First Knit-A-Long

Well it's been a while since I posted, but I haven't really had anything to show. DH and I ended up sick through most of March which left me with little ambition to accomplish anything. Now that the weather is turning warmer I find that I am looking forward to the flowers blooming and the yard work that's on the horizon. I'm also back to knitting again!

Back in February a new group formed on Ravelry call Knitting-Around-The-World-Block-Of-The-Month-2011. The idea is that we will knit one 12 inch square each month thru 2011 and then stitch the sqares together at the end of the year to make a blanket. I decided that this might be a really good way to learn some new stitches and get outside of my comfort zone a bit. Since the group began in February we will need to make up the January pattern at some point during the year. It's been great fun so far but due to being sick, I never began the March pattern. This means I will have to make up two months during the year! But I'm actually okay with that. :) Here is February's pattern. I didn't do a real good job blocking it but I figured once it's sewn into a blanket it wouldn't get blocked anyway so I wanted to see what it would look like if I just washed it.

The lighting wasn't the best either, but I think you get the idea. The pattern is called 5/5 Check and is from a book (she didn't give us the book's name nor the author's name).

I started working on the April pattern last night but due to the weight of yarn I'm using I don't think the pattern is going to work for me. I've seen many posting to the group on Ravelry where other knitters are running into the same problem. The pattern also has a pretty fancy edge which will make it difficult to stitch into the blanket. But that's okay because I learned a few new stitches, which was the whole idea anyway! :) I'll decide later today if I'm going to continue with the square or if I'll frog it and use the yarn for January's pattern.

I'm also still working on a scarf for my sister. I thought I had taken photo's of it but now I can't find them. Perhaps they didn't come out well and I just deleted them, I really don't remember. At this point I think I'll save the scarf for a birthday or Christmas present since it's a little too warm to use it now! LOL

Thanks for dropping by and have a wonderful Sunday!

-Janice

Snow, Snow & More Snow

Given the crazy winter storm we are having, it has been snowing ALL DAY today, and is expected to continue ALL DAY tomorrow as well, I thought I would share my latest knitting project. Back in December I received an email with a nice photo of a hat with ear flaps. You know the kind, right? So I asked my husband if he might like something like that to stay warm when clearing the snow. He jumped at the offer! So off to the LYS we go to get some yarn. While speaking to the owner she suggested that we consider a ski mask instead to keep more of his face and neck warm. She gave me the free pattern for a helmet liner and I was off and running.

Here is the end result ...

And the best part ... my husband LOVES it! Unfortunately he has used it twice now and it will be put to the test again tomorrow but it keeps him warm and toasty! YEAH!!

I learned several new techniques; knitting in the round, wrap and turn, and picking up stitches. It took me a full 30 days to knit it and a few trips to the LYS to get my questions answered but overall it was a very enjoyable project.

Since finishing the ski mask for John, I have begun a scarf for my sister. I'm not liking the yarn, it's very difficult to knit with, but I'm determine to stick with it. I'll show you a photo soon.

Hoping you all stay warm and enjoy the snow!

-Janice

Various Cards

Well it's been a while since I've posted but I really needed the break. Since I don't have anywhere to post about my blog, except Twitter, I don't have any blog followers that I am aware of so it probably doesn't matter! That said, I needed to understand why I blog and make sure it was something I really wanted to do. I've decided that it is something I enjoy but since I've gotten away from papercrafts and more into fiber arts my posts may be a bit more sporatic. I'm okay with that as I only want to post those items that I feel are really worth it. I don't want to post for the sake of posting once a week, which is what I promised myself I would do.

So today's post is a miscellaneous post with a couple of Birthday cards and a couple of Christmas cards. You can click on any of the photo's for a larger view, but some of the larger views appear out of focus. I guess my camera skills are lacking.

First up is a cute card made by my good friend Cindy. She loves Iris Folding and while I can appreciate the work that goes into it, it's not something I have enjoyed doing. Cindy is also really creative and adds some nice touches to her cards.

