May Card Swaps

I finished up some of the stamped card swaps I had committed to and I'm getting them ready to mail. Thought I'd share a few : )

I don't get over to the MojoMonday blog very often but I enjoy their challenges to help me to be more creative. One of the Yahoo groups I belong to challenged us to use this MojoMonday Week71 layout using Blue, Green & Brown. Here's my take on it.

I wanted to use some of my scrapbook paper that had those colors in it but other than that, I didn't really know what stamps I wanted to use. With this, I found the less I thought about it, the better and easier on my brain, not to mention the faster the card was made. I went thru my stamps, which seem to be mostly flowers, and just picked some stamps that I thought allowed for the overlap. I used some Frosty Stickles to add alittle sparkle to the flower and the hearts. It is different for me, when I look at it sometimes I like it, sometimes I'm not sure if I do or not. : )

Stamps: Flower-Watercolor Daisy Hampton Art Stamps, Verse-Printworks; Ink: VersaFine Olympia Green; Frosty Stickles

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This card was made for a Turq. Blue, Yellow & Red card swap. I wanted to do something summery other than flowers, so the nautical theme came to mind : ) I had a few extra of these lighthouse images laying around from the last time I had used the stamp a few years ago. It is part of a larger stamp that I cut down to just the framed image. I didn't have brads just the right color or size so I used my 1/8" hole punch and "made" some dots to add to the corners. For a card I wasn't too keen on making, I think it came out ok! What do you think?

Stamps: Lighthouse image -D. Morgan for Stamps Happen, Thinking of you-Stampin'Up; Ink: Memories Black; Prisma Color Pencils

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Ahhhh, back to flowers! This card was for an Apricot, Orange and Blue swap. I wasn't too sure what the difference was between Apricot vs Peach vs Orange vs Tangerine vs ...... so I just made sure I used 2 different shades of an Orangish color. I was impressed as to how the blue ink looked on the pale Orange (or peach or apricot). I stamped several images so I could experiment with how to color them, if at all. I had fun coloring, practicing blending colors with colored pencils, the white "pops" out nicely on the daisy. I really like using this verse to encourage people on a Thinking of you type card.

Stamps: Flowers in Pitcher- Great Impressions, Flowers for background paper-Daisy Trio by Elzybells Art Stamps thru A Muse, Verse-Endless Creations; Ink: Stampin'Up Orange (background), VersaFine Majestic Blue (image & verse); Prisma Color Pencils

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Here's the Black, Rose & Pink swap card. The scan of this card didn't come out very well. The base card is pink, which you only see on 2 sides in this picture. The knot of the ribbon holds the card up just enough to blur the image a bit too. : ( The real thing is one of my favorites tho... I used the Fiskars Deckle scissors on the edge of the pink stamped image, not trusting my paper tearing. There's a dot of Pink Stickles in the center of the 2 flowers of the image, a tiny bit of bling to not overwhelm or distract from it. : )

Stamps: Floral image- Stampin Up, Thinking of You- unknown; Ink: VersaFine Onyx Black; Pink Stickles

Butterflies, Dandelions & the AK Rose

I could see it was to be another bright, sunny day as I headed out to the yard with the dogs. There were 3 butterflies flitting around the front of the house in the sunshine, checking out the dandelions so I ran back inside to grab the camera.

I couldn't get all 3 together but I did get 2.

Even a bee shared a dandelion for a few seconds.

This is a Swallowtail Butterfly. I like the little bluish spots on the tail.

We have a big Alaska Wild Rose bush growing under our front window but they didn't seem interested in it.

The dogs, who normally chase and play with anything flying so low off the ground, seemed to have left them for me to enjoy while they went off exploring in the tall grass at the far end of the yard.

Well, I could only take so many pictures of a butterfly... I figured 40 was enough to select from! What was it I going to do today?

Cookies and Dogs

Its been a busy few days so I thought I'd sit down to enjoy a few of these gems and post alittle. I've been wanting to bake cookies for the hubby for a couple of weeks now but hadn't taken the time until today! He's not a big fan of sweets or chocolate so he can be alittle picky about desserts and snacks if & when he eats them, thus I don't bake much. Not that I'm complaining, I've learned to adapt and we are healthier for it. :}

He does like Oatmeal Cookies and I've been wanting to try a recipe I found on Allrecipes called WWII Oatmeal Molasses Cookies. I was happy they didn't spread, they browned nicely (with help of molasses) and they're soft in the middle! The molasses gives it a little different flavor. I cut back on the sugar by 1/2 so they're not too sweet but I think they came out tasty. Hubby agrees, says he'll eat them. I'll take that as a compliment (?).


Earlier this week, Scott and I were out for a drive with the dogs and stopped by a small lake to see if we could get them to swim in it. They checked it out, found some holes but quickly scurried out. They tried going in several times, trying to check out the bugs on the surface of the water and the rings they were making. They pulled at some sticks they could reach while their paws were still firmly planted on the ground but didn't bring them to us - another thing we want to work on.

Kona the waterdog wanna-be

Sissy & her fuzzy tail waving in the breeze

Kerplunk!

The rocks got their attention but they weren't enough to draw them in very far.

I am sooo happy to see that spring has come and the trees are leafing out!

After awhile the dogs had enough of the water and were off in their element following their noses, dashing in and out of the trees together.


As we left the lake I couldn't resist taking a picture of the scene behind us. I zoomed in on the mirror to catch the reflection of the mountains of Hatcher Pass.

And no, we didn't leave the tire marks. :)

Well, Kona is giving me the look..... the "you gonna come out and play or stay inside all day on that darn computer?"

Yeah, he's got the look down.

Behind him, all things leafy are adding their own chorus on the breeze, calling me to play in the dirt...

Our "hidden" driveway. It must be spring, we can't see the road thru the trees!

Guest Artist on RubberStampChat

RubberStampChat (RSC) is featuring Guest Artist Kevin Nakagawa from Stampscapes this week thru the 14th! I think his artwork and stamps are beautiful and I have seen some wonderful cards made by others using his stamps! Amy,the RSC board moderater, has interviewed him and he is available for stamping questions. Even if you are not a member of RSC you can still view his interview and everyone's chit-chat (multiple threads = question topics) with him. You are welcome to become a member and post your own questions and comments to him (and anywhere else on the board). I enjoy visiting RubberStampChat for the chit-chat, tips, techniques about stamping and any other topic that comes to mind. There are quite a few stamp vendors who are members so it's neat to be able to chat with them, view their galleries and check out their store sites.

Speaking of stamp sales!!! Drum roll....... RubberStampChat is hosting a Virtual Stamp Convention starting next Thurday, May 14 thru the 18th! Lots of stamp vendors hold member-only sales during this time period. Since you do have to be a member to participate that's all the more incentive to join! Just be sure to use their specified discount code at checkout! Because of large number of vendors who participate and all of their great websites, many of us have learned to surf their websites before hand and make our wish lists to give us a head start at the convention. It's great for those of us who don't have conventions happening near us (sniff) or can't attend them!

I know I have some wish lists laying around here somewhere....!