Family Vacation in Virginia

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I just wanted to share some photos of the family on our recent trip to Virginia Beach. This is the second year we’ve gone, and stayed in a cabin at First Landing State Park. The cabins, and the park itself, are wonderful. I really recommend staying here if you’re ever in the area.

And we had wonderful sunny days while we were there:We made some new friends and worked very hard:

And I really do mean very hard:


And we documented the rise of the beach zombies in broad daylight. Very scary! I thought they were only supposed to come out at night:
All in all, a wonderful little beach vacation. If you like zombies 😉

Have Family, and Dog!

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The last weekend in March, we adopted a dog from Homeward Bound, a local rescue agency. The name he came with was Condor, but after two days of getting caught on the “d” every time I called the dog, it became Connor.
He’s a retriever/ hound mix, with big paws, so he’ll probably end up in the large dog category when he’s full grown. He was about 12 weeks when we got him, so he’s almost 5 months now. He’s mostly black, with a white blaze on his chest, and a few white hairs on his paws, and on the tip of his chin. (I thought we could call it a soul patch, and call him sweet baby James, but no one else thought that was a good idea.)
He’s mostly house broken–he’s just not quite making it through the night yet. He has good moments and bad on the leash, sometimes pulling, and sometimes heeling. If he pulls too much I make him sit and calm down before walking more. We’re only doing one walk a day so far, but he’s out in the back yard quite a bit, and he’s learning a few tricks–fetch and sit and stay and lay down. I want to do at least 2 walks each day, but I need to get him to be well behaved on the leash at least 75% of the time before I start walking him with the kids. I can’t multitask that well when I’ve got kids on the swings, in the dirt pile, and a dog eager to meet every other creature that wanders past.
One of the reasons we’re a little lagging in the training is Connor contracted Parvo virus a week after we got him. He was at the vets for a week on an IV, and I couldn’t walk him for another 2 weeks, because he was still shedding virus. He’s better now, thank goodness.
Temperamentally, he’s, as Cesar would say, a medium energy dog. He’s a little timid, very friendly, and has a big bark which sounds scary. He keeps asking the cats to play with him, but all they do is run away, or threaten to swat him if he gets too rambunctious. Basically he’s an average dog, which is good, because that’s what I wanted. 🙂

My First How-To for You!

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No one signed up to make a perpetual calendar tonight (see the sidebar), so I’ll show you a simple project you can do with stamps tonight. This will work with any stamp. I’m using a very architectural stamp, but you could use an animal stamp if you’ve gone zoo crazy, or a Christmas stamp if you’re putting together holiday cards, or a ball stamp if you’ve got a kid whose second word was ball. You’ve got the idea.

A word about stamp pads

There are a lot of different inks. But when it comes to putting ink on your stamp there’s only one thing you need to know: is it a felt/cloth pad or a foam pad? If it’s a felt pad like the one on the left, you bring the stamp to the pad and tap it gently on the pad, then give it a little twist before lifting it off the pad. If it’s a foam pad like the one on the right, you turn your stamp upside down, and gently tap your pad on the stamp. No twisting! You can rip or separate the pad from it’s case if you aren’t gentle. If you follow these instructions, you can have stamp pads for years! They will need re-inking eventually, but that’s another easy thing to do. How to tell if a stamp pad is felt or foam? Get your fingers dirty! A felt pad feels like a piece of canvas, and a foam pad feels like, well, foam.

The Technique

We are going to make a background. I used this technique to make a card and a scrapbook page, but there are lots of other things you can do with this idea–even use paint and you have a home decor treatment that looks like wallpaper, without the need to scrape and peel in ten years when you decide you must have been crazy to do that. First you need to choose a stamp. Base this on what your end project is going to be. I knew I was going to be doing something with my husband in it, so I chose a stamp that could be considered masculine. (Maybe.) From this stamp set from theangelcompany (aka TAC). Then I chose three colors–2 colors close in hue, and then an accent color. I used Niagara Mist, Hint of Pesto, and Night Sky . (I’m linking you to Michael Trent’s website because I haven’t set one up for myself yet. He’s the wonderful guy who sent me a catalog from TAC for free! It’s his fault I’m selling TAC now.)

Start with the lighter of the two colors close in hue, and stamp in a staggered pattern, leaving room between images for the image in the darker color. If you aren’t comfortable with eyeballing it, stamp the image on a post it note, with as much of the image on the side with the sticky strip as possible. Cut close to the image, and you’ve got a repositionable place holder that you can use to help space your images. In StamperSpeak, it’s called a mask, and it’s a very useful trick for layering images, and creating scenes. That will be a future technique.
After you’ve filled the page with the lighter color, choose where you want your accent spot to be, and stamp the image once with the accent color. Then fill in all the empty spots with the darker background color. Don’t forget to go off the edge of your page. This will ground your background, and it won’t look like it’s just floating there, waiting for you to finish it.

I used it for a page about my husband on his birthday two years ago. I hope you like it.

