Sunday afternoon was spent reorganizing the bottles, tins, and other assorted whatnots! After getting stuff pulled from all corners of the house, we installed shelving in the bathroom and turned it into our little pharmacy.
I love anything with old advertising so tins and bottles are perfect!
Anyone remember any of these products from your childhood?!?!?!
Another basket is made and with a different twist. I used pearl rhinestones and beaded trim from JoAnn's. 
I recently ordered some Stampin Up! punches. Last night I sat down to play with them. I used the new Scalloped border punch with the coordinating Scalloped corner punch. The bird, wing, and branch are all one punch also. This card is going to my friend Kelly as a thank you for the cool felted mittens, handbag, bracelet, cards, and candy! Whew! The goody bag was awesome and I really appreciate her thoughtfulness!
I have found a special monthly crop that I really enjoy attending in Bath, Maine. The money raised goes to Special Olympics and we have tons of fun each month!
Steven shows off his door prize at the January Crop. Lucky guy wins door prizes regularly!
Kelly is Steven's fiance and always has a smile on her face. She loves working on pages having to do with children and family. I love her creative pages :)
Diana joined us for the first time at the January Crop. Her Cricuit was a huge hit! We all left the crop feeling like we needed to relook at the Cricuit!
A couple of friends came over on Saturday to play in the Craft Room. We decided to make some Valentine Baskets. This was the first time either Kelly or Diana had made baskets with paper, so they were pleased to have finished each of their beautiful baskets!
I have been experimenting with Fabric and Stickles. I have learned how to "fuse" wet layers of stickles to get some pretty neat effects on cards. I also used fabric on two of the cards shown above. Can you guess which two cards have fabric in them? I will be teaching a class at Stamp-n-Scrap in Gardiner on February 6th using these two techniques to make the two sets of cards shown. Each set will have the paper version of the card, then we will make the same card using fabric.
This is an ATC that I made for my ATC club at our monthly crop for Special Olympics. The theme in January was to incorporate fabric into your ATC. Well! As usual, I am obsessed with this technique!
I bought a kit at Halcyon Yarn a couple of weeks ago to make this felted Santa and his elf friend.
The kits come with pre-made bodies and you make the face, clothing, and anything else you want on your felted folks. My friend Catherine taught me how to make the bodies so now I am obsessed with these little people! My kitty kat Buzzy loves to take these guys apart while we are sleeping at night. I have to keep them under lock and key!
What a wonderful afternoon and evening we had going to this event. The fireworks lasted 30 minutes! We went out to eat at one of our favorite chinese restaurants, did some window shopping, antique shopping, stopped for coffee and dessert and attended the parade. It is always a highlight of our holiday season.
The above photo was my favorite store front window! I love the ivory/pink theme.
Antiques in the snow...
Crispy, cold, and windy. That was the theme of the day!
Love the fireworks! I spent most of my time taking photos!
The snowplow is decked out for the parade!
Window shopping along the parade route.
View of the restaurant across the street from where we had coffee and dessert. Slates Bakery....a must when you are in Hallowell!
Street dancers in the parade. It was windy and COLD that night...these poor girls must have froze!
The Precision Shovel Drill Team. The first year we went to this event, there were three ladies in the group performing with plain ole' shovels. It has grown. This year there were about 15 ladies and their shovels were all decorated with lights and holiday greens. What a riot!
The dancing Santa in front of one of the stores. What a funny dude! The kids loved him.
I am STILL stuck on making these cute Santa ATCs. I made this card to send ATCs to Rick R. Rick puts on a crop each month to help raise money for Special Olympics. It's a lot of work to host the crop each month PLUS he makes us all lunch, snacks, and breakfast foods - and the food is always delicious! The card we made in the November class inspired me to make the little ATC (see the original card in a previous post). What better way to utilize them than to make a full size card :)
I made this ATC for a club that I belong to at a monthly crop for Special Olympics. This month's theme was "Your Favorite Recipe". Since I had the cute little egg die, I made my recipe "Quiche Lorraine".
The file folder opened to reveal the recipe.
All of the little file folders that I had to make. Each ATC had 16 pieces x 13 ATCs. I loved making these and love the binder of cards that I have received from this group!
I made these Santa ATCs yesterday. I will keep some as ATCs to give away, and will make the rest into holiday cards. I set up a space at the old desk in the livingroom while we watched A Christmas Carol on Sunday afternoon. Mark put lights on one of our evergreen trees outside. I look forward to lighting it up each night!
Rosie bought a new raincoat at Petco on Saturday. She HATES the rain, but she HATES the raincoat more!
Sporting this trendy apparel, she refused to "do her business" outside in the rain this morning. I waited about 15 minutes, then took it off her. She went potty instantly!
The hood was a bit snug, but only when all of her neck wrinkles slipped through the neck opening!
I went to an all day crop on Saturday. This monthly crop is so much fun. Along with a make and take, there is also a class offered at each crop to make something new. We made the large santa card (on the right) using various sizes of circle punches. Well, I decided to spend some time shrinking it into the proper size to make an ATC (the small version on the left). I love it! Thanks to Rick and his crew for making this monthly event enjoyable and inspiring!
She had her acupuncture treatment on Friday so she was all bright and sparkly for her weekend photo session.
She is such a Diva!
