They are completed.........

Oh yes, that's me howling at the moon, because I complete my ATCs and they are in the mail and off to Albuquerque.......oh yeah me. I can't stand it.......and normally I don't give in to this type of excitement.......but shoot....forget it..........here they are...........

This one is ok........I liked the quote and of course the coppery leaf........

This one, well I found out the deadline and only had about 5 of the 11 of the cards completed, so I was on a midnight mission....now I look at it and I rather like it........bits of this and bits of that.........

This fair lady....again was done at my midnight session and wasn't sure about her......now I like her.........

This one is ok, I do like the colors......but otherwise, nothing to write home about.........

Same color scheme, I do like this one.......thinks I fell in love with that little leaf stamp.

This woman almost didn't get to go on the voyage........not sure if you can see it or not, but I used the fine netting on this one..........hey ladies, do you see the back round paper behind the lady??? A friend shared this with me, it is almost like handmade paper.....rather bumpy and rough.....then I can't figure out if they inked with an ink pad or with a brayer...........I would love to take a technique class of some sort........anyone know of something like this online???? If you do, could you please share with me? Thank you. Onwards..........

Totally out of my comfort zone here......and you know I do like bling and sparkle......but just couldn't come up with any ideas so I just started loading up leaves and more leaves........

Using the whitish leaves with the copper trim was harder than I thought it would be......I like the stamp image tho'............

This little gal----well it was getting late and I was determined to get done before I went to bed..........

Again I am going to repeat myself......this one I really liked.........stamped the little back round piece on what I thought was called mulberry paper........but guess that's not it's called.......it's like tissue paper, but has fibers though it........I like this stuff. Would have liked to keep this one too.........I did make one for myself and it's the least favorite......didn't take a picture of it........so, how do you think the ladies will like them......I'm like a little kid at a birthday party, waiting for the birthday person to open my present and exclaim " I LOVE IT".

Hope some of the cards made you smile..........

Hammocks

The other day, I received on my computer mailbox a message from Real Simple Living magazine. I like that magazine.......we use to get it too.......hmmmmm, guess the subscription ran out. Oh, back to the blog.......one of the articles was about hammocks. Whoa, flashback.....warm, fuzzy, totally full of sunshine and laughter flashback!!!!! I'll share that later, but here are a few of the hammocks that they shared..........hold on to your pocketbooks, debit cards and your children's and your children's childrens piggy bank!!!!! Oooo, the following pictures came from the magazine ad and so are the descriptions.......I didn't write any of them.

1.

For Small Spaces
Think of this polyester-and-steel Foldaway Hammock as a mobile bed in a bag: The body, frame, and foam pillow neatly fit inside an ultra-sleek tote―perfect for those who enjoy sleeping under the stars. To buy: $120, target.com.

2. For a Festive Look
The rainbow-striped, stretch-nylon Mayan Hammock will give your backyard a jolt of color. Its extra-wide size (60 inches) ensures head-to-toe comfort. To buy: $70, blisshammocks.com.

For a Classic Look
This hand-woven polyester hammock is large enough for two and features solid-wood spreader bars that help distribute weight and evenly maintain the rope’s resiliency. Mildew- and fade-resistant. To buy: $69.50, landsend.com.

4. For the Car
Water-resistant and easy to assemble, this polyester mesh Kelsyus Hammock features a collapsible steel stand and folds into a compact backpack for easy carrying and storing.To buy: $125, rei.com.

5. For Sun-drenched Spaces
Constructed of durable Sunbrella acrylic, this quilted hammock is made with quick-drying polyester batting, long lasting polyester rope, and rust-resistant hardware. Mildew- and fade-resistant. To buy: $200, llbean.com.

Ok, that wasn't all of them, but most of them.......if you want to see this and other good articles from the magazine here is the short cut........http://www.realsimple.com/

Now my sweet memories of hammocks go waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay back........yeah into the early 50s.......I know, some of you weren't even a twinkle in your daddy's eye yet, but trust me, life was good. Oh, off the soap box and forward with my memories.........here is how I remember hammocks.

except instead of a dad, it was my Nana and I..........come to think of it, I think she must have been traveling that road of change.......with no chemical help.........but I don't remember any of the mood swings. We would often go out to the hammock, that resided under the huge and gnarly old apple tree that had been hit so many times by lightning and survived quite a few hurricanes, and drift off to a sweet nap. I can remember cuddling up next to her in the hammock and her smell......mostly Ivory soap but once in awhile........and now I just cringe to think of this, Evening in Paris.......

