Saturday, July 30, 2011

Happy Birthday Sara Jane

Today our little girl turns 29.  It seems like not long ago she joined
 our family and how happy we were to welcome her home.

Here she is with children of her own ... and it all begins again.
We love you Sara Jane,  Happy Birthday honey bun!

                                      


Sounds of summer ...

This morning I woke up early to the sound of a Humming bird feeding
just outside our bedroom window.  I took in that moment, thinking how
I love the sounds of summer.  I love it when I hear my neighbors
mowing their lawns, I love the sound of children laughing  as they play
 outside  and how I love the sound of Humming birds zipping here
and there pausing only to get a drink. 
When the kids were little I placed Humming bird feeders outside each of
 their bed room windows  so they too could take joy in the buzzing sounds.
The hangers for those feeders are still in place ...
 and each spring the feeders go up. 
Every 3 days I go from window to window, changing the sweetened
water  - remembering the days when my children were little and I smile.


A picture of our naughty little dog enjoying a lazy Saturday
afternoon in the shade. 
He loves drinking from the water hose as I water my flowers,
chasing his ball in the grass, keeping guard for that ol' black cat
and his afternoon treat.

Old Man Winter - please stay away for a good while.

Saturday, July 23, 2011

The old man returns home

Joel was recently called to be the Young Men's President in our ward.
What better way to get to know the boys than a week at Scout Camp!!
He called me on my cell phone a few minutes ago and said,
" There's a dirty old man in your drive way." 
I went out to greet him ... scruffy, tired, dirty but I have to
say I sure missed the ol' fella like crazy!
Glad your'e home honey!
Unloading the gear...I wonder how much laundry is in store for me?



                                      
                                                                   I think I'll name this photo - The Siver Fox"

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Week 4 - Final Week of Summer Card Camp -

Tis' Week 4 of Summer Card Camp
and I have loved every minute of it!  A huge
"THANKS"
goes to Kristina Werner and Jennifer McGuire
for hosting 4 weeks of wonderful ideas and tips!

I loved this weeks color challenge.  All the colors felt
like summer.  Here is my card for the challenge:



Tuesday, July 19, 2011

Summer time garden delight

Summer is in full swing so I decided to take a few shots of the yard to
share with you.  You can click on each picture for a bigger view!

-Front Yard-
Looking at the front of the house from my kitchen garden ..
..  and a shot of my craftroom entry way.



This is my favorite spot on the front porch,just outside my craftroom.

I love my mother's birdbath filled with tiny plants.

Of course Mr. Darcy had to get in on the pictures..such a ham!

A favorite place to sit and ponder life on a summer evening.
--------------------------------
-The Back Yard_

Joel's old boots on the log.  I tried to plant flowers
in them for several summers.  They dried up too fast
and died.  I gave up...now they're just decor.
A new sitting spot for early morning or evening.

 
Love this old creamer...makes a perfect home for petunias


The naughty little dog loves summer as much as I do.
What could be better than lyin' on the grass all day?

Monday, July 18, 2011

How to make or alter an envelope to fit your card

I found this amazing video clip on YouTube and had to share. 
I'm always making cards that don't fit the envelopes I have purchased.
Going to use this like crazy!

Wednesday, July 13, 2011

Summer Card Camp Week 3

The 3rd week of Summer Card Camp is here ...
... just 1 more week to go ...sigh!
- I hate to see it end -
Below is this week's color challenge
I really struggled with this color combination. 
I'm not a "brown" kinda girl so I wasn't excited to pull these colors out
 from my files of Stampin Up card stock -- Chocolate Chip,
Close to Cocoa, Rocket Red, Sahara Sand and Whisper White.
I knew right away which stamp set to use ...
... a new one .. my favorite from the new Catalog;
"Best Of Everything"

After I played around with the colors, I felt more comfortable
with what I was doing. 
Perhaps I'm more of a "brown" kinda girl than I thought :)

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Summer Card Camp week 2 color challenge

It's week 2 of Summer Card Camp and I'm soooo glad I joined in on the fun!
Here is this weeks color challenge:
This is my entry for this week. 
I can't believe there was over 800 card entries for week 1! 
Lots of wonderful cards to see and learn from.

The best thing about Summer Card Camp is, I'm taking time to stamp!  I can always think of a million reasons why I don't have the time to  stamp but now I'm allowing myself to play once a week!

Monday, July 4, 2011

Happy 4th of July

How blessed we are to live in a country that has the liberties we have.
May God bless America and may we live to be worthy of it!

I needed to make a couple birthday cards and Stampin' Up's, " Create a Cup Cake" stamp set and punch were calling my name.   Lime green and pink look delicious to me so this is what I came up with.
Love the little pearls!



Saturday, July 2, 2011

I just can't help myself ...

Today is Joel's 59th birthday and what could be better than an new
picture of our grandson - Peyton?  
 Isn't he the cutest little bundle of love?
Two days old, won't be long till I get to hold him in my arms...
sigh!!