Home Sweet Home

We just got back late last night from a 3-day stay in San Diego. Perfect is the best way to describe that place .... i think it is just always 70 degrees!

Thank you Farmers Insurance for giving us the opportunity to qualify for this event!

I can't believe I didn't take one photo .. never even took my camera out. Was just too "into" the moments.

We stayed at the Westin Gaslamp Quarter right in the heart of downtown within walking distance to almost anything ... and about 20 steps from Horton Plaza. Horton Plaza is a 5-story shopping center with some very nice opportunities!

But besides shopping, we spent time at the beach, at Balboa Park (you could spend a week there just wandering through all the museums), a visit to Body Worlds (which I don't think anyone should miss), a visit to Old Town (the livery stable was my favorite .. oh, and the shoe store) and some time with friends.

So funky ...

but yet it just makes me smile. We came across this "thing" in the 80% off aisle at Hobby Lobby. Its got a deer head hanging out the top and room for lots of photos in the photo sleeves. It was marked down to 4$ .. how could we possibly say no?? All three of us walked away with one!

My friend Lia (biscuit dough, as I lovingly call her) came to visit me today, along with her friend Sandy. They both live in California.

Sandy's boss made arrangments for them to stay the weekend at the Montelucia Resort in Paradise Valley. I got a tour of it this morning when I met up with them. Wow! What a property, absolutely gorgeous.

We started out with an early breakfast, then hit Scrapbooks Etc, then Hobby Lobby, then Culvers for a little frozen custard pick-me-up, then Mystic Paper, then Melrose Place, then Paris Envy, then back to Frenzy Stamper. Tons of fun, lots of laughs and we all were so happy with the little treasures we found throughout the day.

Thanks girls for a great time today!! Come back anytime!

Poor Baby ..

This is Wesley. He's my 14 year old, a sweetheart and smart as can be. He has me totally trained, just how he wants me.

A few days ago I found quite a few splatters of blood around my kitchen floor. Turns out Wesley had lost a complete "toe nail", right down to a bloody, raw stump. If I lost an entire fingernail, I can only imagine how painful that would be!

"The boys" are rarely out of our sight as they go to work with us everyday, sleep with us at night, and Wes won't go up or down the stairs on his own anymore ....

I haven't a clue how or when this happened!

So here he is a few hours later, after a trip to the emergency room.

He's been limping around and raising his paw and sleeping continuously for days now, but I'm happy to report that he now has his bandage off and seems to be out of pain, isn't licking it anymore ... and on the road to recovery.

All normal bathing and walking can resume this weekend!

Masks and more masks!

I ditched work today for a few hours to take a class with Heidi Swapp at Scrapbooks Etc. And am I glad I did.


We barely finished the techniques during class, let alone completing the pages .. but let me tell you her finished pages were very cool looking.


We used her mega masks, and more masks along with distress inks and stamps to create these looks on printed and plain papers.


So fun ...

I love the feel of ...

chipboard covered with paper ... more specifically ... I love to make books and boxes that ask for the chipboard to be covered with paper. They just feel so rich, and solid and tight and well, booklike!

I've been a member of Club Scrap for many years. I've learned alot of my bookmaking skills from projects we've done at retreats and in kits.

Here's one of my latest from the "Henna" kit .....
When I first looked at the printed instructions I just thought this was way too complicated, but then it became a challenge. I took it step by step and within 4 stitches the pattern became obvious and then it was just a matter of repeating the pattern until it was done. It love the look and feel of it.

I had a few friends come over yesterday afternoon for a couple hours to visit and to work on a project of their choice. Tiffanie and I each made one of these ....

which opens up to this ..... Three little cubbies to hold your treasures.

But my here's my dilemma ... I love the feel of the finished projects and books, so I make more, BUT I forget I'm supposed to decorate them as well. Hmmm, I'll get around to that someday .. and I'll have plenty of finished projects to decorate!

Finally ....

I've been trying to finish the pages in my clipboard from the fabulous weekend in Texas at Ten Seconds Studio. At last I put the finishing touches on it today .... its full of different techniques we learned there and things I've just played around with on the metal ... discovering along the way.

This is one of my favorites. The grapes are a stamp that I scanned and enlarged, traced onto tissue paper, then onto the metal. After the embossing was done I colored the grapes and leaves with several colors of alcohol inks. I used a water brush filled with blending solution, all the while wondering if this would be the perfect application for the new Ranger pen ... which I don't have one yet ... then used black acrylic paint to highlight the detail. I tore the metal to get the rough edge, then hashmarked the entire background. The grapes are "puffed" out for more dimension.

The wine label is a Club Scrap stamp with black paper and cork matting.

The necklace

My dear friend Terri (aka Zwick) surprised me a few months back with a very cool necklace she made for me. It hangs so nice I forget I'm wearing it ... people never fail to comment on how unique it is! The beads are beautiful shades of golden brown, accented with crystals and special charms .... and I totally treasure it!

I had to try my hand at copying it because I wanted another with different color beads. Here's my version .... the chain is Tim Holtz ideaology, some of the charms are the PMC pieces I made at Ten Seconds Studio, an ideaology tag, with assorted beads and charms ... its fun digging through the stash to find the perfect pieces.

I wanted this necklace for wearing with denim (my favorite attire) and I think this just might work!