Waking up first and still finding her asleep, I would watch her and honestly it still makes me warm inside. Waking up and finding her watching me, well it gave me a feeling of security and love. I do remember many times swinging back and forth, her arms around me, sometimes nothing was said, other times she would sing to me, still others she would share stories with me and those were the times I treasured the most. Now no memory could be total without some laughter and boy did we have some giggles.........mostly when either or both of us fell out of the silly thing........if you were lucky, you missed the steel frame, if not, well you stopped laughing for a few minutes, but the giggles just popped back up and exploded all over again.......

I hope that if you have any memories of your childhood and maybe a hammock story or two, you will comment and share...........please. For those of you that don't have a hammock memory, well here is one for everyone........

see even fairies have hammocks.........smile

A give-away

Miss Lola shared this give-away on her blog

http://ansewon.blogspot.com/ so I had to go and see and of course once I saw what the prize was going to be, well I had to enter too.

Here is the short cut to the blog.......

http://pumpkinpatchprimitivequiltshoppe.blogspot.com/

Hey, do you realize that I have posted twice again this week.........be still my heart!!!!!!

If you do travel over and enter into the give-away, please mention my name - please. Even if you don't enter, this is a nice blog and I think you would enjoy reading it.

Aphorism

Aphorism: A short, pointed sentence expressing a wise or clever observation or a general truth; adage --
1. The nicest thing about the future is that it always starts tomorrow.
2. Money will buy a fine dog, but only kindness will make him wag his tail.
3. If you don't have a sense of humor, you probably don't have any sense at all.
4. Seat belts are not as confining as wheelchairs.
5. A good time to keep your mouth shut is when you're in deep water.
6. How come it takes so little time for a child who is afraid of the dark to become a teenager who wants to stay out all night?
7. Business conventions are important because they demonstrate how many people a company can operate without.
8. Why is it that at class reunions you feel younger than everyone else looks?
9. Scratch a cat and you will have a permanent job.
10. No one has more driving ambition than the boy who wants to buy a car.
11. There are no new sins; the old ones just get more publicity.
12. There are worse things than getting a call for a wrong number at 4 AM. ... It could be a right number.
13. No one ever says "It's only a game." when their team is winning.
14. I've reached the age where the happy hour is a nap.
15. Be careful reading the fine print. There's no way you're going to like it.
16. The trouble with bucket seats is that not everybody has the same size bucket.
17. Do you realize that in about 40 years, we'll have thousands of old ladies running around with tattoos? (And rap music will be the Golden Oldies)
18. Money can't buy happiness -- but somehow it's more comfortable to cry in a Corvette than in a Yugo.
19. After 60 if you don't wake up aching in every joint, you are probably dead!
20. Always be yourself because the people that matter, don't mind. And the ones that do mind don't matter.
When I read some of these, well they just make me smile.........others make me shake my head with the complete truth of them..........oh well, I wanted to share these with you today......off to see G0Force with the boys today........I know I will smile and giggle in the theatre.

Bath tub races

This is an annual event.....held at Pioneer Park. Whoa, that sentence sounds exactly like something that a second or third grader would write to start out their required essay.......oh well it could also cover two of the four "W's" where and what (who and why are hanging out there somewhere.)

The boys and I took off mid-afternoon and arrived to hear someone singing the Alaska state song.......it's really pretty.

Eight stars of gold on a field of blue - Alaska's flag. May it mean to you The blue of the sea, the evening sky, The mountain lakes, and the flow'rs nearby; The gold of the early sourdough's dreams, The precious gold of the hills and streams; The brilliant stars in the northern sky, The "Bear" - the "Dipper" - and, shining high, The great North Star with its steady light, Over land and sea a beacon bright. Alaska's flag - to Alaskans dear, The simple flag of a last frontier.