The ghost is made from a white shimmer paper which I absolutely adhore!! Unfortunately Cindy couldn't remember where she found it, but that's probably best since I would have purchased it and probably never used it! LOL She added some nice beads to spell out 'Happy Boo-thday' ... how cute and creative!



Here is another Birthday card made by a co-worker, Denice. I'm not sure exactly what products she used but my best guess would be Stampin' Up and she is an avid follower of their products. I love the punch and the button! Too cute!

Next up is a Christmas card from Cindy. Again she used the Iris Folding technique mixing up both pattern paper and solid paper. She really does an amazing job! Thank you Cindy for sharing your talent, I feel really blessed to have you as my friend!

Finally here is a Christmas card from Denice. I love the snowflakes and while you can't really tell from the photo, they sparkle beautifully in person.

While I was taking photo's of these cards one of our cats (Lady) decided to investigate the Lightbox. While she is not supposed to be on the table I decided instead of scolding her, I would take advantage of it and snap some photo's! They're kind of hard to make out since I had the black back-drop up and she is mostly black, but I think you can get the idea.

Here she is getting into the box and looking around.

Here she has pulled down the backdrop and is looking at it over her shoulder! She's such a riot!

I had taken several pictures at this point and I think she was about done with me! LOL

The look say's it all ... would you PLEASE stop mom? LOL

I'm so done with you! She really is adorable and I must have taken a dozen photos so I can totally understand her attitude. :)

Well, thanks for stopping by. Hopefully I will be back soon with more goodies to show you.

Enjoy the week and stay warm. I understand we are in for another whopper of a storm in New England this week. Wonderful :(

-Janice

Holiday Packages

Since John and I will be spending the day with his family tomorrow to celebrate Christmas I needed to get all of our gifts wrapped tonight. I thought they looked so pretty that I wanted to share them with you! We kept things fairly simple this year. We did not buy individual gifts for the children and individual gifts for their parents, instead we bought one gift for each family. I finished wrapping them earlier this afternoon but needed a break before I tackled the bows. Those are always the hardest part in my opinion.

Here is a close up of the bows I made:

And here are all the packages grouped together. Aren't they so pretty!?!


I finished all my wrapping today ... but I realized that I need to pick up one or two more gifts for someone special. I'm glad I figured that out now since I still have a week left to fix my error in judgement! LOL

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas!

-Janice

Knitting Project

Happy Holiday Season Everyone! Last weekend we decorated the exterior of our home, set up the Christmas Tree for my mom at the Nursing Home and attended an annual Holiday Party put on by the company my husband works for. This weekend I have officially started my Christmas shopping, set up our Christmas Tree, signed the Christmas Cards, and my husband played Santa for the Children's Christmas Party, again at his office. This will be his last year playing Santa for the children as he will be losing his job in February. Yes, this is something he already knows ... long story ...

I am so far behind in my crafting that I may never get caught up! Our December calendar still has no photo on the decorative paper and I need to make up a couple of cards/tags for the upcoming week. I did complete a cowl that I starting knitting at the beginning of October. I only have a photo of the "in-process" project. I will need to get a photo of the finished product so you can compare! Next I will be starting a helmet liner for John to wear when he's snowblowing. I've already told him he may get it for next year since I am such a slow knitter! LOL I think he's okay with that. :)

Hopefully I'll have more crafty-goodness to share with you next weekend. But for now we have a very busy week ahead. We're taking our cat to a specialist tomorrow to hopefully determine why he keeps pulling his fur out, Tuesday I have a Yankee Swap at work, Thursday I am meeting my mom at the mall for our annual shopping trip, and Sunday is our family Christmas Party. I'm exhausted just thinking about what the upcoming week holds.

I hope your week is a bit less hectic than mine will be! LOL

-Janice

Autumn Themed Thank You

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving Holiday! We spent the day with family, cooking, visiting, and of course eating waaayyy too much! LOL We still have so much turkey left over that I think we will be eating turkey until Christmas. Seriously. I am officially sick of eating the traditional left-overs from Thanksgiving. I'm not much of a left-over person anyway. I made a Turkey Pot Pie last night so next I'll make Turkey Soup and then probably freeze whatever's left over.

