Running With Scissors…

We had one beautiful day over the weekend and it seemed like a good day for a swim. 

My camera battery promptly went dead after the first few photos — no warning, no red battery icon, simply dead.  Wally didn’t mind, though.  Just tuck that camera away and climb the sand dune, hike the trail, explore the woods.  This pretty little lake is near our home, off the beaten path.  You can’t see it from the highway and no signs point in its direction.  Nobody knows it’s there but a few locals, and even then it’s not a busy place.  We had it all to ourselves on Saturday.

Across the lake, not pictured here (dead battery) is a sandy beach and steep sand dune.  Climb to the top for a magnificent view of the dunes, the ocean, and everything else as far as the eye can see.  And not a soul in sight.  It was a very good day.

I wish I had some better photos, but just wanted to share something of Wally before he’s full grown.  It’s happening so fast!  He’s still such a puppy and so sweet and lovable, but, my, he’s getting to be a big boy.

It’s been wet and cold since Saturday, so thank goodness for that one good day.  Good weather for staying home stamping but, of course, I’ve been at work…sigh…  Wishing you a beautiful day, regardless of the weather.  See you again soon!

I recently borrowed this Stampin’ Up! Home for Christmas set from a friend, and stamped out two of these images — one on watercolor paper for watercoloring, and one on Whisper White for coloring with my Prismacolor markers.  When I decided this weekend to finally color it, I thought, oh, my goodness, look at the detail.  There’s no reason why it couldn’t be watercolored, but I wanted this time to bring out the detail so I could get a good look at the rustic, homey scene.

On the Creamy Caramel card base I stamped the Linen background in Creamy Caramel, and added some Hero Arts snowflakes in red, hunter, and chocolate.  The Happy Holidays sentiment circle is SU!’s retired Riveting, brown embossed and colored with Prismas.  A little holiday sparkle was brought to the scene with a touch of glitter here and there.

I used something new to me to help maintain some of the detail in the image, and that is Prismacolor Premier Illustration markers.  They’re not something you can use for blending and shading, because they most certainly do not blend.  They’re wonderful, though, for tiny lines and dots, and for restoring some of the detail which can become obscured with coloring.  They may not blend, but they also don’t bleed, so you can work in that detail with confidence, right over top of your other coloring.

I used a spruce green for the door garland, and brown and blue for the twig wreath.  I also used the green for the narrow strap on the sled, and brown for the runners and nail heads.  They worked beautifully for those details.  If only they came in more colors… 

They do come in several different tip sizes and styles, from the tiniest fine point, to a small chisel tip, but my absolute favorite is the small brush tip.  Very pointy and firm, it’s great for brushing on a tiny stroke of color — brush and lift — without getting that little blob at the end of the stroke which tends to show up with ball tips.  I’ve pictured it here next to Prismacolor’s regular tip and Copic’s brush tip just for a frame of reference.

It would make me very happy if Prismacolor would put this small brush tip on one end of their blendable alcohol markers, with a larger brush tip on the other end, but that’s just from my stamper’s coloring point of view.  As for these non-blendable finer tipped illustration markers in their limited color palette, if you’re interested in illustrating, journaling, or doodling, they’re just the ticket.

Well, there’s another Christmas card done, and it’s an easy mailer, too.  I’m making good progress, but I seem to be skipping right over Fall.  This always happens, and it’s my favorite season… sigh…  During my favorite season, I spend more time outside enjoying it than I do stamping cards for it, though, so I guess it’s not all bad.  A whole weekend just went by and I managed to make one card, tsk, tsk.  Back to work, now.  Hopefully, I’ll have more to share later.  Enjoy your Monday!

Stamps:  Home for Christmas, Linen, Riveting (all Stampin’ Up!), Hero Arts snowflakes  Paper:  Creamy Caramel, Handsome Hunter, Real Red, Whisper White  Ink:  Ranger Distress Walnut Stain, Creamy Caramel, Chocolate Chip, Handsome Hunter, Real Red, Versamark, Prismacolor markers for coloring  Accessories:  Ribbon, eyelet border punch, double rectangle punch, glitter, embossing powder, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

Last week I was on staycation.  It was the best time I’ve had in ages –  refreshing, exhilarating, but relaxing, too.  Early Fall, perfect outdoor weather, rocky rivers, deserted beaches, a lake in the middle of town… comfortable, cozy accommodations with all the amentities to which to return after the day’s activities — everything I would hope for in a vacation, seeing as how I’m not a city kind of girl.

Having Wally reminds me of when our son was little and it didn’t matter where we went or how often we’d been there… we’d have a good time watching him have a good time and, oh boy, did he ever have a good time!  What a great place to raise a child or a puppy!  Our photo album is full of pictures just like this from those days, but with a boy and his big fluffy white Otto running down the hill.  What a pair they were.  My heart is full of those wonderful memories.