A close up of the "woods". I did this card while sipping on my first cup of coffee this morning. THAT is how easy it is! You can do it while you are still half a sleep!
These feathered friends were begging for their photo to be taken! We stopped on a little dirt road and snapped this photo.
Rosie loves to go to the beach. We visited Birch Point State Park for this photo opportunity.
Rosie is maneuvering amongst the rocks. She would not win an agility competition, but she can hold her own! 
Visiting the Andrea the Seal monument in Rockport, Maine.
A sample of the Lime Kilns and the train used to bring the lime from the mine to the kiln.
This little dirt road had the best little cemetery. The history of the family is interesting to read about and the place is so peaceful! We got out to stretch our legs and take in the scenery.
I have owned a set of Christmas Tapestry Stamps for a few years now. I used the set like crazy the first Christmas Holiday that I had them. Then I never used them again. Stamp-n-Scrap just received a shipment of new designs and improved packaging. I HAD to have the pumpkin set! The above photo shows the set in it's box.
Here is my first try at the design. I love it! The first one is the hardest...getting down the placement and colors. You can't really make a mistake with these sets. It is your creative space. I have fallen in love with these stamps all over again!
And here is the set of stamps and my version. After doing this first one, I know what I will do differently on the next version. One thing I will do different is to die cut a circle using Spellbinders dies to use as a template for the round wreath. When finished, you can mount the stamped die cut directly onto a card. I will have the finished card posted tomorrow. If you are interested in these stamps, you can find the company and all that they offer here. Stamp-n-Scrap will have a demo using these stamps on October 3rd, World Card Making Day.
Even if you are not a domestic goddess, everyone needs a place to store recipes, coupons, household lists, etc... Graphic 45 has come out with the new line Domestic Goddess and I absolutely love it. The colors, designs, and of course, the feel of the paper make this line fun to play with. I will be teaching a class at Stamp-n-Scrap using this design. The binding is uses the Bind-It-All machine.
A beautiful ornament made with alcohol inks and a Spellbinders die. This was fun to make!
A mini chipboard album made with Spellbinders Dies. These dies are awesome!
I am teaching a class at Stamp-n-Scrap called Spellbinders Art. I love the dies and always try to find a way to use them in any project I am working on. This card is one of the projects for the class.
We will also be making a beautiful ornament and a mini chipboard album. It's time for fall themes!!
Lily, the cat, decided to lay on the seat of the same chair as Sassy was getting down. WELL! Sassy decided to inch her way back up the chair and tug on Lily's tail until Lily got down. 
The above photo shows Sassy "tugging" on Lily's tail.
Junk shopping! The above photo is some of the new (used) bottle openers Mark purchased. This makes 103 bottle openers that he has collected.
Over the past few months I have started collecting the red and green handled kitchen utensils. These few pieces, along with what I already collected, now reside on the wall above the stove in the kitchen. The wall is full!
And the bobbins....aaaaaaah, the bobbins! Vintage sewing notions have become "my thing". I have 21 antique bobbins that are all different. I am also filling a vintage sewing basket with old sock darners, seam smoothers, wooden sewing bobbins, button hooks, snaps, etc...It has added a little bit of "awesome" to my craft room :)
I started out with 2 pair of wooden shoe molds. I am now at 23 molds and counting! We were very lucky to find the old cast iron molds that were used in shoe shops to make the soles of the shoes. I love the kids sizes! The wooden mold in the back with the pointed toe was used to make the fancy, shmancy pointed toe boots with heals at the turn of the century. The little lovelies reside on a shoe shop rack with vintage shoe polish bottles in my craft room. It is kept there to keep the cats from making themselves at home on the rack!
The printers tray was a deal! $6. I plan on mounting onto a wall in the craft room to display bottles and vintage sewing notions. Love it!
What a goober she is!
Saturday was an awesome day....the antique festival in Union Maine. We spent quite a few hours there and made 2 trips to the car to load our purchases. We have always said that our home is decorated in the "early american garage sale" motif :) The above photo is the seafood place where we ate. They only had fried seafood...and our ages are catching up with us...the fried side did not settle well with Mark or myself. Man, are we getting old!
I loved this "booth" with the simple cottage look. It was mostly whites and pastel pinks. Very pricey!
My goal SOMEDAY is to set the house up like a general store. The one piece we are missing to do the general store is the cash register. After looking at the price of this register, it will be a loooooooong while before we reach General Store status!
Love this guys foot! I was told this little fellow could be mine for only $750!!! Wow! Although the little fellow appeared on TV (so I was told), $750 is a lot of dough for a doll!
You could tell that these trucks were pieced together to make the "whole". I loved them anyway because of the colors and style of truck.
Love this Open House sign. Love the clown head even more!
An of course, if I had a ton of money, this sewing display would have been MINE!! Love the cabinet and all of the colors of old thread spools....but I did not love the price!
I love the junk bowls and bins to paw through. Mark bought more skeleton keys and bottle openers. We are now the proud owners of 103 bottle openers!
Catherine kinda looks like Martha in her new apron, huh? She can do a great Julia Childs impersonation too! Her son was home and I got a couple of shots of him with the whipped cream can:
Canned whipped cream is made for kids! Catherine has done a great job as a mom. Her son loves life, is polite, well behaved, and fun to be around.