So before we officially kick-off the winter holiday's I thought I would squeeze in one last Autumn Themed card.



Here are the details:

Cardstock: White from source unknown, Orange Zest by Papertrey Ink
Stamps: Maple Leaf from Leaf Prints by Papertrey Ink
Ink: Maple Leaf's in Yellow, Orange and Red Colorbox Petal Point Ink, sentiment in Memento Tuxedo Black Ink
Sentiment: Mega Mixed Messages by Papertrey Ink

Well that's all I have to share with you today. I hope you all have a wonderful week! We will continue decorating the inside and outside of the house. Hopefully we will be done by next weekend!

-Janice

Calendar Pages

Well, as usual it's been a while since I've posted. I don't know how time consistently seems to get away from me. I realized the other day that I never posted my October calendar page and now it's already November and I haven't posted that page yet either.

So, without further ado, here are the last two months of calendar pages! October ...

And November ...
The photo used in the October page was taken last year from our yard. The photo in the November page was also taken last year but it was from a local farm. We moved the pumpkin from the pumpkin patch over to a spot that I thought would make a nice picture.

I've really enjoyed having this calendar displayed in our kitchen this year. I was thinking about purchasing another one but Papertrey Ink has recently come out with calendar pages and if you follow my blog you know I'm crazy about any from Papertrey Ink! Needless to say I've already ordered and received two different types of Papertrey calendars. Now I just need to find the time to make the calendars for next year! LOL

As always, thanks for stopping by. I hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday this week.

Until next time,
Janice

Halloween Thank You

Happy Halloween!! We just finished giving out candy to the little goblins going door-to-door for Trick or Treating. I love watching the kids get dressed up and I really like that we live in a safe neighborhood where the kids can walk and be assured they are getting good candy.

Well my birthday falls around this scary time of year (no it's not actually today) and I needed a Thank You card for a good friend who helped to make my birthday something special this year.

My friend Cindy remembered my birthday and took time out of her busy schedule to make me a card and cupcakes! How sweet is she? I want to be sure she realizes just how much I appreciate her thoughtfulness. So I made her this card:

The base of the card is just white cardstock and all the other pieces come from PaperTrey Ink. The black is Smokey Shadow cardstock, the orange dotty paper is from Heather Nichols Halloween Paper pack, the white oval is more of the plain cardstock that I die cut and embossed with a Spellbinders Oval Nestability die, and the black ribbon started out as white grosgrain that I colored with a black Copic marker. The sentiment is from Dawn McVey's Signature Greeting stamp set. I used an orange Copic marker and their spray can to tone down the bright white of the oval. The inspiration for this layout came from Paper Crafts Go-To Sketches magazine, specifically Maren Benedict's sketch on page 33.

Well that's all I have to share for today. I do need to make another Thank You card for a different friend who also remembered my birthday. Hopefully I can get that made this week and I'll share it with you all next week.

Don't eat too much candy this week! LOL

Janice

50th Birthday Card

Tonight I would like to share a birthday card I made for my brother-in-law's 50th birthday earlier this month. Normally when someone celebrates a milestone birthday (30, 40, 50, etc.) black is a common color. So I went with that theory and here is what I came up with!



I started with a white standard cardstock base and added Smokey Shadow cardstock by PaperTrey Ink. I then stamped the letters "The Big" using Color Box Frost White Ink and Trajan: Monogram Edition by PaperTrey Ink. The numbers "50" are from PaperTrey's Top Ten stamp set. The interior sentiment is from PaperTrey's Birthday Basics stamp set and the lines on the front and interior were made with a white gel pen and a ruler.

Over the last couple of weeks I have given away a couple of cards and I haven't remembered to get pictures before they are gone. Oh well, I'm trying to do better.

