HAPPY EVERYTHING

This card is for the Inspiration Challenge 247 at Splitcoaststampers. Enjoyed looking through the modcloth.com site especially the vintage section-bathing caps no less!

I took my colors from a cape I found on the site-it doesn't want to link to the site for some reason.


We have friends who celebrate their birthdays and anniversary all in the same week. This card will go to them. I tried to make it gender neutral and was happy with the outcome.

I stamped the 'happy' sentiment on GP white and matted it with a brown cs then put it on the Basic Grey sugared stripe panel. I took a small notecard and stamped 'everything' on it and will glue it to the inside of the card, then write my note on the inside of the notecard.

Thanks for looking and I appreciate the comments you leave!

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

Some friends came by Sunday evening to show us their new toy-a Can-Am Spyder.  And yes, they had their helmets on when they arrived and when they left. They have been having a good time touring the countryside!  Pretty snazzy machine, comfortable with lots of storage areas.

The Can-Am Spyder is a three-wheeled motor vehicle (two wheels in the front, one in the rear) similar in layout to a modern snowmobile. The Spyder uses an ATV-like chassis with a single rear drive wheel, and two wheels in front for steering. It is often referred to as a "roadster" (a term that BRP uses themselves) but in technical terms is more of what has been traditionally called a three wheeled trike.  It is built in Canada and sold in the USA.

Leon and I had to get our picture taken so I could send it to the girls telling them we had just spent their inheritance! 

MY LOVE AFFAIR

For my family and friends reading this, don't get excited and jump to the wrong conclusion.  Let me explain.





BING CHERRIES

Since DH and I are both diabetics we eat a lot of fruit for snacks and dessert.  I love most all fruits, can't really think of any I don't like. This summer I have really fallen in love with Bing Cherries. The ones I have been buying at Wal-Mart have been really tasty.  We have enjoyed strawberries, watermelon, cantaloupe, nectarines, peaches, grapes and I always keep bananas and apples on the countertop. Does that make you feel better about my love affair?

COUNTER CLUTTER

Counter clutter, but a good kind of clutter!  A friend sent me some squash and peppers.  I thought the long one was a crookneck, DH said a gourd,  but she said it was an Italian Zucchini which I had never seen.  The others are butternuts.  The Cherokee Purple tomatoes are some a friend raised.  He raises lots of different tomatoes and always gives us several.  Last week was Lemon Oxheart which we didn't really care for and some hybrid red ones I don't know the name of which were good.  To me the Arkansas Travelers that I raised have the best flavor of any I have tried this year.  Just wish the vines could hang on a little longer-they don't like it dry with the hot winds and I have watered very little.

I am going to make this squash casserole again with the squash.  My sister gave me the recipe and I really enjoyed it as did both daughters, DH not so much.

SQUASH CASSEROLE

2 pounds squash, sliced

1 small onion, sliced

1 tablespoon margarine

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 8 ounce carton sour cream

2 tablespoons chopped pimento

1/2 cup margarine

1 8 ounce package herb stuffing mix

Optional, but I added some diced, cooked chicken breast

Cook squash and onion with 1 tablespoon margarine until tender, add soup, sour cream, pimentos.  Add 1/2 cup margarine to stuffing mix and add to squash mixture.  Bake in a 2 quart oblong Pyrex dish at 375 degrees for 30 minutes or until brown and bubbly in the middle. 

Don't know what makes the long space between paragraphs-not a good thing.

ROOSTERS

I shared a rooster card in green some time back.  Here are two new cards using the rooster image, one in red and one in blue.  A blue rooster??  Yes, in my world there is-I like them all colors!!

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This card was made for Splitcoaststampers Sketch Challenge 239.  I used the rooster from an old Stampin' Up set, Provencal. Stamped with ColorBox Ruby ink on Very vanilla cardstock and then clear heat embossed. I used a 1 34" square punch to punch out the roosters and then matted them using Ruby Red cardstock. I also embossed the sentiment which was stamped in Ruby ink on dp then matted with Ruby Red cardstock. I used scissors to distress the edges and added a red raffia ribbon.

