September CCC

September theme was Movement, Spinner or Unique Fold... because there's such detail in all the cards, these pictures don't really do them justice.... ya just gotta see 'em fer real!

Laura did an awesome "spinner" card

I'm sure this fish is a salmon as he's

spinning up stream!

This is the great pop up card that Lynette created...

remember, I mimicked it at my August Stamp-a-Stack....

This darling little baby girl is Ronnie's creation...

it's like you can reach out and pinch those adorable little cheeks!

Colleen got her groove on by doing a 

red scalloped circle flower on polk-a-dot DSP

Pat does an amazing scallop edge card...

well it's not really a card, more like a work of art piece you

can set on our counter top or desk... beautiful!

Sherry sent us sailing on her clipper boat which

flipped over to reveal Birthday greetings...

Ruth put her thinking cap on the build this

Leggo card for the Best Kid Ever... 

adorable.... absolutely adorable!

I did a stair step block card....

had a blast making them all.

Here's several shots from different angles..

hard to get the real look of them but trust me..

the details and accessories take it over the edge!

It actually lies flat in an A6 envelope so you can still mail  

Also I've seen some where they put a panel on the inside which

fits a gift card perfectly.

You see the "sentiment" on the stop blocks

So Many Smiles.... Begin With You!

I did several without DSP just to see how they'd look

and love them too.. more of a "clean" appearance if you will....

And here's my "bookends"....

Love 'em!

Bonus Card... well this isn't from a Club member...

but from my very dear friend Ro who sent me a lovely Friendship Card...

and yes those are "real" sunglasses!!

Cute enough to frame!

My Fish Story???

While Brayden is out in Florida making some great fishing  memories... I was thinking of my own Fish Story from a few years ago when Jerry and I visited Don & Darlene... here's my prize winning catch... I held the record for awhile but think it's been broken several times since then!

 

 

A fisherman I ain't.

 



Card Holder Display

Adorable card holder from Deb Valder..... I think this would be cute on office desk for quick access to notecards... what a way to wow the boss!

And here are the eight notes cards she put in it.

For the complete tutorial for Deb's project

 click here

90 Days to Go!

So it's exactly 3 months to Christmas... yes I said it... can you believe it? So thought I'd start posting more ideas for the season.... here's a darling card from Lyssa she made 115 of these to take to Founders Circle meeting she attended, along with Shelli Garnder herself... wow what an honor!

 

 

She used the new Filigree Frame Embossing Folder..

and look how she flipped it "backwards".... too cute!

 

The stamp set used is Endless Wishes.

She used the new Tree Punch.. one of my new favorites!

And look how she punched one of the trees from the burlap ribbon!

She also used the Beautifully Baroque

Embossing Folders on the other punched tree.

 

Are ya gettin' in the spirit???

 



Happy Birthday Caleb!

What a wonderful day this is... Caleb is started another new year in his awesome life.... today he celebrates the Two Twins... ok that's 22 for those of you who couldn't what get it....

 

Happy Birthday Caleb...

I miss you and wish you

love and laughter on your special day!

 



Love Grandma Gail

xoxoxoxo

SHMILY!

ps was just reminiscing about your wedding.. can't believe you guys have been married nearly four years! Here's the link for anyone who wants to go down memory lane with me:

Caleb & Rebekah
 

 

 

 

Twinkle Twinkle Little Sparkle Giftcard!

Nikki Spencer is a doll..  she's part of SU's Design Team and I love her work... I also love the new little framelit envelope ... here's what she's done to make a cute little seasonal gift card... don't ya love the sparkle star... thus twinkle twinkle title.

Humm.. wonder what's lurking inside.. cash or card????

I'd welcome either one!

Creative Cotton Balls

A couple weeks ago I showed you all the cards from my August SAS, including the Kinda Koala bear stuffed with cotton balls....not sure of the official technique name.... but reminds me of the olden days when we used puffy paint and gave the image that puffed up look..... but instead of using paint, this is sooo much easier and fun to make! The picture doesn't do it justice... hard to see but take a look:

You outline your image with a stylus and then glue a little bit of cotton ball to the back of the image.  When you glue your image to your card you get a raised or puffed up effect.  It's something new and neat to try!  

You can see this fun little tutorial by Deb Valder on YouTube

Try it.. you'll like it!

Bring on the Fall Weather (Pleazzeee!)

Well it's Friday and think we're all ready for a cooler weekend... but no luck... weather reports tells us otherwise... gosh I'm sooo ready for FALL... maybe if I show you some Fall cards it might work... or at least feel cooler... see if this works... great samples form Pretty Paper Cards...

Blackberry Bliss combines great with ANY color green.....

The leaf on this card is made from Mossy Meadow card stock and then crumpled up into a tiny ball.  Uncrumple it and curl the edges a bit with a bone folder and there you go, a pretty leaf!  You can also sponge the edges with a little Pear Pizzaz ink to just add a bit more depth.  Don't forget the doily too!



This card is very versatile. You could use it for…a thank you card, an encouragement card, a card to a friend, a Thanksgiving card, etc. I’m not sure what I’ll use it for yet, but you can be sure it will go to someone special!

STAMPIN’ UP! PRODUCTS YOU WILL NEED TO MAKE THIS CARD:
Stamps: For All Things
Ink: Blackberry Bliss and Pear Pizzaz 
Paper: Blackberry Bliss, Mossy Meadow, and Very Vanilla  and Color Me Autumn DSP
Tools: Big Shot, Autumn Accents Big Z Die, Stampin’ Distress Tool
Other Goodies: Linen Thread, Burlap Ribbon, Tea Lace Doily, Sponge Daubers

Give thanks for all things! I love this stamp because it’s true. This is something I continually try to do ~~ thank God for everything. It’s made a big impact in my life. I have to admit I don’t always remember to do it, even though I try, but when I do it puts my life in perspective.