Things are definitely different around the homestead without Skeemo. The cats seem to be more active and we are seeing Lady and Sultan much more now. I guess the dynamic has shifted. John and I are adapting but we still have our moments when it's really hard. I know it will continue to get better.

Thanks for stopping by. Enjoy your week.
-Janice

In Memory Of Skeemo

Well as I have indicated over the last couple of posts, our beloved dog, Skeemo, crossed over the Rainbow Bridge on Friday, October 15th around 1pm. We took her to the vets office for an appointment and everyone agreed that it would be in her best interest to euthanize her. It is, by far, one of the hardest decision any pet owner needs to make. However I firmly believe that it is a responsible decision.

Skeemo came to live with my first husband and I in May of 1995, she was 8 weeks old. She has been a true companion to me for the last 15 and a half years. She moved with me 6 times, helped me thru a bitter divorce, 5 jobs, a new marriage, and the loss of two pets. I cannot begin to describe the emptiness I feel right now. It has been a truly difficult weekend for all of us.

Back in May she developed a small lump on the bridge of her nose, right between her eyes. At first I thought it was a mosquito bite but it didn't go away. We took her to the vet and they byopsied it but said it was nothing to worry about. Due to its location it could not be removed so we were told to keep an eye on it and let them know if it changed size or shape.

In June we went back to the vet because it had changed in both size and shape. Again we were told to keep an eye on it as there was nothing that could be done. The growth continued to change in size and shape over the summer. In September she developed nosebleeds which is very uncommon and dangerous for dogs. We immediately took her back to the vet. This was when we were told it was not just a growth but a tumor. The vet gave us some pain meds and told us to take her home and make her final days comfortable. I truly hope she was comfortable during the last four weeks.

Here are some photos I have of her on this computer:


This is a professional photo I had taken when we still had two dogs; Tasha (Keeshond) and Skeemo (American Eskimo).

This was Skeemo's favorite toy for a very long time. It got so bad (stinky) that we had to replace it several times!

Here she is just hanging out with the family!

She loved the water. We took her camping with us every year and here she is at Danforth Bay Camping and RV Resort. I think she liked this campground the most! Just like her mom! LOL

This is one of my favorite pictures. Camping just exhausts her!

Thank you for sharing my walk down memory lane. I need to get some pictures of her earlier years off the external hard drive. I'll share some of her puppy pictures when I find them.

Have a good week.

-Janice

A Clean & Simple "Thank You"

Well it's been a fairly productive weekend around here. My dh worked on the cat enclosure and I'm pleased to say it's almost done! The cats will be so happy! :) I did some baking yesterday; apple pie and apple brown betty. We are in the heart of apple country here in souther New Hampshire. I also cleaned both the house and camper, which made me feel very good. Even the cats got in on the productivity by catching 3 mice! I can always tell when the seasons are changing as the outdoor animals try to find a warm place to spend the winter.

My card today was inspired by Nicole Heady of PaperTrey Ink. She is quite famous for creating clean and simple cards and I've always wanted to try my hand at one. I needed to make a card for my niece who bought some clothes while on vacation and then had buyers remorse. Since she couldn't return the clothes I offered to buy them from her but forgot to stop by the ATM on our way home. I offered to send the money to her but never did. So last weekend we saw her for a family birthday and I wanted to be sure I paid her the money. I so hate to owe people money!

The card is based on a piece of white cardstock and stamped in Memento Tuxedo Black ink. The picinic basket, flowers and sentiment are from Vintage Picinic by PaperTrey Ink. The basket is paper pieced using the Recollections Autumn 5x7 stack that I picked up at Michael's last year.

I colored the flowers using the following Prismacolor pencil - Terra Cotta and the following Crayola pencils - Jade Green, Green, Yellow-Green, Red-Orange, Orange, and Mango. The frame is created with a Black Gel Pen.

I think it's going to be a fairly stressful week this week. I have a four-hour presentation I need to prepare for at work and, more importantly, I need to make another vet appt for the dog. The tumor is spreading quickly and I'm trying to prepare for the worst. If you have it in your heart please say a prayer for us.

