Lighthouse Treasury Fun

This great gal compiled a group of lighthouse goodies on an Etsy treasury- and she included my lighthouse card kit! I thought I would share the whole list with all of you. I'm in a "Maine State of Mind" (despite being from NY originally- Billy Joel please forgive me. LOL) because we are going to open our little Maine cottage this Friday.

It is such a pretty treasury, I thought I would share the items I "favorited".

 This is a really cool necklace on the treasury from the shop Celebrate Today.  I think it is super cute.

 This is a darling print from Pixel Art Prints.  I'm totally crushing on the dimension she was able to give that lighthouse and I, of course, love the banner!

This is a cool art piece from Sugar Bean Island.  This gal has such cool stuff and she just opened her shop a few days ago.  I'm so glad she did- I may have to be one of her first customers!!!

I enjoyed the title of this treasury too.  It's titled "Mom's Favorites" which seems appropriate since both my mom and my mother-in-law have had a long love for Maine, it's beaches, and it's lovely lighthouse scenery. :)

Please hop over and look at all the other pretty listings in this treasury!

One Week From Now...

Is Teacher Appreciation Day!!! Do you have cards ready? This is the other card I made a ways back for a customer. This is yet ANOTHER stamp that had been sorely neglected.  It's perfect for a teacher card though, right?  I colored two of these triple apple images so I could play again later with this image.

That's all for now.  I gotta get busy in my studio tonight.  Vacation is over!  Time to get crafty!!!

A Couple Poises

Ahhh, the last day of my vacation. Sniff, sniff (whiny voice) how come it goes by faster than a work week?!?!?

Can't complain too much though.  We made it to see my Gram, cousin, and DMIL & DFIL for Easter.  Put flowers on my dad's grave in Colonie, made it to the Macdonald grandparents home in Waverly, and were able to put flowers down for them too.  We also managed to stay one night at the B 'n B where we got married.  The weather was fairly good until the B 'n B, but that's okay.  It kept the crowds down and we had the place to ourselves. :-D

Went for a few days without TV.  Gasp!  I KNOW, that's HUGE for me. :) We downloaded an audiobook from the library using my Overdrive app.  Gosh, it was not an small task!  Took me forever to work through the kinks and learn how to do it.  Still having hiccups with downloading on my iPhone, but that could be because I have an antique iPhone.  No seriously.  It's an iPhone 3- not 3S- 3.  My friends let their 7 year-olds play with that model as toys.  LOL!

Since Easter has passed, I thought I would share a set of Mother's Day cards I have in my Etsy Shoppe.  I LOVE making monochromatic cards and haven't made any in a long time.  I made a purple version and a yellow version. The stamp is an old favorite by Memory Box.  It has seen TONS of ink over the years. For instance here and here. :)

Happy Sunday (I'm trying to be happy at least!)

Happy Easter

Happy Easter greetings everyone!  I thought I would share the cards that I finished and actually made it into the mail for delivery to family this Easter. 

Still working through the many bunny dies I cut a couple weeks back. :)  I particularly like the green bunny.  It took me what seemed like forever to use him on a card.  I kept playing around trying to get him to work and he kept rejecting my ideas until he hopped here. ;P  The bunnies in boxes was inspired by Jessica's card here.  Thanks for the inspiration Jessica!!!

Years ago, I was in a stamp club where we made cards to share with each other.  One of the gals made us cards with this stamp and I still have the card.  I love to use it as part of my Easter décor.  Last year things were a little crazy and I never got all my decorations up.  I had completely forgotten about this stamp until I pulled out my decorations.  It was another of the many "must haves" that are collecting dust. LOL!  Well, I still had my Copics out from another project.  I took it as a sign to get to business. :)

These are the last two cards that went out for delivery.  I'm crushing on cutting white felt bunnies.  Love the texture they have brought to some of my more recent cards.  The hyacinth is a wicked old stamp that I dusted off and brought out of retirement. :). The yellow ribbon is my first attempt at coloring seam binding.  You can't tell from my sketchy pics here, but it does have some nice dark & lights so I'm pretty excited to try some more versions. :)

So as I type this I am once again being lazy.  I don't have any of the details of the stamps, Copics, Spicas, or papers used in these cards in front of me.  If you are curious, don't hesitate to ask- for you, I will get up, find out, and let you know. :-D

Happy Easter Peeps!!!

Tag, Bunnies are It!

More bunnies today!  These little hoppers are a favorite of one of my co-workers. :)

Haven't seen any bunnies in the yard yet.  If they are smart, they are looking for new digs.  The pair of red-tailed hawks have definitely moved into the neighborhood.  They were out an about all last weekend and even showed off their flying skills to my DSIL when the gang was over for "Short Stack's" birthday (youngest nephew).

