Monday, June 30, 2008

Mosaic Fun ~

Since my husband has my camera and I can't upload and of my own photos, here is a fun thing to do! I found this on Allison's blog!

Answer each of the questions below. Surf over to Flickr and type your answers into the search bar. From the choice of pictures shown only on the front page, click on the one that sparks your interest. Once the page with your picture opens, copy the URL. Head over to the Mosaic Maker, set up your mosaic, and paste in your URLs. Click Create. There is a photographic representation of you!
The Questions:

What is your first name?
What is your favorite food?
What high school did you attend?
What is your favorite color?
Who is your celebrity crush?
What is your favorite drink?
Where would you go on your dream vacation?
What is your favorite dessert?
What do you want to be when you grow up?
What do you love most in life?
What is the one word that describes you?
What is your Flickr name?

And here is what I came up with:


Photo credits:
1. Judys Shabby Rose Garden, 2. Sailing Through the Clouds, 3. Meadow at Sunset Crater, 4. Pink Petals, 5. From Dusk til Dawn, 6. How to put pretty stuff in those drops. Tutorial below:, 7. A witness of time, 8. Different Moods, 9. Mom, 10. Giraffes at sunset - Etosha Pan #1, 11. Panska Skala (the Lord's Rock), 12. Sunny Side Up

I am definitely going to upload some of my own photos, and my daughter's, and make our own real one! Have fun!

Happy Anniversary!

I want to say a huge Happy Anniversary to my parents! They are celebrating 55 years today!

Some of you know that my dad has been in the hospital for almost two weeks now following some TIAs (mini strokes). He is in in-patient rehab and working hard to be able to come home! Thank you for your prayers for his recovery!

My husband and kids are on their way back from a family reunion in Arizona (his side - obviously!) and as soon as I get my camera back I will post some fun things I made this weekend! In fact, tomorrow is a special day for me, so be sure to check back and see what all the fuss is about!

And thank you for all the kind comments regarding my little beagle, Dayna. She is doing pretty well - still losing a little weight, but she has been quite perky this weekend!

I hope to see you tomorrow!

Thursday, June 26, 2008

Birds, birds, birds!

For today's SCS Ways to Use It Challenge, we were challenged to use BIRDS on our cards! I love birds, and have several individual stamps and also sets. In fact, just this week I received my new Birds of a Feather set from Papertrey Ink. I love the variety of sentiments for a lot of different occasions, and also the silhouette images of different kinds of birds.

I used a simple layout and some little details like faux stitching, sponging, and a stick pin to dress up the card.


Yesterday I took my summer school class students on a field trip to the Henry Doorly Zoo in Omaha (3 hours from me). I am teaching a class called "Ocean Commotion" to 1st and 2nd graders. We focused on the aquarium, of course, and then visited several other exhibits, including the new Butterfly and Insect Pavilion, the Lied Jungle (Rainforest), the Desert Dome and Kingdoms of the Night, and of course the giraffes! There was a baby! We also went to the petting zoo, Gorilla Valley, Cat Complex and the Aviary. It was a long twelve hour day, but very fun!
I have been to zoos all over the country (including Denver, Chicago, Kansas City, San Diego, Phoenix and some in England!) and I still think that Omaha has the best zoo around. If you ever get a chance to visit, you should make an effort to go there. It is awesome! I am hoping that the pictures I took on the school camera turn out because the animals were all very active. If they do, I will show you some of the highlights tomorrow.

I probably won't be able to post any new cards until Tuesday, as my husband and kids are leaving for Arizona today for a family reunion on his side of the family. I think he will want to take the camera..... what do you think? :)

It's just as well. Some of you know that my dad is in the hopsital after suffering a mini-stroke last week. He will be there probably another three weeks. So I will spend some more time with him and my mom this weekend. They will celebrate their 55th wedding anniversary on Monday. Last Monday was my dad's birthday, so we had a fun party in the hospital room! My sister is also here, visiting from Arizona, so we can maybe do some stamping this weekend and I can show you those projects next week.

Some other not-so-great news -- my little sweet beagle Queen Dayna (see sidebar for picture) has two cancerous tumors the same size as her heart, surrounding her heart. We found that out on Tuesday. The vet said she might live 6 more months, but I don't think it will even be two. She is very despondent, and is not eating, so we will not prolong her suffering. This came on so suddenly; just a few weeks ago she was still acting like a puppy. But when she dropped 20% of her body weight in a month, I knew something was wrong. So I will miss her and so will my lab puppy! So I will spend some time with her too!