I'll be back next week with another card.

-Janice

World Card Making Day

Well I really thought I would be back into the swing of blogging a few weeks ago but then we spent a Sunday at the NASCAR race here in New Hampshire so I wasn't able to post that week. Then it just got easier not to post and one week led to the next and so forth. Today I'm wondering if I should try to post on another day of the week. I think I'll ponder that for a while and see where it takes me.

So our day at the races was fun. Normally my dh and I take my sister but this year it was just my sister and I. We recently found out that our dog has cancer and the vet has given her only a few weeks. So my dh couldn't bear the thought of leaving her along for a 12 - 16 hour day (we do have friends that come by to check on her and let her out) so he stayed home with her. We missed him but I'm glad he stayed behind this year. I don't think we would have had such a nice, relaxing time if we knew the dog needed us.

That brings me to the other reason I haven't posted. Our 15 and half year old American Eskimo developed a small bumb on her nose back in May. That bumb turned out to be a non-operable tumor which now covers most of her nose and forehead. The tumor has broken through her sinus cavity and caused some nosebleeds which is very uncommon in dogs. She doesn't seem to be in any pain, so we are just taking it one day at a time and hoping for the best.

This past weekend I was able to make a few cards and I even remembered to take photos of them before giving them away. Here is a card I made for my father-in-law for his 81st birthday. The white cardstock is just standard cardstock from Staples. The olive green layered paper is Bazzill cardstock and the pattern paper is from a booklet of paper I got a while back at Michael's called Sarapapers. The greeting and interior sentiment is from PaperTrey Ink's Birthday Basics and Masculine Motifs stamp sets. These were stamped with Memento's Rich Cocoa ink. The tag was hand cut from some scrap cardstock, the buttons were from my stash, and the frayed ribbon is a 'Special Value Ribbon' from Michael's.




You can click on any of the images for a closer look.

Thank you for dropping by tonight and spending some of your busy time with me!

Until next week ... may you have an enjoyable week!

-Janice

Happy Birthday Cathie

I can't believe it's Sunday evening again already! Where does the time go? I guess it also seems like a shorter weekend since last weekend was a 3-day weekend with the Labor Day holiday. Anyway last Monday was my sister Cathie's 35th birthday!

Many, many years ago I took a stamping Adult Education class with a couple of friends. A lady that I worked with knew a stamping/card making teacher who taught a class one night a week at the local school. She talked two of us into taking the class with her for a fun night out. I came across these cards recently and thought this one would make a nice birthday card.



I can't tell you any of the ingredients that went in to making this card but it made me think fun, sun and warm happiness so I thought it was perfect for my sister.

I hope you like it too! Thanks for stopping by tonight and I wish you a wonderful week ahead.

-Janice

Happy Labor Day

Happy Monday and to everyone here in the USA Happy Labor Day! Yes, it's a holiday here and I am happily sitting at home, surrounded by my animals enjoying some "me" time. It occurred to me while I was changing the calendar earlier this week that I haven't posted a picture of my scrap-calendar in several months.

So today I wanted to be sure and post the matted picture I used for the month of September. Here in New Hampshire we celebrate many things this month; apple picking, pumpkins, the changing of the leaves to the beautiful autumn colors and NASCAR! LOL Of course I had to choose a photo from last years NASCAR event. We've been attending the September race in Loudon NH for many years now.

I used the Apron Lace Fiskers Punch to add some pizzazz to the picture. The Grandstands at the track are quite full as the race is about to begin! I believe the stands hold around 150,000 people. Getting in and out of the track is quite an experience! We usually arrive early to shop and walk around and then stay late to allow some of the traffic to dissipate before heading out ourselves. In order to tailgate this year we will need to buy a new grill. I guess we better get on that, huh?!




The second photo has a bit of wash-out from the flash in the lower left-hand corner so I turned off the flash and took the photo that posted above it. Unfortunately that photo is a bit fuzzy if you try to look at it full size. I guess the camera didn't want to cooperate that day!