Catherine is sorting through a huge box of chipboard stuff to use on future EK Success projects. While we were there, Fed Ex arrived with another box full of stamps. The photo below shows Catherine with 2 of her favs in the box: 
Kelley finished her journal and was very pleased with her finished piece. She is working on a rug using a wooden frame and beautiful material in various blues. It is stunning in real life! 
Next is a great photo of Catherine after we messed up her perfectly neat and clean island in the kitchen :) 
We had such a fun afternoon. After leaving Catherine's house, I drive approx. 1/2 hour north. The ride home was awesome - warm, sunny, and no traffic on the country roads. I love summer in Maine and I love spending time with my friends.....
The above photo tests your skills....can you tell the front end from the back end - they look very similar, lol!
One of my favorite flowers in the garden is Bee Balm. Love the colors, smell, and look of this herb/plant. I was on my way out the door this morning and could not resist this photo.
Here is one of the samples from the watercolor paint class that I took in MA last week. This was one of the first pieces that we did - a background color wash. Dave was nice enough to autograph one of my cards so I made a 12" x 12" layout using the card. The butterflies are made using alcohol inks on glossy paper. The butterfly stamps are from SmARTworks and the bird stamp is from Memory Box.
A view of the Basic Gray laser cut paper that was layered onto Bo-Bunny paper. Buttons and Butterflies complete this simple layout. What does the entire layout look like? Stay tuned!
The sun at about 5:45 this morning. It's going to be a good day :) 
Looking up the driveway to the road. See the sun at the end of the driveway? Our house is surrounded by trees so we look to the road for sun.
Even the stained glass sun in the rock garden is pretty happy about seeing itself today!
The gnome in the rock garden has a grin on his face. I think he will shed a little of the green mold today as the sun dries things up. Keep your fingers crossed that we get more days of sun this week!
After leaving the quarries on Sunday, we wanted to stop at Perham's Jewelry Store. They are closing after being in business for 80+ years. My engagement ring came from Perhams. They were so busy on their last day open that we declined on the visit and went junk shopping instead. The above photo shows the complete recap of the trip. We stopped in Oxford and in Sabattus at flea market type places.
I love the cobalt blue glass and we found two Noxema jars WITH covers! We see alot of them for sale without the covers.
Mark is deep into finding some rocks and minerals. We have been putting his newer finds along our rock gardens to add color and interest.
In the midst of all of the rock, I found these delicious raspberries and pretty flowers!
The spot where we took a break. The field is gorgeous and the breeze kept all of the bugs from landing on us. What a great place to spend time...
I love anything that is miniature! I made this little basket on Saturday night. I used Bo-Bunny and Graphic 45 papers. The strips used to weave the basket are only 1/8" wide! Very small to work with!
Photo of a penny leaning on the basket so that you can get an idea of how small the basket is.
A group of Memory Glass pieces that I have made. The background piece is a picture frame. There is an actual hinge on the back of this piece.
This piece uses some of the mica that I have received recently. It looks much better in real life! It gives frosty, marbled look to the collage.
A close up of the mica piece. I am surprised at how easy mica is to work with. It breaks into nice straight edges, and it takes inks very well!
We had our monthly artsy gathering at Kelley's house on Sunday. It was a small group, but we had tons of fun. Kelley, Pamela, and Molly pose in front of the food. Kelley put on quite a spread - it was all so delicious. I zeroed in on the pasta salad with feta, cukes, and pasta. It was SO yummy!
Pamela works on cards. I love to see what everyone brings to work on. We are all so different but enjoy the same basic part of our group - CREATIVITY!!
Kelley and Molly are working on their projects. You can see my messy area near the front right of the photo. Even though it has rained the past 22 or 23 days out of 31, we were very content to be at Kelley's house with the Royal River in the background. It was a great day with great friends :)
Mark and his friends have been going to the quarries - they went again on Sunday in the rain. Mark brought home a lot of mica. The two buckets shown are full of all sizes of Mica.
This book of Mica is approximately 1-1/4" thick. I love peeling this stuff apart.
This book of mica is about the same size as my hand. When you peel the sheets apart, the center of the "book" is always the cleanest with the least amount of imperfections. I have been working with the mica making picture frames, ornaments, and also tried my alcohol inks on it yesterday. I'll post a few projects once I am satisfied with the pieces.
Once he is in the box and settled, he takes it over! Look at his back foot in Lily's face! She woke up long enough to give the foot a dirty look, then went back to sleep. She is very patient with Buzzy :)
I really enjoyed making this little double picture frame. I used Ranger Memory glass because it is so thin. For the inside of the "frame" I used sheet music, stamped images of little girls, and cut some words from a book. All art is sandwiched between the glass then wrapped in brass foil.
The quarter shows how small the frame is. The glass is only 1-1/2" x 1-1/2". My next frame will be with real photos.
How cool are alcohol inks???? I had a blast before work this morning playing with all of the little bottles and some memory glass. I've had these inks sitting around for up to 2 years! Finally, I am sitting down with them. I'll post some finished pieces on Tuesday. I have a very cool idea on using some of these pieces. The trick is getting it from my head to the glass!
The dark rocks are Black Tourmaline. If you look closely at them, there are little crystals throughout each rock. Tourmaline is one of my favorite stones.
Pretty quartz crystal (white rocks) and lots of mica. He brought home "books" of mica. One of the "books" is about 1/2" x 3/4" thick! I've been playing with alcohol inks, so this weekend, I am going to try alcohol inks on mica.