Give your pets a hug today!
Thanks for stopping by!!

Stamps: Garden Silhouettes, Papertrey Birds of a Feather
Paper: K & Co. Recycled DP, Very Vanilla
Ink: Elegant Eggplant, Almost Amethyst
Accessories: paper piercer, ribbon, square brads, sponge dauber, Heidi Grace heart stick pin
Techniques: sponging, piercing, faux stitching

Sunday, June 22, 2008

Today's Featured Stamper Challenge....


I love the Sunday challenge over at SCS. Sometimes I am drawn to a new gallery that I have never seen before and other times the Featured Stamper is someone whose work I am well-acquainted with. Today, Diane (aka Lost in the 60's) was chosen this week! I was already familiar with her fun gallery and I cased her lovely card HERE.

I kept her basic layout and changed everything else. Brads to gems (and placement), concho to ribbon slide, images and colors. The butterfly color was made by stamping first with Mellow Moss and then thumping with Blue Bayou. All panels are raised on dimensionals.

Stamps: Essence of Love
Paper: Blue Bayou, Glossy White, Around the Block double-sided DP
Ink: Blue Bayou, Mellow Moss
Accessories: ribbon slide, Basic Grey velvet Black Tie trim, green gems, circle punches
Techniques: thumping

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright ~


For today's SCS Inspiration Challenge, Stef gave us several Frank Lloyd Wright windows to choose from. I chose this one and went with the colors in the window:

There are Crystal Stickles on some of the flowers to represent the sparkly glass in his window and also on the leaves of the branch and on the bird's wing. Both the leaves and the bird are stamped twice and raised on dimensionals. The Ruby Red panel does not come all the way down to the bottom of the card, but stops below the ribbon (on purpose! lol). The edges of the cardstock are sponged with the corresponding inks.

Stamps: Spring Solitude, CTMH sentiment
Paper: Ruby Red, Barely Banana, Blue Bayou, Wild Wasabi, Naturals White
Ink: Ruby Red, So Saffron, Wild Wasabi, Blue Bayou
Accessories: Marvy scallop punch, Stickles, stitched Bayou ribbon
Techniques: sponging

I haven't posted a recipe in awhile, so here is one of my favorite summertime desserts or brunch treats. Quick and easy - and elegant too!

Frozen Fruit and Yogurt Cups

2 almond biscotti (I have a recipe for this too, but you can buy it just about anywhere)
1 C. vanilla yogurt
1/2 C. frozen raspberries, unthawed (or any type of frozen fruit)
4 teaspoons orange honey (or regular)
4 tablespoons sliced almonds, toasted (optional)

Coarsely crumble the biscotti into 2 small bowls. Puree the yogurt and frozen raspberries in a blender until smooth and thick. Spoon the yogurt mixture over the biscotti. Drizzle each bowl with the honey and sprinkle the almonds on top. Serve with a cup of yummy flavored coffee!

Thanks for stopping by today!

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Tags and Honors ~

My blog was chosen Featured Blog of the Week by A Faith Persepctive. Thank you so much for the kind comments and for choosing me, Anne! I am honored! Readers, be sure to stop there and have a peek! Lots of fun stuff!

Sue Daly over at StampnDaly.com tagged me! I have played this before, but maybe I can come up with 7 "other" things!

1. I don't like the taste of nuts. When we have a potluck, several of my friends at church will make their desserts with half nuts and half not, or no nuts at all! Isn't that sweet? Brownies are BEST without nuts!!
2. I have all four of my wisdom teeth. But I found out yesterday at the dentist that two have to come out in August. Fun times! I guess I will only be half-wise?
3. I rarely read a book twice. The only books I have re-read are East of Eden by John Steinbeck, the Tolkien Fellowship of the Ring series, and C.S. Lewis's Narnia series.
4. I love to play all sorts of games - board games, card games, games like Mafia (it's a fun one!)...
5. If I switched jobs, I would like to be a photographer or a Music Minister in a large church (I do that now, but in a small church, and not as a career) where I would have a Children's Choir, a praise band, orchestra, adult choirs and praise team, and LOTS of people in them all!
6. My favorite date is either going to the zoo, or a dinner and movie night.
7. I am blessed to have good friends, a GREAT husband, and awesome kids.