Now, it’s just the two of us and Wally, rediscovering favorite playgrounds, making new memories.

Developing life skills.

Experiencing the wild joys of living…

Happiness, love, gratitude, adoration, integrity, innocence.

In the photos above, Wally learned about sand dunes and low tide on the bay (North Spit, for the local folks).  Two days later, he learned how to swim in the lake near our house (Empire Lake).  Oh, what fun!  He tread cautiously after the stick, but when he returned it to me, it was pure puppy frenzied joy!  He was beside himself!  What a discovery!  He was correct in assuming I shared his exultation, and a few wet, sandy puppy body slams later I appeared to have been swimming and rolling in the sand, too.  I loved every minute of it and can’t wait to do it again.

But I’m back at work now…sigh… Vacations are never long enough, though there’s always the weekend to look forward to.  I’ll be back to stamping shortly.  Have yourself a wonderful day!

Hello and happy Monday!  I’d planned to have a stamping post today, but we were too busy wearing out Wally (and ourselves in the process) and I didn’t make time to photograph my cards.  I could kick myself for forgetting my camera for Wally’s big day up the river — I’m such a bad Mom!  I thought I’d share some “after” photos, though.  You can probably see how much he’s grown and changed.  Where, oh, where did that little puppy go in such a short amount of time?  He’ll always be a sweet, fuzzy baby to my eyes… you know how moms are.

Wally spent quite a lot of time falling in the water today… not so much time swimming.  Not to worry, it wasn’t very deep.  He hasn’t developed a retriever’s love of the water yet.  Gee, I thought we could just throw a stick and he’d jump right in after it, but I guess that will come along just like everything else he’s learned so far.  He’s such a sweet, lovable, good little guy.  Gosh, he sleeps hard after all that exercise!  Here, he’s slipped down between two ottomans in front of our sofa, oblivious to the world.

But this is what he looked like when the pizza arrived — hopeful.

However, like a good little boy, he’s learned not to beg when we’re eating, and his way of dealing with that is to nap through our meals.

Poor little worn out Wally.  He did liven up long enough to play with his squeaky for a while, but then he was right back to snoozing.  Tomorrow will bring more adventure and discovery.  All of life is new and exciting for a three month old.  I hope you had a great weekend, too.  Thank you for dropping in on us!

Hello, friends!  Just dropping in with a friendly reminder that the Stampers United Blog Hop is still going strong.  All the details are in –> this post.

Wishing you a happy Tuesday!

Hello, and welcome to my blog!  A group of us got together, thinking it would be fun to introduce our readers to some different stampers, their styles, and their blogs.  Perhaps you’ll find an exciting new artist you’d like to visit again.  We’re called Stampers United, and today we’re having a blog hop!  Not only will you have a chance to visit some possibly new-to-you blogs, but there are prizes along the way, and a Grand Prize at the end!

In order to have a chance at winning the Grand Prize, you must gather a phrase along the blog hop, commenting as you go.  Each stamper will have a particular word listed on their blog and as long as you visit them in order, you will have the complete phrase at the end.  Claudia will pick the Grand Prize winner and make the announcement Monday on her blog.  The winner will need to contact Claudia, who will then ask for the phrase.  If correct, we have a Grand Prize winner!  If not correct, Claudia will pick another potential winner, etc., until the phrase is repeated to her correctly.

To start off, you must begin at the Stampers United blog.  If you did not start there, then please go back and begin again… you don’t want to miss out on that fabulous Grand Prize!

If you arrived here from Marlene’s blog, you are on the correct course.

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I’d like to share a card today which I made with Flourishes’ new Seasonal Wreaths set.  Flourishes has kindly donated this set as part of the Grand Prize for our blog hop.  When I asked Jan Marie about a donation, she said “anything you want”.  She was very sweet and she made my heart feel good.  I chose this set because it’s one of my new favorites.

Oh, happy day, I have another Christmas card done!  I enjoyed coloring this with my Prismacolor markers in traditional red, green, and gold, and in the end I thought it had a bit of a vintage look to it.  I used a Martha Stewart branch punch to add a little decoration under the bow.  The embossed sentiment is from Holiday Greetings.  The cardstocks are Chocolate Chip and Real Red.  Designer paper is last year’s Memory Box Winterberry.  Accessories are ribbon and pearls from Flourishes, Spellbinders circle & scalloped circle dies, and Cuttlebug Textile embossing folder.

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Now, about that blog hop…

My word in the phrase is (word has been removed — contest closed.  Thank you for hopping along with us!), and your next word can be found at Priscilla’s blog.

We hope you are enjoying this special blog hop and that you’re finding something new along the way.  Thanks for joining us today!  Good luck to you!