I propped this Beryl crystal up on another rock so that you could see the corner edge on the crystal. Is is an aqua marine color crystal. Most of these rocks will go in our rock gardens to add color and interest.
These little ornaments are my newest obsession. I made this one before going to work this morning. No soldering....just beads, wire, copperfoil, and stamping. Very simple, yet so sweet! The glass size is 1-1/2" x 1-1/2", so they are pretty small and just right for a little ornament. I plan on doing some with multi layers, charms, and other embellishments. It's the day job that's getting in the way now!
This is a basket I made on Sunday. It has much narrower "reed" for weaving and more of a design than the baskets made in class.
This photo shows the inside which is just as pretty as the outside!
The bottom of the basket is solid so that nothing can fall out. I hate getting the baskets made in Taiwan with the major gaps in the bottom. When the basket is complete, it does not feel like paper. It almost has a vinyl feel to it. Very sturdy also!
The skeleton of the basket as we start our afternoon class. These ladies are real troopers for the amount of time, effort, and care they took in their baskets. All of the baskets turned out wonderful. We used various colors and it really made it basket an individual piece of art!
After class, everyone shows their baskets and cards. These ladies are so sweet - we had a great day!
Cookbook classes are very popular at Stamp-n-Scrap. I made this book for a class that I will be teaching on June 27th. The inside has lots of die cuts including beverages, ice cream cones, hot dogs, and BBQ grill/utensils. The front is embellished with Stickles and stamped flowers. I'm already designing the fall cookbook for the next cookbook class!
Here is the finished book that I made on Monday - I finished the embellishing last night. Dr. Wood loves the book and wanted to take it home unfinished yesterday! I am back in the mood to make these books...can't wait to start the next one!
This photo is of Mark and Rosie. Rosie loves to wade in the water. Bulldogs can't swim (they sink like lead) so we have to watch her while she is in the water.
Rosie thinks I can't see her at the table. Thank goodness she volunteers to guard the cooler and snacks!
had a great time at Catherine's house yesterday. We decided to make Art Journals. The group photo is when we were done for the day....although our books still need more work, we are quite proud of making it this far!
Close up of the binding of the signatures.
Kelley is having fun sewing her signatures together. It is quite a time when you start the sewing process. Kind of like needing 3 hands. Once you get into a groove, the process goes pretty quickly.
What a picture! Kelley and Catherine posing for the camera. The "3 Musketeers" met at 111 Maine today for lunch. Great company, great food, and great photos! What a great way to end the week and also to have a nice relaxing spot in the middle of the day. If you have not been to 111 Maine, it is a must! The service is as good as the food. We actually planned a get together for Monday. Wait til you see what we are going to create! Watch on Tuesday for show and tell!
Molly made these wonderful coasters from tile that she purchased at Home Depot. The tiles are stone and take ink very well. The card with the coasters was stamped with the same image used on the coasters. I love good coasters and fell in love with these immediately! They are beautiful as well as functional!
Pamela also made chocolate covered pretzels and put them into the handmade "bag". It was too pretty to break into! But, having Monday's off, and the whole bag of pretzels....I did some serious damage to the perfect presentation! Thanks Pamela!
Sassy wanted a piece of the chewing action also. Chocolate is a big no-no so I let her play with the ribbon for a short time....then I confiscated the goods!
Catherine's handmade cards and ATCs are always a treat! They are works of art! I am so lucky to have received 4 ATCs from her. One was from a set of 4 (the asian watercolor) and the other three are originals and one of a kind! Woohoo! And...after going to Brimfield, Catherine knows what a freak I am for Starbucks coffee! If I have Starbucks, I am a happy girl!! Thanks for such beautiful gifts Catherine!
Susan and Lynn got together and gave me this white Azalea. It is gorgeous! We had done a lot of planting this weekend, but there is always room for one more plant to make our yard bright and cheery. I love perennials and this one is comfy in the shady areas. Every time I see this plant in bloom, I will think of Lynn and Susan! Thanks ladies.
Susan also made this sweet card. Her coloring abilities always astound me! Check out her blog to see how creative she is. You might even see her glass house that she made on Sunday that was so "outside of her box"!
I just have to draw your attention to this ATC by Catherine. Check out the fine stitching on the butterfly. This butterfly is thicker than it looks and I am amazed at how Catherine did such fine stitching on such a thick piece! I just found out this morning that Catherine made it into the newest issue of Somerset Sew. Not only did she get into the magazine, she is on the cover too!
These photos were taken last Friday night on Beedle Rd (the road I live on). We were on our way to dinner and were amazed by the harsh difference in the sky. It's amazing and beautiful!
Here is a photo of a little tree growing in a crack in the rock! How do they survive and get the nutrients that they need?? I've seen this on mountain tops where it is bare rock also.
I joined a Graphic 45 card swap - here are a couple of the cards that I made using G45 papers, Bo-Bunny paper, Sizzlet dies, Inka stamp, and Cuttlebug folders. I used my exacto knife to cut out all of the individual buttons from a G45 paper. This is the first time I used the Inka stamp and used a brayer to get an even tone and vintage look. The ink used was Versafine black.