I used the same rooster image on this card.  Stamped in SU Bliss Blue ink on White Georgia Pacific cardstock from Wal-Mart and cut out with Marvy round scalloped punches.  The blue base card is embossed using the Cuttlebug Swiss Dots embossing folder, one of my favorites. 

POTPOURRI

                                   Big and Little

I had some volunteer cantaloupes come up in the tomato bed and I left some of the plants to grow.  I was picking tomatoes last evening and smelled this cute, little guy.  I reached down to get him and he just fell off the vine.  The bigger melon I had bought at Wal-Mart yesterday. I want to cut him open and see if he tastes good but want to wait until the girls come by so they can see him.

                               Later

Just because you are cute doesn't mean you are sweet!  The melon had a pretty color but needed to be sweeter.  He was edible if you added a little salt.  The plants had a lot of water in the beginning but then turned off hot and dry-don't know if that has an affect on taste or not.

OLD FAITHFULS

We have a large maple tree just off our back patio which has Lancifolia Hosta, Virginia Bluebells, Orange Oriental Poppies and Orange Tiger Lilies planted around it. They come back year after year no matter what the weather and are a welcome sight.  They have to compete with the maple tree roots and have thrived amid the roots and shade. The bluebells and hosta are first, followed by the poppies and then the lilies which are blooming now.  Going through my files I found photos of all except the poppies.  I have started a list of plants to get photos of next year that I have somehow missed. 

Lancifolia Hosta and Virginia Bluebells in the Spring

Orange Tiger Lilies

I took the lily pictures today. There were less poppies this year and more lilies so I need to make sure next year to not let so many lilies come back or move some to a new location to keep from crowding out the poppies.

Tiger Lilies closup

THANKFUL ON A THURSDAY

Today I am thankful for the nice rain we just received.  We are so dry here and the rain was really needed-not enough but it is a start-just glad to know it can still rain!  Maybe this rain dance photo my daughter posted on her Blog  helped.

I am also thankful to have my computer back up and running after being taken over by a virus-my fault for clicking on a box I should have thought twice about.

Will be back later with more photos.  Have a doctors appointment in Springfield Friday and a funeral to go to Saturday morning for a school friend's husband.

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY

Wishing everyone a Happy Fourth of July weekend.  We will be celebrating with a BBQ tomorrow evening with family. 

The Ways To Use It Challenge this week was to make a patriotic card EXCEPT you couldn't use any hue of red or blue on your card.  How un-patriotic!  (Grin)  I used More Mustard cardstock as my base card and layered with some music designer paper from Provo Craft.  Stamped the small stars with Chocolate Chip ink on More Mustard then cut them out and popped them up with pop up dots.  I used a star punch for the large star and layered with a smaller star.  I printed off the words to America the Beautiful, distressed the edges and used Old Paper distress ink to sponge for an older look. I liked the untraditional colors.  Here is the finished card.

I first started stamping in early 1997.  Here are a few Patriotic themed items I have made through the years.

I think this card was made for Jan at the beginning of the school year-probably when she went to teach in middle school.

 

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A easy, simple card.  The mat and star are made from a blue and silver gift bag.

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Stamped the star from Love It on Georgia Pacific white using Cranberry and Not Quite Navy ink. Stamped and cut out enough stars to double layer, slightly off center, using Scotch Pop Dots. Added some designer paper  from Hobby Lobby on one side and used a piece of yarn for accent.

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I have had this unpainted wooden box for a long time. I collect Americana items so decided to paint it with that theme.

I painted using a light coat of DecoArt Colonial Blue so the woodgrain would show through. Painted the star with DecoArt Burgundy and antiqued both with FolkArt Antiquing medium. Antiqued the second star and added a red and gold dotted grosgrain ribbon around the lid.

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The pouch was made using a business size envelope. Stamped some stars on the envelope and then cut out on each side for the handle. Put some blue tissue paper inside and added some red yarn and a tag. I did have some small flags added.

Sure do wish it would rain but the chances don't sound too good right now.  Went to Cabool yesterday evening to see The Wall That Heals-The Traveling VietNam Veterans Memorial and Museum. Had seen it a few years ago in another town-still impressive the second time.  My youngest brother was killed in Vietnam and we saw his name on the wall. Congrats to Cabool for a fine display over the holiday weekend.