I'm pleased to say these all used goods from my stash.  The aqua lace is vintage- the wrapper said it sold for 29 cents.  As I type this, I am cozy on the couch and forgot all the details of paper companies and bunny dies.  If you want those diets, please leave a comment below or feel free to email me and I will happy pass along the info to you. :)

Happy Friday!!!!

I can't stop!

Since it SNOWED last night, something fun, furry, and flowery is a must for today!

I can't stop posting bunnies!!!!  I was sitting outside last weekend (gasp really OUTSIDE with sunshiny wrath and everything) alternating between blogland, the Decorah eagles, and my photo files.  Who knows why, but anyway...

I made these back in February and I don't think I ever shared them.  So, once again, I have bunnies for you. :) These are exciting tags for me because I used copics and pencils.  It's so easy to get used to using just one medium and I do it all the time. 

I have several friends who are so good at pooling all their goods and creating fabulous works of art using paints, chalks, markers, pencils- you name it.  These are simple tags, but I'm glad I stepped out and used more supplies because the effect was exactly what I was looking for with these tags.  Yay!  A plan comes together just as imagined. :)

Happy Wednesday!

Boston Strong- A Repost

I posted this last year after the Boston Marathon Bombings.  The actual marathon day is next week, but the anniversary is today.  At 2:49 pm EDT folks around the world will observe a moment of silence and Boston thanks all of you for your support both for today, the days past, and the days that will follow.  Many, many people have worked to bring something good out of the terrible tragedies of that day and the days following.  Alas, today my mind and heart once again reflect on my feelings that day...
 

I work at the starting line of The Boston Marathon.  My school has a history of hosting the wheelchair racers.  Two weeks ago this morning our entire school stood outside with local & state officials to unveil a statue that was placed in our school's front lawn in tribute to the Hoyt father/son race team.

The town Common is across the street from our school.  The kids in town run and play before the race on this common.  Runners stretch and make a pit stop at the port-a-potties that are brought in (and steal our parking spaces sometimes the week before school vacation).

The runners are released in waves, wheelchair racers, elite racers, "the common man" racers.  I have been at the starting line to cheer racers.  It's at least 15-20 minutes before all of "the common man" racers (who have been running the entire time) even cross the starting line.

One week ago I was blissfully enjoying a snorkel cruise from St. John's USVI to 4 islands around BVI.  I was a little cranky about having to get up and get going by 6:30am on my vacation.  I was nervous about my swimming ability and embarrassing myself in front of the other tourists.  We met a couple from near my hometown and chatted about other vacations.  One of the tour guides was from Wellfleet and we talked about the race.  There was another couple who had gone to Harvard's School of Business.  We chatted about seeing the results of the race.  The tour finished a little before 3pm.  We got out of Customs and headed to the car to see if we had any messages from family (no cell coverage on our trip).  I glanced down and saw I had a text from an aunt back in ME.  Our "baby" cousin at Tufts had told her there were explosions at the finish line.  Our hope was a gas leak, but in our stomach we knew that it was probably something much darker.

We hopped in the car and tried to get info from people.  Coverage is spotty in places on STJ- so many hills.  We raced to the local grocery store because it always has on CNN and it was the closet place we could think to get news.  As we got to the parking lot I was able to pull up some pictures on my phone.  DH looked at the pics and told me that the time on the clock is the typical finish time for average runners, well past the elite.  I had friends running.  "Baby" cousin had a group from Tufts running.

I have never felt so helpless.  Felt so guilty for being in paradise when friends who were running or at the finish line were scared, helpless themselves.  I felt guilty for even thinking about myself at all.  After agonizing hours, DH and I were able to locate everyone we were worried about.  We were blessed.  No one we know directly was physically harmed.  My heart hurts for those not so lucky.

Today I go back to school.  Back to the Starting Line where the possibilities, excitement, and energy is endless, now somehow tainted.  I am excited to see my students & nervous to talk with them.  We teachers, parents, caring adults, have had to have too many conversations these last 12 years like the ones I will have today.  The reassurances that they are safe.  Conversations where I watch 5 year-old babies age in front of me, not because they are learning about the awesomeness of the world, but because they are learning that monsters are real.

At 2:50pm today my thoughts will be with everyone who suffered & continues to suffer from last week's bombings.  My "Linus blanket" I will carry with me today and in the future is how the first responders (way to go Jim Plourde, fellow Colonie High alum!), the runners from out of town, and ordinary citizens rallied around each other.  How folks did what was needed to be done to help strangers and how the city shutdown to end this terror.  Although I was shaken by the events of last week, I have a renewed faith in the goodness of people.  I'm a New Yorker by birth, but I am Boston Strong!