When you're in a shabby chic mood just whip out the Stampin’ Distress Tool which roughs up the edges of the card stock.  Then use the scallop die-cut burlap and Venetian Crochet Trim, along with Linen Thread and embossed scallop-cut vellum... if that isn't shabby chic I don't know what is!


STAMPIN’ UP! PRODUCTS YOU WILL NEED TO MAKE THIS CARD:
Stamps: For All Things
Ink: Cajun Craze
Paper: Always Artichoke, Cajun Craze and Crushed Curry, White Vellum
Tools: Big Shot Die-Cutting Machine; Large Scallop Edgelit, Lovely Lace Embossing Folder and Delicate Designs Embossing Folder, Itty Bitty Accents Punch, Stampin’ Distress Tool
Other Goodies: Venetian Crochet Trim, Burlap Ribbon, Linen Thread, Pearls Basic Jewels, Sponge Daubers
 

They are absolutely beautiful colors and will inspire you to start thinking about Fall, even though here in San Diego it’s in the 90′s!!! Crushed Curry, Always Artichoke and Cajun Craze



These are made from vellum and cut with the Autumn Accents Big Z Die.  Just fold the leaves in half and then score them with a Bone Folder to create the lines.  Color them with Stampin’ Write Markers and rub them with Sponge Daubers to blend the ink and get a realistic shading.

That all puts me in the mood to go

rake some leaves up.. only if I had some!

Happy Weekend Everyone!

 

One Fish Two Fish....

Little Brayden is such a fish now! Here's a few shots David took of him swimming underwater.... yes UNDERWATER..... diving for rings... think I'll have to start calling him little nemo!

 

And take a look here...

I'll have to change his name to Sharky....

 

 

Love you more than peanutbutter loves jelly...

 

xoxoxoxo



Thunder Lightening & Rainbows!

From sunny California.. here's the view of my drive home from work last night..... FINALLY some rain for our very very very dry city!

 

 

Shortly after I put my camera down

came to a "river" across the road.....

talk about flash flood.. bummer I missed the shot...

had to stay focused on getting through that one!

 

little b & the sea turtles

One morning they were out on the beach when one of the Park Rangers came by to check out the Sea Turtles that had been under attack recently.. he stopped to give a little presentation and of course guess who was there??? Yeppers... little b... and he even gets selected to help out the Ranger...  here's the newspaper article .... see who's front and center????

 

Sea turtle talk attracts crowd to Gamble Rogers State Park

Park ranger Tony Greaves explains how they patrol a 4-mile stretch of beach every morning during sea turtle nesting season to mark off nests that were laid the night before as well as to monitor hatches.

 

News-Tribune photos/MARK ESTES

By MARK ESTES
Correspondent

As female sea turtles are drawn back to the beach where they were born, people are drawn to a program about sea turtles. On Friday, more than 30 people came to hear park ranger Tony Greaves at Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area at Flagler Beach talk about sea turtles around the world and those that nest right at the park.

As female sea turtles are drawn back to the beach where they were born, people are drawn to a program about sea turtles. On Friday, more than 30 people came to hear park ranger Tony Greaves at Gamble Rogers Memorial State Recreation Area at Flagler Beach talk about sea turtles around the world and those that nest right at the park.

Part of the talk involved Greaves asking the audience questions about sea turtles. However, no one got the right answer to how many different species of sea turtle live in the world. There are seven.

“There are the loggerhead, green, leatherback, hawksbill, Kemp’s ridley, olive ridley, and Australian flatback,” Greaves said. “The first five nest in Florida. The loggerhead is the most common and over 90 percent of the loggerhead nests found in the United States are found in Florida.”

Greaves explained that last year there were about 78,000 loggerhead nests in Florida, 38,000 green turtle nests, 1,000 leatherback nests and a handful of hawksbill and Kemp’s Ridley nests. The number of green turtle nest was a surprise to scientists because there had been no more than 12,000 to 15,000 in prior years.

“Given that turtle nests average 100 eggs a nest and there were more than 100,000 nests in Florida last year, why is the loggerhead turtle considered threatened and all the other species considered endangered?” Greaves asked the crowd.

Few survive to adulthood. Greaves explained that turtles face predation at all stages of their lives. Eggs and hatchlings are particularly vulnerable to ghost crabs, raccoon, birds, and even dogs.

“Ghost crabs are probably the biggest predator that we have on our beach,” Greaves said. “We’re dealing with a new one right now. We’ve never had critters getting into nests on our beach. That changed this year about two weeks ago. One morning a nest had been dug into a foot down. I followed the tracks to the next nest to find more digging but this time they’d gotten down to the eggs. There were seven shells and a dead hatchling. It’s become a daily problem. We’re thinking it’s a coyote.”

Other dangers to turtles come from Mother Nature and human activity. High tides pushed up by Hurricane Cristobal washed out the nest markers on five nests.

“Last year 97 dead hatchlings were found on the beach one morning,” Greaves said. “We checked it out that night and sure enough there was a street light that was misaligned and was shining onto the beach. So those 97 hatchlings headed toward that light, floundered in the sand, eventually became exhausted and died.”

Greaves led the group down to the beach to two nests side by side.

He got down on his hands and knees and demonstrated how thy could determine the species based on the crawl patterns.

“After she lays the eggs, she fills in the hole and then uses both front and back flippers to spread the sand around to disguise the nest before heading back to the sea,” Greaves said.

 

 

 

 

Not sure what's up with the golf balls... but

I hope they catch those predators!