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

CARD TIME

Been busy with the flowers and have been showing mostly garden related photos on my posts so today will show some cards I have made.  These are cards I have had for awhile.  Now that my hibernation months (hot July and August) are here I plan to do some more crafting.  Have a "old" paper pieced quilting project I want to finish but will probably have to get my instructions out and have a refresher course in paper piecing. 

This card was made for a Color challenge using Melon Mambo, Soft Suede and a neutral, Very Vanilla and also a Spotlight challenge. I punched out one of the roses from the designer paper, colored  and then added it as my spotlight image.

The next three cards were Featured Stamper cards where you pick a card from a featured card gallery and copy it changing at least two things.  I always enjoy the Featured Stamper Challenges.

This card was for an Inspiration Challenge.  You are to select an image from a selected site and use it as an inspiration for a card.  I used a platter of decorated chocolate cookies as the inspiration for this card.  (Okay, use your imagination I am not going to explain it!)

Will take some photos and show you the started paper pieced quilting project in a later post.

DAYLILY VISIT - PART 2

Some more photos taken in Bob Benbow's garden-Enjoy!

This bed had peonies, different varieties of coneflowers, Asiatic lilies and coral bells.  Beyond the bed, next to the house,  is the azalea and bulb bed.  Would be a pretty sight in the spring. Also in the photo is his 17 year old border collie.

Bob's Yellow Wow We

                                         Bob's Pink Wow We

 Back yard view-the rocks along the tree line go across the back of the 6 acre property-lots of rock picking.

 

Some more backyard views

Close up of Wheelbarrow planting.

DAYLILY TRIP

Daylily Tour at Bob Benbows -Part 1                   

Earlier in the week my sister, my daughter and I went to Salem to tour the garden of Bob Benbow.  We had made arrangements with Bob to arrive about 9 a.m to hopefully beat the worst of the heat and before the flowers begin to fade.  In an email he had earlier told me the following:  "I grow just about everything and hybridize daylilies and iris. We have a large vegetable garden, fruit trees and berry patch and can a lot of stuff. I just finished planting over 3,000 daylily seeds of my own and another 500 of Michael Bouman.. I have grown Michael's seedlings here because he has limited space in St.Louis.  I also bought 16 Knockout double red roses two years ago and boy have they grown; I just cut them back this morning."

Bob Benbow

He had been doing some hybridizing when we arrived but graciously stopped to show us his seedlings and other daylilies and flowers that he grows-all to perfection.  We took several photos around the property and it is amazing what he has accomplished in two years!  Some of the photos on this post Bob took and shared with me. Click on the photos to enlarge them.

Daylily seedling bed with vegetable garden on the left side.  Not a weed in sight!

     

Bob walking the seedling bed and answering our questions.

Below are some of Bob's seedlings:

 

 

 

I will be posting some more daylily and garden photos in a later post-Part 2.

 

WORDLESS WEDNESDAY

I am adding some words: check out  Wordless Wednesday on Old Fashioned Tips today-where I got my idea for todays post. .

FIRST HARVEST

Found these little tomatoes while doing my morning walk-a-bout.  I ate one and let Leon have the others.  Very tasty they were too. I have two plants of this variety and seven other plants of regular sized tomatoes.  They look like they are going to be awhile.  I usually have a ripe tomato by the 4th of July.  Guess the little Sun Sugars will be the first this season.

PRETTY IN PINK

I love daylilies and other flowers in pink/rose shades.  Here are a few of my favorite daylilies that are blooming now.

BEST OF FRIENDS is beautiful in a clump-love the white mid-rib on the petals.

MOUNT HOPE has been in my garden for a long time and has made the cut each time I have downsized.

NEAL BERREY is a Stout Medal Winner, the highest award given to a registered daylily by the American Hemerocallis Society.  The award has been  given to a different daylily each year since 1950.  Neal Berrey won in 1995.

Love the soft pretty color of ANTIQUE ROSE.