Love this paper from Prima. It is a new paper that I purchase in MA when we went to Brimfield. I also purchased a new set of Sizzlet dies (the leaves and flowers on this layout) and the Spellbinders Foliage Framabilities die. The bird cages are from a Basic Grey paper in the Porcelain line. The photo is of Sassy and Mulli. Mulli needed a mate in life to deal with his "issues" and Sassy was the perfect bird for Mulli. Unfortunately, we had Mulli for only 1 year when his issues caught up with him and he passed away. This layout is a tribute to their love for each other and the fact that Mulli passed on as a happy little camper :)
I found my gardens had continued to grow while I was away for a couple of days! This time of the year, if you miss a day, you miss a lot in the gardens! The first photo is of my spinich poking through the ground. The next photo is of the purple and white violets that have sprung up EVERYWHERE! The last photo is a bleeding heart that I transplanted at the end of the season last year. I am glad it made it through the winter and seems happy in it's new location. 
Being the lucky girl that I am, I had the opportunity to go to Brimfield, MA to one of the largest antique shows in the country. Kelley, Catherine, and I left of Tuesday morning and spent rest of the day traveling south, stopping at Absolutely Everything and Ink About It for some crafty shopping. We then checked into our hotel, had a very nice dinner, then back to the hotel. We wanted to get up bright and early for our big day of junk shopping! The show attracts approx. 6,000 antique dealers and is 1 mile in length on either side of Rt. 20. What this boils down to is that there are fields of antique dealers ready to dicker price. We had so much fun laughing, shopping, and goofing around. I am only sharing a few photos today, but will post more when I get a bit more time.
Kelley and Catherine as we hit
th
e road. 
Just a little bit excited!
We had our first cookout of the spring season last weekend. Picnic Rosie strikes again!!! She is always the first to the table.....ummmm, I mean ON the table! She stayed there well after the meal was cooked and eaten! She is such a clown! The view of the fireplace can be seen from my kitchen window. It's great to be able to cook stuff in the house while watching the stuff that is cooking outside. It's also great during bug season, hehe!
Stamp-n-Scrap just got in their first order of Flower Soft. I could not resist trying this awesome stuff! I used Bazzill cardstock, SU Sizzlet leave die, and the Flower Soft product with their line of paper products (the vase). Yes the vase is paper...yet it looks like glass! I can't wait to get my next few colors! This turned into a Mother's Day Card for my mother-in-law.
What a crazy bird she is!!! I was working at the kitchen table yesterday and Sassy decided to join me "under the table". This is one of her favorite places to perch. All of a sudden, she broke out in song to a tune that was playing on the TV!!! She was dancing, singing, and have a great time! I adore her antics and wish she would do this stuff on command (David Letterman - here we come!). She is a hoot and made me laugh pretty hard at the musical show.
Poor Alf! He has grown old right before our eyes! He is 14 years old and has limited sight and hearing. Recently, he started having seizures and had already been on steroids for other issues he is having. I know our time is limited with Alf, so I am taking photos of those special moments. This moment was with his "fuzzy baby". He has always loved fuzzies and recently I realized I had not seen him hauling a fuzzy around with him. So I bought a new one and that did the trick! He is always with his new fuzzy (although Rosie has already torn it and eaten the tail). Alf has hiked most of the mountains in New England and most of the AT in New Hampshire and Maine. He has had a very looooong and goooood life :)
Pamela is a very talented lady who is also in our art group that gets together once a month. She always brings fun ideas to the table as well as samples! At one of our recent gatherings, she brought a container filled with these cards of beautiful buttons that she made. I love them so much that I can't bring myself to use them in a project! She made them with air dry clay and stamping. I always look forward to what Pamela will surprise us with next!
I went to Catherine's yesterday morning and we made glass birds and houses. Catherine has taken stained glass course(s) and "thought" she needed me to help her with these. I think she did great on her own! Here is a link to her works of art: http://cmscanlon.blogspot.com/. I went home and made three more houses! I am going to put a tree of twigs in my craftroom and hang these from the tree. It's always good to get together with Catherine - I always leave inspired to do more and to do it better!
This is little Daisy. I have been pet sitting off and on since Christmas. She has been through chemo to treat lymphoma and seems to be doing quite nicely at this point in time. She is so sweet and gets along with all of my animals except for Sassy. She did not respect Sassy when she started boarding with us....she respects Sassy now, but Sassy does not forget and even holds a grudge!
Fast forward to today, 21 days later:
What a difference a day makes :) I posted a photo of these sheep yesterday when the fog was pretty thick. I took this photo today at the same time of the day....and the sun is shining. I'm going to start walking these trails at lunch time to see the stuff that you can't see from a car.
NO! These are not my sheep! I know I have many animals, but I draw the line at the outside animals! This is a photo I took this morning on my way to a pet sitting job. One of the great things about pet sitting is that it can take you places that you don't travel in your regular routine. I love the sheep at feeding time! This farm offers a Farmers Market, organic gardening, and many other educational opportunities. They also have wonderful walking trails that lead you along massive gardens, into the woods, along side the fields of animals, etc... The name of the farm is Crystal Spring Farm.
Since I am on the basket weaving kick, I decided to make something other than baskets. Last night I experimented with making embellishments (the heart) and Inchies (the 4 squares). I made a 5" x 4" weaved rectangle and used my Cuttlebug heart die to punch out the heart. What a trick the first one was to cut! I realized that I have to use tape on the underside to hold the weaving together in order to lift the die cut from the Cuttlebug plates. The first one was a disaster (and yes, I was ready to toss the entire project because I was so discouraged!), while this second attempt came out beautiful! 