It was also governor's day too.......of course in the current events section of life, we know that Palin is planning some changes in her life, so the Lt. Governor came.........we didn't stand in line to shake hands.........I do believe that there is a limit to a 4 years old attention span. We wandered the park, the boys played in the play area under my watchful eyes - I know I am protective, but good grief the minute you aren't, then something will happen and I just couldn't live with that and Nana sprang for some ice cream.

Off to find a spot to watch the race...........now remember I am no professional photographer......using a simple digital camera.....fighting crowds and watching boys..........so what I got, I got...........first the parade.

This team tied for first coming in at 30 seconds.

This team called themselves "the bag ladies"........see the gal in the pink towel...........she was loud.....no I mean LOUD. The kind of loud that would embarrass your kids kind of loud.......tee hee.
Not much to add about this team....except I like their antler head bands.
Again, nothing to share here either.....except the young lady in the "tub" had this horrible green oooooey goooooey stuff in her hair.......sure hope it came out easily........yucko!!!!!!!!! Glance over to right.........think I have a better snapshot later on, but something really different about this team.
Simple and plain and they just seemed to be having fun together.........now see the guys on the right.....keep an eye on them.
Oh look, here they are.........egads, a mind is such an awful thing to lose!!!! They were called "Noah's Ark" and also came in at 30 seconds.....so they were in the run-off race.
This is the only snapshot I got of the actual race........well no I got others, but this is the only one that is, hmmmmmm well here you look.
OOOOO, this isn't a good one, but this is the team that I told you had something 'unique'..........the young lady is sitting on ice!!!! You have to have x amount of water in your tub, but no rule about it being frozen.......her poor bitty bottom........
The road- what can I say...........the road.

There was a trophy for the crowd's most favorite. Noah's Ark won..........now the bag ladies put up a pretty good and loud fight. The two teams had their run off and Noah's Ark won.

It was a good time.......and the boys really got into the spirit.....especially Daniel.....he cheered and yelled and hooted for each and every team........it was good......a place to scream and yell without anyone telling you to 'quiet down'.

Hey Julie, hope you enjoyed this.........

We smiled lots and lots yesterday and today we giggled quite a bit already. The boys are watching some cartoon called Phineas and Ferb.........oh my some really good one liners.........

The atc experience continues.........

Ok two posts in one day.......I think this qualifies for a few "atta girls" some brownie points and some forgiveness for being absent so long while traveling........please. I cut out the base for the atc. This is really necessary, but I was reading that the 'pros' like a nice heavy base to make their work sturdy...........alas, let me start out right.........tee hee..........I love it. The hardest part of this is remembering to put the blade back in - the littlest one wants to help all of the time and will just pop up and appear......I don't need to have to make a trip to the emergency room, that's for sure!

Here I have them cut out.........

2.5 x 3.5...........forget recycling for awhile........using old cereal boxes and cracker boxes..........man I hope the boys will eat more.

I have no idea where I am going with this thing, so I started to make a few back round papers........

This is mulberry paper, most of it ripped and some stamped on, then glued down to an 8 x 11 paper. I love mulberry paper...........used lots and lots of it when I was making cards to send to my daughter in Iraq.

This isn't the best picture.......it's a stamp of a butterfly made of words........remember this will all be cut, again into 2.5 x 3.5 pieces.....so you will never get a full butterfly on any one piece. Here are two pieces I like too......one stamped with a music sheet and the other a back round stamp in two colors............

This is my ultra most favorite..........tissue paper, stamped just with the ink pad and then the word "leaf" written on it in English, French, Italian and Spanish.............oh and a few squiggles too. I also typed a sheet of paper with the same words on it............

Now after all of this, and trust me it was no bother to do........I love doing this sort of thing.......I woke up this morning, again, none to early with a whole different idea...........oh well, just store these away for another project.........or maybe I will do a couple of different types of ATCs........

Hope this made you smile a wee bit............

Our forest adventure

I shared with you the view from behind our home here on Eielson AFB. I know for many of you who are so lucky to live in area where there is lots and lots of lakes, ponds, rivers and be still my heart the ocean.......well I am sure you are wondering why I am so excited to live near this body of water..........it has always been a dream of mine and now it has come true.