Before and After

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Did I say it was spring? Well I lied! I looked out the window this morning, and this is what I saw:

Simon was mildly distressed about the whole snow thing, and then he decided we should go outside and have a snowball fight. Which we did. Well, the outside part, but we ended up shoveling the front steps instead.

So here’s another before and after for you:

Which one do you like better? I think my husband looks better with the facial hair, but he’s a lot nicer to kiss without it. Although, it may just be that he needs a haircut. Okay, where’s my clippers? Honey?

Spring is coming!

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I went outside to do some measuring of the fence to figure out how much I would need to buy to repair one side, and put a gate on the other side of the yard, and look what I found! I love crocuses. They’re a wonderful spring surprise, since I’m never really expecting them when they arrive.


For the two people who read this blog who aren’t family, we’ve got big news! I’m going to be an Aunt! My brother and his wife are expecting their first baby in August. Here’s my bro practicing his baby skills with his dog Brownie:

And last but not least, check out my new glasses! Do they make me look more hip? Or are they just loud? What do you think?

Oh, and I’ve been dieting for 4 weeks now, and I’ve lost 13 pounds. Let me hear the applause, people!

Easter Baskets

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Well, we didn’t do much for Easter, except have baskets for the kids and color eggs. Ethan really got into the spirit of coloring eggs this year. I had fun coming up with something other than a chocolate rabbit for their baskets. Simon has been asking me to read Max’s Chocolate Chicken repeatedly, so I went looking for a chocolate chicken and found a very cute one at Walmart of all places. And, since Ethan has decided he doesn’t really like chocolate, I made him a rice krispy treat. See if you can figure out what it is:

Yes, it’s a rice krispy treat castle! Just what every sword mad 6-year-old needs. Don’t you wish you had one? I’m such a good mom.

Shameless Self Promotion

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So, I’ve decided I’ve got to make my paper crafting obsession pay for itself. To that end I’ve done some things, and am planning on doing a few more to try to drum up some business.

Done:

Signed up as an Angel Company demonstrator. They have beautiful stamps and papers, and a very generous attitude towards crafters using their images in handmade items. I’ll eventually sign up to use their online store as well, so people can order from me directly online. For now though, if any one needs any stamps or papers, you can email me. 🙂

Started teaching at the local JoAnn’s etc. I’ve only taught a few classes, but I’m starting to get into the swing of things, and my class sizes are increasing! (From one to four, but hey, any increase is a good increase at this stage of the game.)

In the Pipeline:

Putting out flyers and handing out catalogs to anyone who will take one. I’m almost done with making a small pile, then I have to figure out where to put them. I’ve also been handing out business cards any time I can think of an excuse to give one out.

To Do:

Make samples/ put together a sample file of cards, scrapbooks, and classes. I’ll have hard copies, photos, and then I’ll put them online as well. I’ve got some together now, but this really needs to be much more organized.

Keep entering contests. I really want to get published. (I know, so do half the other papercrafters out there.)

Publish instructions for projects with pictures, so if any of you are feeling the need to play with paper, maybe I can help you with some ideas and how-tos.

A little further out:

Check out etsy. Selling cards and scrapbooking stuff online. Why not?

Look into craft fairs and shows in the area. I’ve got to try to sell myself. I’ve never been really good about that, but I’m working on it.

So, that’s what I’m working on. Wish me luck!

Hot Wheels! Beat That!

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So, I’m working on pages for a submission to Creating Keepsakes magazine’s Hall of Fame contest. One of the things I’m working on is a little mini-book detailing the boys’ love of all things Hot Wheels. I just thought I’d show you a couple of the photos I’m not using in the book:


The one on the left is Ethan’s idea. He said it was his Hot Wheels Supermodel pose. The one on the right was my attempt to get them to do their “Hot Wheels! Beat That!” pose. This one was the closest, but Ethan’s elbow was in the way. I’m using a different one for their book, but you’ll have to wait to see that one.

Cat in the box!

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Just a gratuitous cat picture to keep my sister up to date on kitten well-being. We got a package from my brother today, and as soon as the box was emptied and set on the floor Henrietta hopped in and made herself comfortable. Who needs cat toys when you’ve got boxes?

Halloween Prep

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So we decided to have a Halloween party instead of a birthday party for Ethan this year. We’ve been getting costumes ready this week. Ethan is going to be a soldier (aka knight) and Simon is going to be a Hot Wheels driver. We finished the costumes today for the most part, and I thought I’d share them.

This is Simon’s car. We made it from a cardboard box and duct tape and picnic ware. I think it’s one handsome little car. All we’ve got to add is some shoulder straps so that Simon can stand and carry the car, instead of driving around on his knees.
I made Ethan a tunic from some fabric that looks rather chainmail-y that he can wear under his breast plate. Mom made him a stick horse that looks really cute. He gave it a good gallop across the living room earlier this evening. I’ll try to post a picture of that later.
Well, we’ve got games planned, and a few kids have called and emailed to let me know they’re coming. Hopefully they’ll all have a grand old time. We’ll have rice krispy treats and cookies and juice boxes, and I’ll send them all home wired. It’ll be great.