The Inchies are going to have a 3D flower or something added. I don't want to add too much, since the real work is in the basket weaving of these tiny pieces!
I've been obsessed with basket weaving paper! I made the blue basket as a prototype and gave it to my art group friend Molly on Sunday. It was a challenge to make as the first one of anything usually is. The pink basket was made for a class that I will be teaching at Stamp-n-Scrap in Gardiner, Maine on June 13th. These baskets can be taylored to fit any occasion depending on the colors selected. Red/Green/White for Christmas, Orange and Black for Halloween, etc... I used Bo-Bunny paper and Bazzill cardstock.
This is a card that I made for a sketch challenge on Split Coast Stampers. The stamp is from Stampington and Company and is one of my all time favorite rubber stamps. "Little Jonathan" can hold flowers, pets, or any embellishment for any occassion! I used G45 paper, SU paper, Bassill cardstock, and cork (for the hat). Of course I had to use my new Martha Stewart border punch and a little tin heart. I cut his little shirt from an SU designer paper and adhered it to the basic image. Yellow is outside of my comfort zone, so this one was a challenge!
Rosie always sits wherever Sassy is residing in the house....mainly for yummy snacks that Sassy "drops" so conveniently! Sassy and Rosie snuggle and when I have to reprimand Sassy for something, she runs to Rosie and hides in Rosie's armpit! They are certainly characters!
I joined this swap on SCS last week. Since I love G45 paper so much, my first 5 inchies were made using some of the paper from the new Communique line. Inchies are not as easy as they appear! Anyone that has tried making ATC's will find Inchies more of a challenge! 5 down, 95 left to go!
We took the dogs to Peacock Beach State Park, which is only 2 miles from our house. They had a great time sniffing and doing what dogs do best.
The clouds and water/ice was amazing on Saturday. It never rained, but the dark skies gave our outing a beautiful backdrop!
There are many ice fishing families on this pond during the winter months, and many boaters during the summer months. It was nice to have the entire beach and pond to ourselves :)
Rosie gives her "whatever" look. She always looks so unimpressed with life! Of course, she needed a nap when we got home :)
This is a photo of Mark with the 2 dogs. Rosie is always in front and Daisy is always with me...bringing up the rear! I am way too busy snapping pictures to stay with the group!
see the levels of the water. We ended up in Dresden at the Pownalborough Court House. It was the first court house built in Lincoln County, Maine. There are nature trails along the Kennebec River and plans to add new woods trails this summer. The building is awesome. It's a great place to picnic and learn a little about the historic site. Our dogs loved stretching their legs here!
I found Rosie taking her first sunbath of the spring season. Of course when I first saw her, I had to check for a pulse! She looked....well....she looked like she had passed on!!! She was not snoring for a change and it fooled me! I adore her little round butt, her big tongue, and those little short legs that are so phat at the top! I tell her every day that we are going to eat her up for supper that night because she tastes so good, hehe!
I thought I would end the week with a different type of art. This piece of stained glass is a study I made of a very unique cat that I used to have. He started out as "Beedle" but quickly became "Beedle Bin Laden". He would try to attack anything that came through the door. I was the only person that could handle him, and then it was on a limited basis. I adored him! He was with us for 17 years and was an indoor cat. This is one of my favorite pieces of stained glass that I have done to date. It resides in my craft room.
This is a photo of my most recent Aerogarden "planting". The plants are grown in water and the entire process is pretty much work-free. You add fertilizer every 2 weeks and occasionally add water. The plants grow incredibly fast. These plants are about 3 weeks after planting. Many apartment dwellers use Aerogardens in the city due to lack of garden space. I use mine to grow herbs in the winter to feed my guinea piggies. I have grown cherry tomatoes and flowers in my Aerogarden with great success!
I get a rather long lunch break so I usually take Rosie for a walk. Tuesday was drop dead gorgeous for walking so I took her to the Town Commons in Brunswick and we did a little trek in the woods. The snow on the path was packed down and was pretty easy for the princess bulldog to walk on. She had a great time and needed a nap (and a snack) when we got back to the clinic.
My friend Catherine is so creative and makes little Easter baskets from peat pots. Check out her original version here. Of course they are so stinkin' cute that I hade to make my own for some very special great nieces and nephews in Texas. As you know, my work is usually on the "dark" side (dark papers, inks, designs) so this bright colored stuff is new to me ;-) Peat pots are very inexpensive and fun to paint! I think I will do some rubber stamping with chicks and bunnies on some of the other pots I am working on. Each one will be very different!
Buzzy (aka "The FuzzBuster") loves to hang out while I do artwork. As usual, he is so helpful. I love it that he loves crafts! I can always count on him to purr, play, and leave with a little ink on his toes :)
I spent most of yesterday waiting for the Cable TV repairman. So along with papercrafts, I did some baking during the afternoon. I made HUGE biscuits for suppah (that's slang for "supper" in Maine!), and chocolate fudge brownies. The cable guy was pretty happy to get some warm brownies for the road after doing the repair work! The HUGE biscuits were so delicious with suppah last night. I brought a leftover for lunch today with Tuna salad!
