our country.I am always grateful for what they did for us future generations.
AND..............my father always took us to Arm Forces Day.....we climbed into jeeps, cockpits...and any and everything that was available. We watched the Thunderbirds...............we listened to patriotic music and always hung our flag out when ever we could. We were deeply patriotic. But....the clincher (is that a word?)............was the Bob Hope Specials during the Viet Nam War. When he entertained the troops.........and as the cameras panned out so you could see the vast sea of men.........I still get weepy...That broke my heart... that all those men, in base after base, were there...facing death....except for that brief moment of Bob Hope's visit. And........when the show closed with everyone singing Silent Night....oh my....I was so sad as I cried for them. These memories are deeply embedded in me.
I honor them this Memorial Day..........

Tomorrow I will write about my son who served 4 years in the Army and my son-in-law who is a current career Marine.

Love to you all.............