Thanks for Mom

My goodness, where has the year gone already!!! Mother's Day isn't far off!!!  Here's a quick post of a couple Mother's Day cards I made for an Etsy order. :)

These cards were all created from parts of cards I thought I was going to make for something else.  I love when things get jumbled together in a pile and spark whole new creations!

Pretty, pretty teacups. :)  Ignore my thumb there.  I just noticed it snuck into the picture. LOL!

Have a lovely Monday!

Teacher Appreciation Day countdown

Teacher Appreciation Day is May 6th.  That's less than a month away folks.  I looked it up.  You'd think I would know it by now, but honestly it is always a surprise.  😏  I mention this because one of my customers is super on top of things!  This is one of the cards I made for her so she can be ready for the big teacher day. 

Thank goodness she was on top of things!  I've had this stamp for at least a year and it has been begging for ink!!!  It also has me getting in gear to make some more goodies to load in my Etsy Shoppe just for this day.  I thought I might play around with another card with this same palette and one that's more blues, aquas, and greens. 

I can't tell you how great teachers, especially specialists, feel when they get a card from one of their students.  It totally makes our day.  I keep all the cards and pictures in a special spot in my teacher space.  At the end of the year all the memories go in my memory box.  😊 I'm having to move to a dramatically smaller space next year.  I hope I will be able to have a spot to continue that tradition!

Do you celebrate Teacher Appreciation Day?  How do you remember those special teachers in your life?

Flower Show Recap

A few weeks back Boston hosted it's Flower Show. DH and I went on a Friday night. It was cheaper, less crowded, and we could out to dinner after. 😊 There were a few fun displays, but almost all of it was vendors and bouquets.

One of the interesting displays was a bunch of cakes. They weren't real, but the embellishments were very eye catching, especially when you think about how cold and snowy it was outside. 😊 I loved this one the most and thought it would make for great inspiration when it get  "artists block".

This was one of the cool outdoor spaces display, complete with live birds!  They were a big crowns pleaser and seemed oblivious to all the fuss.

Succulents are a recent favorite of mine.  I never appreciated the colors and textures of these lovelies.  With the recent heat-wave centric summers we've had, I've come to love these sweeties.  They look their best no matter how hot it gets. :)

This was my favorite display at the show!  It was so elegant.  I kept wandering around it trying to decide the best part of the design.

I finally decided that the stone pathway through the water was the coolest part, of course the chaiselike seating is a close second (I *heart* chaise seating!!!)

 
 The outdoor fireplace isn't too bad either. (swoon). The chandelier is pretty awesome as well.  In the end I decided that this is totally the space I would have set up if I won the lottery.  A gal can dream right?  Oh, I might add some sort of retractable screen for watching movies outdoors.  Go big or go home! LOL!

What would your ideal outdoor space have?

Bouquets for Grannies

I had an order for some Mother's Day cards that included some cards perfect for gram.  These were made before the sun was shining outside so the yellows were totally inspired by my need for golden rays. :)

These color combos are my favorite.  They both are a breath of spring air don't ya think?  I had enough supplies to make two of each and have loaded the extras in my Etsy Shoppe.

Before you know it, I'll be making this bouquet in reds and oranges for fall. LOL!  I know, I know I'm rushing things 😉

So what is you favorite color combo, or combos?  Do you have a Pinterest board of colors? I do, but then again I have a bazillion boards on Pinterest.  *hee-hee*

Have a colorful day!

I'm sharing these bouquets here:
Chocolate, coffee, & cards: Yipes stripes challenge
A Creative Romance: Spring Flowers
Pile it on: Feminine
A Song in Your He{ART}: Everything Grows

 

Peter Cottontail says Hi

Happy Friday!  I've been messing around with more bunnies. :). Eeeek!  He's sooo fluffy (and he was super fun to make)!  Actually the felt is a super stiff kind which made it awesome for cutting and great for dressing him up for Easter Day.  The SU hydrangea has been my go-to for background interest lately.  I'm loving that layered stamping is coming back into fashion- it is addicting. :)

On this fantastic Friday I am happy to report that the sun has been shining for the last couple of days and most of the snow is gone!!!  Pretty soon I will be seeing bunnies in the yard for real- though I hope they know to beware of the hawks.  I haven't seen them in the last few days, but that doesn't mean they aren't out there. ;) It is likely that they are on hatching watch.  Have you checked out the eaglet cam out of Iowa, or the hawk cam out of Cornell?  It is awesome to see the hatchlings.

Well, have a great night!