One of my husband's co-workers collects inkwells and does letterboxing. Since his letterboxing signature stamp is not handcarved OR about ink, we thought he might enjoy this stamp. He IS going to use it as his new signature stamp (I just found out). I love the card too - I used Graphic 45 paper (one of the new Communique sheets), 2 B-Line stamps, and the ink bottle stamp.
I did pet sitting at my house this weekend for a little dog "Daisy" that is a frequent guest at my house. Sassy absolutely hates Daisy and has to stay in "lock down" when Daisy is with us. This is Sassy after Daisy went home this weekend. When she finally gets out of her cage, she runs around the house yelling and giggling. Of course she is looking for Daisy while she is running around. The close up photo is her being uncooperative when I tried to snap a shot. She wanted to lick the camera lense :)
This is the cover to a cookbook sample for a class that I taught on Saturday at Stamp-n-Scrap in Gardiner, Maine. I used Susan Trask's (SmARTworks) rubber stamp set, Graphic 45 paper, and a 6" x 6" Bo-Bunny binder. The class filled very quickly and we are offering a repeat class on May 9th. Everyone went home with a finished project and smiles on their faces :)
Kelley enjoying her lunch with me snapping pictures :)
View of the "green" bridge from Brunswick to Topsham
Spring has arrived in Brunswick, Maine. How lovely are these tulips (although I called them daffodils at the restaurant!)?
This card is made with Stampin Up! paper and the Branch Out stamp set. I love the colors in the Designer Paper (I'll need to get more sets of the various colors!). The paper almost takes on a fabric look. I made one with sewing stitches and one without the sewing. Needless to say....sewing is the best way to go!
I've had the flu/cold this week and have not posted - it's catch up time! This is a card I made last weekend for my friend Catherine. She came to my house for our art group gathering a couple of weekends ago and brought me lots of cool stuff for various occasions including this adorable Bulldog stamp to use! I just love the stamp! Bulldogs have such mean faces, but they are the kindest breed of all! Rosie is a good example. She loves to play with my birds, cats, and old guy Alfred. She is even loving to my guinea pigs (she kisses their hind ends)! I wanted to make a vintage thank you card using this stamp and Graphic 45 paper. I hope Catherine likes it!
Rosie had to have a lump removed from where her nose wrinkle used to be. Poor Rosie! This photo is of her coming out of the anesthesia. Her tongue sticks out most of the time, but this photo best reflects what she looks like at the end of any given day!
O.K. I know it may look bizarre, but this is a profile of Rosie's post-op kennel with her tongue sticking out of the kennel! Poor Rosie! She is doing fine and the lump is not cancer.
One of my co-workers just got a Boston Terrier puppy named "Heidi". Rosie and Heidi have been BFF since day one! They play and sleep, then play and sleep somemore! They are actually playing in this photo. I just love the little bit of white showing in Heidi's eye! Both of them snore like crazy!
ived! It was a very fun afternoon!
Catherine found a blog where Sally Jean does these glass birds. Instead of using background paper, I used acetate and rubber stamps. Then I used sheet music, newspaper letter clippings and I was ready to solder. I think I will have many of these in my windows at home! I will be teaching a class on this at Stamp-n-Scrap in April.
I had a so much fun making this 12" x 12" photo album. After reading Christie's post yesterday, I decided that I would keep this album for myself - I am always giving away everything I make! I will put some of my vintage family photos in this album and proudly bring it to my classes to encourage students to go outside their comfort zone when creating. It helps to love the materials you are working with and Graphic 45 paper is my absolute favorite paper!
This is a close up showing the cameras that I hand cut with my exacto knife. I also used a Spellbinders die to make the distressed heart lock. The trim on the Communique is cut to fit the "box". I also found some awesome fabric ribbon at my local store and it was only $.25 per spool (on sale!).
I made pretty flower embellishments using paper flowers and pearl adhesive rhinestones. I love the look!
the distressed locket.
Rosie and her friend Nubs took the treadmill for a test drive together. Nubs is seasoned on the treadmill, but this was Rosie's first time. She had a hard time staying on it! Given some practice, I think she will be the exercise diva at our clinic!
Matisse and Sassy are becoming friends. Sassy wanted to sit next to the new guy last night after supper. Matisse was o.k. with it for a short time, then he flew to my shoulder like he had had enough. Slowly, they will trust each other more and more. Sassy is mom to all of the birds but Matisse may end up being the exception to that rule! My heart was melting when I saw them together!
My monthly art group is swapping ATCs Friday night. I made these cuties for the swap. Yes girls....if you are checking my blog, you get a sneak peek!! I used my awesome Graphic 45 Endless Love paper that I received as a prize for being a runner up in their Winter Wonderland Scrapoff Contest. A Cuttlebug die and emblossing folder, $1 acrylic stamp, beaded trim and distressed edges finish off this design. I think I love the Valentine theme because it uses colors that I am drawn to naturally.
Here is another sample made for a class I am teaching at Stamp-n-Scrap in February. We will be using some great techiques and making a cool album to use as a brag book.
How precious is this?? Rosie will spoon with anyone at anytime! Thank goodness Lily is o.k. with the arrangement!
Check out the bottle, huh?!?! I just loved making this wall hanging/door knob hanger. Lots of embellishments and some cool techniques. I will be teaching a class on Valentine Gifts at Stamp-n-Scrap on February 2nd. This will be a really fun class!