A new vendor has joined our Stampers United Blog Hop, coming this Saturday, Sept. 19th.  FireCracker Designs by Pamela has added a contribution to the grand prize, making it even grander than before!  Pamela just up and offered a stamp set, and I thought that was mighty sweet of her.  It got me to thinking about my FireCracker Swan Song set, so I thought I’d make a card…

I stamped the swan in Palette Noir, masked it, and brayered over it with Sage Shadow ink to create the water, leaving a hazy edge to suggest distance as well as add to the overall softness of the image.  I blushed a bit of color on the swan with Stampin’ Pastels soft chalks — Mustard for the bill, and blue to shade the bird and make the white appear whiter.  After I stamped the verse, I sprayed the image panel with matte sealer to make sure the chalk stayed put.  Some retired Stampin’ Up! designer paper covers the card.  Forgive me, but for the life of me I cannot remember the name of this particular collection.  Offray ribbon and pearls from Flourishes finished off this very simple design.

About the Blog Hop… I’m afraid to link to my previous post regarding the Blog Hop for fear it will go into your spam folder again.  My email thought it was spam, and Doris commented that it went into her spam folder as well.  Did you see the post?  If not, please check back to Monday’s post to read about it.  I’m sure you won’t want to miss it.  Several blog candies as well as well as some talented stampers offering eye candy will make it a pleasant and fun journey toward the huge prize at the end.

I’ll have another card to share tomorrow.  Hope to see you then.  Take good care!

Stamps:  Swan Song by FireCracker Designs  Paper:  Soft Sky, Whisper White, retired SU! designer paper (the name escapes me)  Ink:  Palette Noir, Sage Shadow  Accesories:  Offray ribbon, Kaiser flat-backed pearls, Stampin’ Pastels soft chalks, spray matte sealer, Scotch brand foam mounting tape

Hello, stamper friends!  Today I have a little announcement about something fun coming up on Saturday, the 19th of this month.  I’m participating in a blog hop (my very first), and if you’re familiar with blog hops, you know there’s a prize at the end.  This one’s a biggie!

Claudia Rosa (aka ClaudiafromGermany) is spearheading this event, having gathered together a team of designers who, in turn, have contacted some of their favorite companies to sponsor the hop.  The purpose of the hop is to introduce you to a stamper(s) you’ve never visited before and, therefore, had no idea what you were missing.  This has already been an eye opener for me because, in creating the following links, I visited some pretty amazing designers.  Sheesh!  I had no idea… where have I been?  As a group, we’re called Stampers United.  Individually, here’s the line up:

Broni - Splashes of Watercolor

Carole - Stardust Gems and Ribbon

Claudia - Pretty Pressings

Elaine - Quixotic Cards

Jaqueline - Creja Kaarten

Leslie - Running With Scissors (that’s me!)

Marlene - A Lil Bit Of Me

Priscilla - “priscillastyles”

Sherry - Walkin’ On The BAD Side!

Vicki - Stamped Smiles

You’ll find prizes here and there along the blog hop, and a grand prize at the end — something from each of our generous sponsors:

7 Kids College Fund

Aud Design

Crop Stop

Cute Card And Stamps

eclectic Paperie

Flourishes

Funky Kits Sugar Nellie

Motivet Rubberstamps

priscillastyles

Quixotic Paperie

Shimmerz Paints

Simon Says Stamp

Sweet And Sassy Stamps

Whimsy Stamps

Hope you can join us then — Saturday, Sept. 19th.  It’s going to be great!

I know… flowers yesterday, Wally today.  Where’s the stamping on this stamping blog?  Well… the rest of the week will be all stamping, seeing as how it’s time for this month’s Flourishes previews to begin.  That’s what I’ve been stamping.  When I wasn’t stamping over this three day weekend, I was enjoying my home, a good book, a movie or two, time with my husband and, of course, Wally.

Could I possibly be imagining how sweet this face is?   No matter how impish he is, or what mischief he’s up to, when he stops and looks at me, he wears this face.

Wally had a big day today.  We went for a picnic and a walk in the woods along a creek where we encouraged him to do what he’ll ultimately love most — enjoy the water.  I wish my photos of that outing were good enough to share but, unfortunately, I inadvertently had my camera set to underexpose by two stops.  Instead, I have this photo which shows how much he’s grown. 

And this is how he spent the remainder of the day when we returned home:

Enjoy summer while you can.  Pretty soon we’ll all be saying we can’t wait for Spring.  Take care!

Flora

Fauna

Flora

Fauna

The flora is Oriental lilies in my garden.  The fauna is, of course, Wally.  He’s been in our family for a week now and it’s as though we’ve always been together.  I don’t think he misses his siblings at all.  Today he had his second play date with his 11 week old yellow lab friend, Magnum.  They get along famously.  Magnum, being especially sweet natured, brought Wally a stick to play with on their first visit.  Today, he brought a bigger stick.

I can’t tell you how happy I am to have Wally in my life.  Have a great day!