Well I certainly hope you all have a very relaxing day today. Be sure to spend it with family and friends as we celebrate the end of summer.

Hopefully this post is the start of my regular posting again!

Thanks for stopping by,
Janice

I'm Still Here!

Hello, hello, how is everyone? We've been enjoying the summer so much that I haven't had time to be very creative. We have been camping every other weekend and it has been just wonderful. We recently came back from an 8 day trip to Lake Ossippee in New Hampshire which is my absolute favorite trip each year. I have many pictures to scrap and am booked almost every weekend until October! How does this happen every year?

I managed to get into the Craft Room yesterday for the first time in over a month and I enjoyed every minute of it! I spent some time cleaning and then just had to get crafty. I altered a note paper holder, unfortunately I didn't think to take pictures before I started. However it has come out really nicely and I'm very excited to share it with you. Due to my busy schedule today I still have to take pictures of it before I can share. We are camping again next weekend so it will probably be a couple of weeks before I get to share anything.

Well I just wanted to check in and let you know that I'm still here, just enjoying a very busy summer. I hope you are also having a wonderful summer. I'll be back with projects to share soon!

Until then ...

-Janice

Eagles

Hey, happy Sunday evening to you! We got back earlier today from a nice weekend camping in Maine. We left on Friday and came back today so it was a short trip away, but it was oh so worth it.

We were camping in Poland Maine at Poland Springs Campground. This is the same area where Poland Springs water is bottled. The campground is located on Lower Range Pond and just off the tip of the penninsula is an island. Originally a pair of Osprey built a nest at the top of a Red Pine tree, however a couple of years ago the Osprey were evicted by a pair of Bald Eagles!! Can you believe it? These eagles were only about 75 - 100 yards away from us. It was so cool!!

Here are some of the photos we got:

This is one of the two adult eagles coming back to the nest. There is a small bird riding on it's back. I couldn't believe it when I saw it in the photo. In later shots you can see the small bird take off from the back of the eagle.

The adult is landing in the nest where there are two young eagles anxiously waiting for it! They were so noisy! LOL

Here is a close up of one of the young eagles. They're so regal looking, even as youngsters.

Here's another picture of the three of the eagles together. I wasn't able to get a photo of the two adults in the nest. The other adult was there but it just circled the nest and flew away. Unfortunately I didn't have the camera during that timeframe.

This weekend was so inspiring for me. I came away feeling calm and refreshed and really feeling like I had the experience of a lifetime!

I have some ideas for a scrapbook page or two. I'll share what comes out of those ideas I'm mulling around in my brain. Hopefully I can accomplish them this coming weekend. Before our next weekend trip at the end of July.

Thanks for stopping by tonight. I hope you've enjoyed the pictures I was able to share.

-Janice

Happy 4th of July America!

Wow, has it really been so long since I last posted? Where does the time go? Honestly I've been so busy with life that I haven't had a chance to really craft anything new. Last weekend I spent some time with my mom on Saturday and my dh's company had their 'Summer Outing' at a local amusement park on Sunday.

This past weekend was our 4th of July celebration here in the states. I spent two days cooking and cleaning to prepare our house for a cookout yesterday. We had friends and family join us for a very pleasant celebration. Unfortunately it was steaming hot so we cranked up the air conditioning and spent the afternoon indoors instead of outside. Good think I scrubbed everything! LOL Actually I really like entertaining as it causes me to have to really clean the house, not just a spit and polish, but a good, deep cleaning.

Now we're looking forward to a short work week and another camping weekend ahead. This trip will just be hubby and I and we are really looking forward to getting away, just the two of us. I'll have to get some pictures of the camper and our 'new-to-us' inflatable boat. I sure hope the weather is nice!

Our nephew recently had a birthday so I created this card for him. I think it had a nice masculine look to it.
The papers are all by PaperTrey Ink, as is the sentiment. The small greenish-grey circles are chipboard shapes which I painted with some Ceramcoat Acrylic paint. It's fairly simple but I really liked the way it turned out.