I purchased a copy of Clothe, Paper, Scissors before Christmas and these little snowmen were on the cover. I have been obsessed with making them ever since! Once night, I sat down and made these 13 snowmen. I made the bodies that night and then made the heads the following morning. I love that you can use any size bottle, beads, floral sticks, etc.... And, they are not just for Christmas. These little guys are a winter ornament and can be kept on display until the last of the snow has disappeared.
Each year we go to Christmas in Old Hallowell Day. This year we had coffee and appetizers at the Liberal Cup, enjoyed the parade, then fireworks (better than 4th of July!), then we had dinner at Lucky Gardens. It was a great evening! Each year we bring someone with us and they always make it back the next year because of how "small town USA" this event is! It is the true spirit of celebrating Christmas.
Here is the entry for the Graphic 45 contest! Of course it had to have Rosie in the layout! I have approx. 275 pieces in this layout. Each quilt square is 1-1/2" and has 10 pieces. There are 26 squares total. I submitted the photo today. The winners will be announced on Dec. 15th. Keep your fingers crossed! To see all of the entries, go to: http://www.g45papers.com/gallery.php
We had a nice and relaxing day on Thanksgiving....giving thanks to my animals that spent the day acting like clowns. The first photo is of Skittles. She is my handicapped Sun Conure. She is the most vocal and demanding of all of the animals. I adore her. The next two are of Buzzy the cat and Rosie the bulldog "napping". Buzzy loves to chew on Rosie's arms and face. The last photo is Buzzy - he looks like he is very shy in front of the camera :) We enjoyed our company, the huge meal, and time spent relaxing with our pets.
Well, two peas in a box anyway :) Buzzy (the orange tiger) adores Lily (white cat) and looks at her like she is his mom. He loves to "spoon" :-0 They go to sleep every night after supper and get up when we go to bed. We have come a looooong way from when I brought Buzzy home and Lily HATED him! She could not even look at him and when she did, she hissed and swatted the poor little guy. Now he is bigger than she is and he is only 7 months old. They are both so sweet and real luv muffins.
I found out a few days ago that Reader's Digest saw one of Rosie's photos on my Flickr web page(they actually found the photo on Upsidedown Dogs who found it on my page). They wanted to "consider" publishing her in their Last Laugh's section. I had not heard anything since the initial contact. I got an email today - they are sending a third party the contract to publish the photo AND they are paying me $100!!!!! After the amount of $$ I have spent on vet bills for her, this is very sweet to have incoming $$ instead of outgoing $$!!! I am SUCH a proud mom today!
Here is a sample of a cigar box for a class I am teaching at Stamp-n-Scrap in Gardiner, ME. Crackle paint, rubber stamps, snow writer, and embellishments make up this holiday box. The other side has little glass bottles filled with colorful beads and the top has Tim Holtz fragments! This should be a fun class...
The after picture to last weeks post. A couple of embellishments and it's done! Crackle Accents, chipboard, and flowers.....instant dimension.
I went to the Fairfield Antique Mall with Kelley and Catherine on Monday to junk shop (yes we came home with some very cool junk!). Kelley had just gotten two foster puppies. Aren't they adorable?!!?! They were such good kids. No accidents in their crates, not a peep from them the entire trip! I took this photo when they were out on a pee break. They are up for adoption through Almost Home Rescue. Anyone???
How gorgeous are these Artist Trading Cards?! I received "Hocus Pocus" from Kelley. She has really come a long way with her ATCs. It's not as easy as it looks to work on a 2.5" x 3.5" canvas and I am really proud of Kelley for taking the ATC plunge - I love Hocus Pocus! :)
Sassy and Catherine met for the first time on Monday. Although Catherine was a bit apprehensive at the beginning, they soon became friends! Sassy did quite a bit of showing off for company and was exhausted after everyone left! She talked, danced, and was very charming :)
I am not big on sending Halloween Cards - I made these cards while at a Sunday afternoon gathering. I am actually going to mail these out and shock "whoever" ;-)
Saturday was an awesome day! I met Kelley and her mom, Pam, at Fairchild in South Portland for a day of cropping to help raise money for Breast Cancer research. It was so much fun. This was my first huge crop so I was like a fish out of water. I met some very nice ladies, got some layouts done, and walked away a winner of a door prize (everyone got a door prize!). The first picture is of Pam, Karen and Kelley. The second picture is Kelley having a great time! The third picture is one of approx. 10 tables that day. It was such an energizing experience. Looking forward to the next crop! As if the day was not complete as is...the event brought in Chef Kim to provide meals for the day. Our only worry that day was to crop and buy raffle tickets for the many items donated to help raise money.
We had a great day to travel the train to Rockland. It was a 2 hour trip each way and it was gorgeous! The fall colors, hardly any tourists, and the warm temps made for a memorable trip. We spent three hours in Rockland taking in the sights, museums, shopping and local color. There is a Polar Express trip in December that sounds very cool! This is a great way to see the country side that you would not see from the car.
I made this stepping stone a few years ago. The secret to these stepping stones are to bring them inside over the winter months. The cold temps make the concrete grow and then shrink back to size. Since glass does not have the same properties as concrete, it ends up cracking. This was my test stone and I keep it in my rock garden year round.
