Sassy & Sweet Notes

Bzz...

The Stamps of Life recently released a hexagon background stamp that coordinates nicely with their bee stamp sets. I put together a couple of cards using hexagon stamped paper as an accent to cute die-cut bees.

I also used Sprinkles glitter on the wings of the bees, which gives them great sparkle and shine! If you're a fan of actual glass glitter, Sprinkles glitter is the best alternative to small glass shards I've seen! And you know I'm a fan of glass glitter -- especially at the holidays!!

Happy Wednesday!

 

Supplies
Stamps: The Stamps of Life
Ink: Licorice, Stephanie Barnard ColorBox
Paper: Neenah, Bo Bunny, October Afternoon, and The Stamps of Life
Dies: Bees and zig zag border by The Stamps of Life, Banner die from Sizzix
ShinHan Touch Twin markers: R136, Y36, YR31, YR32, PB144
Other: button, twine, tracing wheel, Sprinkles! glitter from The Stamps of Life

New Baby on the Farm!

We welcomed a new little fella to the farm this weekend! Born to Dixie's Chick, this little guy is a welcomed sight. We haven't settled on a name yet.

Will keep ya posted!

The Paper Loft: July Sketch Challenge

There is a challenge currently being hosted by The Paper Loft where one participant will be chosen to be a guest designer for The Paper Loft! Play along! You can find all the details on The Paper Loft blog. I thought I'd use the sketch to make a fun Halloween card using this Recolections image.

I used a couple of papers from the Funkysarus paper line -- which might just be my favorite Paper Loft line! I love the warm colors, and the fun prints.

If you have a little time this weekend to craft, use the sketch challenge for inspiration! Your challenge entry doesn't have to be a scrapbook layout ... cards are welcome, too!

Swimming with Fidget

Fidget gets to swim and splash around in Moose's swimmin' tub. I thought you might like to see the fun!

The splashing about really kicks up the water!

All the feathers get a good rinsing.

Round and round and round she goes.

Lots of dunking and splashing and shaking.

I think she has a pretty good time... and sure does a great job of splashing out the water!

Now THIS is a Patty Pan Squash!

Weighs 2.75lbs. We usually pick them when they are less than a half pound. Whoops! This one got away from us!

Three Days of Spectacular Skies

In the past three days, we have had some fairly spectacular skies. The scattered thunderstorms over central Texas, while not actually giving us much more rain than we received over the weekend, are providing lots of sky eye-candy. The photos I'm sharing on this post are from today (Thursday), Wednesday, and Tuesday of this week.

The first few photos are of tonight's sunset. I didn't think it would amount to much, but it actually turned out quite nice.

I always love it when the sky fades from warm oranges and yellows to cool greens and blues. Tonight, it did just that!

After the sun completely set, there were lots of beautiful little pink-bottomed clouds.

These colors always remind me of western paintings by Charles M. Russell.

YESTERDAY: Storms sailed just past the farm (both sides!) not leaving us with a drop of rain. But we did get to see that pretty cloud formation in the distance. This was taken hours before sunset, but look how dark it was under those clouds!

TUESDAY: The sky was quite different on Tuesday! When I was on the other side of town delivering eggs, the storm off in the distance was really something! The storm was coming up from the south, and I was convinced with all that was coming our direction that we'd get some rain. Nope. It split in half and went right around us.

Meanwhile, the view west from back at the farm (this is the view you usually see in my photos) gave a beautiful image of the sun peeking down through the clouds.

And in case you're wondering, Fidget has been my evening helper while I'm out checking out the sunset. She's quite the helper.... follows right along, chattering up a storm. *grin*

Give This Photo A Caption

High Hopes Challenge: Anything Goes!

The current High Hopes challenge topic is Anything Goes! Sounds like a good time to pull out a chicken stamp, don't you agree!?

Find all the details of this week's challenge on the High Hopes blog.

 

Supplies
Stamps: Lg Sunnie Face and Henrietta's Front from High Hopes Stamps; Sentiment from the Blooms & Sentiment cling set from Whipper Snapper Designs
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: Neenah, The Paper Loft
ShinHan Touch Twin markers
Other: glue dots, tracing wheel, Spellbinders large and pinked circle dies, October Afternoon button, kelp green Prismacolor pencil

Mid-July Rain...

As unheard of as it is, we've had unseasonable cool temperatures for the past few days, and yes, even RAIN! We received 2" of the beautiful liquid over the course of Saturday and Sunday. We didn't get as much as some neighboring areas (3, 4, even over 8 inches!), but we're happy with what we did recieve.

Moose wasn't too thrilled with the rain. He did enjoy the 30 degree drop in temperatures, but he's not too fond of rain. Maybe if he hadn't torn off the cap and all the patches Alan made for his dog-loo, he wouldn't have a leaky hut! He survived hanging out on the porch... barely, if you ask him.*grin*

I'll take the rest of July just like this, please and thank you! This Pacific Northwest girl LOVES rain!

Three Cheers for the Wheelie Bug!

This is why I love wheelie bugs. They eat grasshoppers and caterpillars off of my plants in the garden! Any bug eating bug is welcome in the garden. Especially wheelie bugs!

Look how this one is hanging by its two back legs, like a trapees artist, while using its beak to suck the guts out of that awful tobacco horn worm! That's coooool! ;)

One Baby Skunk

This time of year we seem to have a higher number of wildlife "rescues". Usually it involves baby birds that have launched themselves out of their nest. Last night we had a rescue that was a bit out of the ordinary! Alan was outside checking on things before we turned in for the night. One of our dogs was in the front yard barking, and when Alan went to see what was so exciting, he found this itty bitty skunk standing in front of the dog.