Well that's all I have for today. Thanks for stopping by!

-Janice

Happy Father's Day!

I hope that all you dad's out there had a wonderful Father's Day today doing whatever it is that makes you happy. It was a fairly humid day here with a couple of odd showers during the early afternoon but mostly it was sunny. Such a nice change from all the rain we've been having.

We spent the day with my in-laws. It was so nice to see them again, it's been a while since I've been able to spend any amount of time with them. It's an annual tradition for us to meet up at the Village Pancake House in Rowley, MA. Boy that food is so, so good it is always worth the hour+ wait! Yup, today's wait was just about an hour for the 7 of us. There are some beautiful gardens to sit in and catch up with the family while you wait. Very relaxing. :)

Here is the card I made up this morning.



The blue background paper is from a pack I got a while back at Michael's called Sarapapers. The red and yellow are from an unknown source and the Rustic Twine is from PaperTrey Ink. I attached the twine with some Score Tape. I am in LOVE with this adhesive! This lighthouse stamp is from JustRite Stampers. I stamped it onto some white cardstock using Memento Tuxedo Black ink and colored it using various Crayola colored pencils. The yellow rays of light are highlighted with a Spica glitter pen.

I also made a birthday card this weekend for our nephew. I'll share that with you next weekend! LOL

Have a safe and enjoyable week. Thanks for stopping by ...

-Janice

June Calendar Picture

Well it's a been a rainy weekend here in the North East. Unfortunately I had a ton of outdoor things to get accomplished this weekend and none, not one single task, got marked off the 'to-do' list. Oh well ... there's always next weekend ... right?

The months of April and May went by without me taking the time to scrap a page on my calendar. I was determined to change that for June. Back in the March/April timeframe my dh and I decided we wanted to figure out how to use our new camera. What better way than to walk on some of the conservation trails in town! This photo was one of the ones we took and I think it looks perfect with the June background.

I already know what I want to photograph for the July page. Now I just have to get some sunshine and the time to frame the shot. After that I'm all set since all the other months are already done!

That's it for today. I wish you all a wonderfully happy week.

-Janice

Campfire and Graduation

Happy Stormy Sunday Evening! We've been having some pretty unusal weather here in the NE lately. Yesterday was supposed to be stormy and it ended up being HOT and HUMID, like unbelievably humid. Today was pretty stormy and we've been in a Tornado warning for the last two days!! Boy the weather sure has changed since I was kid.

Last weekend the weather was so beautiful. We were camping with some friends and had such a nice, relaxing time. My family and I played games, went to an entertainment park and visited with everyone. We had a nice fire Sunday evening and made s'mores ... yummo. :) This is one of my favorite parts of camping.

This weekend I spent some time being pampered. I had a manicure and pedicure yesterday ... it was wonderful! ... then my dh and I ran errands and grabbed some bar-b-que for dinner. It was nice not to have to cook when it was so bloody HOT outside. My dh is so good to me! :) One of our errands brought us to the local Scrapbook store. I got some fun papers by BoBunny which I'm planning to make into a 'word' scrapbook album. The word I have is 'TRAVEL'. I'm looking forward to getting started.

One of our other errands was to pick up a gift for my mom's birthday. She specifically requested chocolate cake and a submarine sandwich for lunch. So we stopped by Subway for her sandwich and I made a cute cake last night. This morning I frosted it with homemade cream cheese frosting. It was a big hit at the nursing home!

Today I had to make a graduation card for my god-son. I didn't have much time so I kept it really simple. I used Lisa Johnson's Argyle stamp set by PaperTrey Ink to create a nice background image in Royal Blue ink. The cream ribbon is from PaperTrey Ink and the tag is from a new die-cut I got from Spellbinders about a month or so ago at the Creative Keepsakes Convention. I used the 'Congrats you did it' stamp from Dawn McVey's Signature Series stamp set from PaperTrey Ink on the inside of the card.

Well that's all I have for today. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful week!

-Janice