The boys are participating in the summer reading program at the library and this week's craft are blank masks that they are suppose to decorate with things from nature..........so off for a nature walk we went. We didn't have to go far, just behind our house.......but low and behold what I thought was just a little secluded area, turned into a path and a great adventure.Most people wear tennies for hikes..........well one little fella, whose Uncle spoiled him with something special while in Wyoming, well his foot apparel....here let me show you.

Cowboy boots.........and as you can see, they are already taking on the true look of a cowboy, scuffed and comfortable.

Now we were suppose to be looking for things to decorate and adorn the masks......for some reason the boys weren't " gathering as they may".......it was like they had no idea what to collect (and they had seen 3 good examples at the library just a few days before). I too brought a famous plastic bag to collect and was picking leaves here and there and pointing out different things to the boys........look at this beauty.

Of course my young men are that, young men and were delighted to find moose poop!!!!! Good gravy, I think we introduced a new dance......"hop bop and skip the moose poop".........don't think you will be seeing it on "Dancing with the Stars", but we were getting pretty darn good at it. I of course had to do the famous "lions and tigers and bears, oh my" thing and quick as a flash this wonderful little hand found mine and said he would walk with me so I wouldn't be scared...........I love it. I was continually listening and looking for the moose too.........those mamas are something not to reckon with.

Looking, looking and wha-la.........look what I spotted:

WILD RASPBERRIES..........oh be still my heart. Later in the day, after spraying ourselves with mosquito repellent, we went back and just picked these little beauties.

The boys seemed to be happy with their slim pick'ns of mask decorating, so we continued on to the end of the path..........it comes out on one of the main roads leading to our street. Across this street is this pretty little pond.

There is a family of ducks that usually reside here, they must have been out to lunch right now.

Oh here are the masks........amazing aren't they? I love them.

Oh and least I forget, here is the bounty that we picked......oh we felt like the Pilgrims getting ready for the Thanksgiving feast........thank goodness we weren't collecting for the whole village.....just enough for breakfast today............oh yummmmm dilllly ious.

Have a wonderful day........if all goes well, we will be off to the bathtub races soon........bet that will make us smile.

Another first

I am going to be in an ATC exchange........me. I have never made an ATC........ever ever. I love looking at them.......like always I am drawn to the colors, the little pieces of this and that and just the whole creative thought brought down to a 2.5 x 3.5 piece of paper just amazes me (we won't even get started on inchies!!!!). The theme for this exchange is 'leaves'. Now I need to get started and I do have a few products to work with, but not much in the leaf category........so off I trotted to Fairbanks. Now I have lived in an area where shopping was limited, then I went to a mecca of shopping, San Antonio, and now, alas I have again entered into the chasm of very little choices.............sigh. I did find somethings that perked me up........let me share.

Found this punch.........this could lead to some good possibilities don't you think? A strip with little leaves cut out and applied across the center??????

Picked up the papers under all of these items I am sharing. Saw these stickers and thought they might be a good back round.

I also picked up these stickers too..........goodness I might want to go with some color instead of the all neutral thing.........I could, but I doubt if I do.......then again you never know.

I love this soft netting......I know it has a name, but I'll be darn if I can remember it now..........but it is so soft and feminine. Really would like to work this in too.........
Purchased some regular netting too.........you never know, maybe this will work better.......or what if I laid some of it down and stamped over it......that's an idea for a back round.

Now I saved the best to last...........I saw these and jumped on them like a dog jumps on a bone.........now if I do figure out a way to use these, well they will definitely be the whole card......well the focal point for sure........but wait, look at them..........

Aren't these copper leaves wonderful? Oh I do like them............

On the home front I have these two pieces of wallpaper that have leaves on them.........this one is ok, but I do like the one below.....
I would have to resize this I know, but I like the swirling effect for a back round..........well instead of sharing, I better feed the boys and get going.......we do sleep in since we moved here.........and we better get out of the habit soon, because school will be starting in August............whatever happened to going to school after Labor Day?

Smile.......it is contagious you know.