It is about the age in which the babies start following their mothers around, learning how to forage for food. We can only assume that the mother wandered off a little too quickly when the dog came into the yard, leaving the little one behind. The baby is lucky that we have friendly dogs!

While I stayed with the little one taking photos, Alan gathered an opened top box out of our recycling, some kitty food, and the "grabbers" (you know, those arm extension squeezy things). It was quite simple to "grab" the baby with the grabbers (no human/skunk contact was made), place it in the box with a bit of kitty food, and leave the box in the yard where Alan first saw the baby. With the dog out of the yard, we were confidant the mother would return looking for her wee one.

This morning, baby, and kitty food, were gone. And we are comfortable assuming there was a successful reuniting.

And, thankfully, there was no "stinking" involved!

Happy Birthday, Color Throwdown!

I was honored to be a Color Throwdown Guest Designer in 2012, so I thought I'd help them celebrate their 5th birthday -- that's FIVE YEARS of color challenges! Amazing!! They are celebrating BIG with lots of prizes being offered as part of their celebration. Find all the details on The Color Throwdown blog.

For my card I chose to use one of my favorite girls, Annika.

Pop on over to The Color Throwdown blog for complete details on their birthday celebration, including a complete list of all the designers participating in their celebration!

Have fun!!

 

Supplies
Stamp: Annika
Ink: Memento Black
Paper: Neenah, Stampin' Up, Cosmo Cricket, My Mind's Eye
ShinHan Touch Twin markers: BR107, BR104, BR103, BR97, BR96, BR92, YR132, YR133, R8, R13, R18, YR31, YR32, Y36, GY175, G46, CG1, CG2, R136
Other: Tracing Wheel, Button, String

High Hopes Challenge: Water Water Everywhere!

The current High Hopes challenge topic is Water Water Everywhere!

For my project, I chose to use Sea Floor Background and Puff Fish. I also chose to use wicked-bright colors... good gravy, this is bright!

Find all the details of this week's challenge on the High Hopes blog.

 

Supplies
Stamps: Sea Floor Background and Puff Fish; Sentiment from the Swimmin' By cling set from Whipper Snapper Designs
Ink: Memento Tuxedo Black
Paper: Neenah, Memory Box notecard
ShinHan Touch Twin markers: GY48, G48, BR104, BR107, BR109, Y36, YR33, YR23, YR24, R10, R13, GY175, PB75, P81, PB74
Other: glue dot, tracing wheel

coffee coffee coffee coffee coffee

I think I found a little bit of heaven. Coffee heaven, anyway!

When you live in the Pacific Northwest (where I was born and raised), you are spoiled when it comes to coffee and tea selection. There are coffeehouses in every town and coffee shacks more prevalent than gas stations ... or so it seems. But finding good coffee in central Texas is a bit more challenging. Especially where we live! So, I order coffee beans online.

Last month when I was about to place my bean order, I decided to order a new-to-me brand. I had plans of sending some beans to Dad for Father's Day, so something special seemed even more appropriate. Based on Amazon reviews, I ordered a bag of Kicking Horse Coffee Kick Ass Dark Coffee. Boy, am I glad I placed that order! I like a bold, flavorful coffee. Nothing wimpy or see-through. One cup a day is all I have, so I like it to have substance. Yes sir, this has all of that! Yumm!

I'm almost out of beans again, so this morning when I went to submit my order for another bag, I did something I've never done before ... I subscribed to have Amazon send me a bag every 2 months. That should keep me cheerful!

I did send some of the beans to Dad for Father's Day, so I'll let him chime in on what he thinks of them... As for me, I give these beans two enthusiastic thumbs up!

Happy Monday!

The Challenge Chicks: Christmas in July

If you're a stamper and you like challenges, or you're new to the idea of challenges and want to give participating a whirl, I invite you to participate with The Challenge Chicks! We're a small group of friends and stampers hosting monthly challenges. Won't you join us?!

Our challenge for July 2013 is being shared today!

This month's challenge is Christmas in July!

For my project I chose a cute High Hopes image, and added an old sentiment from A*Muse.

Now, get yourself a good dose of inspiration and check out the rest of The Challenge Chicks projects:

Diane Zechman
Lydia Fiedler
Jeanne Streiff
Kelli Hull
Kelly Schirmer
Anna Wight (that's me!)

And finally, you'll find this month's challenge gallery on SplitCoastStampers using keyword CHXJULY13 . We invite you to play along! Upload your project to your SplitCoastStampers gallery, add the keyword above, and your project will be automatically added to the gallery. Or join us on Facebook!

We look forward to seeing your projects!

 

Supplies
Stamp: High Hopes (image), A*Muse (sentiment)
Ink: Memento Black, Brown Distress Ink
Paper: Neenah, JilliBean Soup, Bo Bunny
ShinHan Touch Twin markers: BR107, BR104, BR103, BR97, BR92, R2, R3, YR31, CG.5, CG1, CG2, BG1, BG3, R136
Other: Tracing Wheel, Twine, Button, May Arts Ribbon, Glue Dots, PTI Tag Die, Labels Fancy #4 Die by Stephanie Barnard for Sizzix

Happy Saturday!

Are you on Facebook? Friend me!
And "Like" my illustration page while you're there!

I'll be glad you did!! *grin*

Happy 4th!

Alan and I want to wish you and your family a very happy and SAFE 4th of July!

Plans for us today include farm chores, farm chores, and more farm chores!

We might sneak a meal or two in... and surely a big, fresh cup of coffee (for me!)

Have a wonderful day of celebration!