Thanks, Sue!! Sue sent me a card that I will be posting tomorrow here. She also sent me some goodies to make a card with and I will be posting that later this weekend! Be sure to check out her blog (link above)!

I am tagging:
Cindy - aka Mothermark! One of my favorite people that I haven't yet met in person. She is funny, creative, and makes awesome unique cards. Check out her new blog HERE.

Deborah - aka Beadn&Stampn! A good friend and a wonderful jewelry designer as well as cardmaker. Deb is moving from Texas to North Carolina soon, and I hope to meet up with her someday too! Her blog is HERE.

Silvia! Silvia makes really unique and fun projects and shares her love of God with everyone she meets! A great example for us all. Check out Mabie Stampin'!

Julia! Julia makes AMAZING cards and is so creative with her designs. She shared her Ireland pictures with me before I went on my trip late last month and got me excited about going! Thanks for sharing the pictures and your awesome cards with us, Julia!

A newly discovered blog - Stampin with Sugar - FUN stuff - awesome card designs! Go check out Christyne's blog and spend some time looking at her fabulous Embrace Life cards!

Lori! Lori has fun cards and pictures of bugs too! :) She also has some fun candles that I am going to order some day!

And I save my last one for all of my readers! I appreciate all of you so much! Consider yourself tagged! Be sure to leave me a comment on here, so I can go and read about you too!!

Not for the Faint of Heart!

Life is funny sometimes. Here I just post a few days ago about bugs and slugs and icky things and how we make them cute on our cards, and yesterday life bit me in the bug butt!!

As many of you know, we had a tornado come through our town at the end of May, and we had a terrible ice storm Winter 2006. So, our big 50 foot tree that shades our whole yard and house has taken a beating. We finally got someone out to trim it and take out the dead stuff. I thought all was good.

But when he came knocking on my door and said "We have major issues...." I wasn't a happy camper. I did get to ride up in the cool cherry picker, though!! Almost to the top! What they showed me, in a nutshell, was a tree that will die in a few years (we hope it lasts that long) due to infestation of carpenter ants (they are HUGE!) and these ugly monsters:

I said, "So how many of these things are there? A couple hundred?" And he said "No, more like a couple million." I thought he was kidding, but he wasn't!! They are soooooooooo disgusting!!

Because there are so many, and the ants have taken over as well, we will eventually lose the tree. So this weekend, we are going to plant an ash and hopefully our big tree (I don't even know what kind it is!) will last long enough to get the new one going.

Like, I said a couple of days ago, you gotta make these little creatures cute! So today I made a snail card (don't have any grubs around -- WHERE ARE PUUMBA AND TIMON WHEN YOU NEED THEM????)
and this is what I came up with for today's SCS Ways to Use It Challenge (Rick Rack):

I used my Doodlebug ric rac (who knows how that is really spelled?) for my ground for my little snail to scoot along. The snail was watercolored using pads and an aqua brush and has lots of Crystal Effects on him to make him look slimy, but of course the photo doesn't capture that! (rolling my eyes here!) My clouds are made with a handcut stencil. Unfrogettable is one of my favorite SU! sets and I will probably never get rid of it, even though it is retiring!

This card is going to a SCS friend who needs some "happy" in her days ahead!

Thanks for coming to look!!

Stamps: Unfrogettable, Daisy Field Wheel, A Happy Hi (all retired Stampin' Up!)
Paper: Bashful Blue, Naturals White, HL DP
Ink: Brocade Blue, Bashful Blue, Green Galore, Palette Noir Black
Accessories: Primas, large brads, Crystal Effects, ric rac (Doodlebug), corner rounder, handcut cloud stencil, aqua brush, sponge dauber
Techniques: sponging, watercolor

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Great Colors, Great Sketch, Great News!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Father's Day! I am enjoying having my parents live here so I can celebrate some of these special days with them.

Today I made a Polished Stone background for my SCS Color Challenge card. It is one of my favorite techniques, and I hope you will try it if you haven't before. It's really simple and makes awesome unique backgrounds. Let me know what you think of the tutorial.

I substituted Bashful Blue for Soft Sky - I love SS so much I am out! Better stock up soon!
I used Julee Tilman's Mojo Monday sketch found HERE.

I made my Polished Stone background, then cut
the strips out and stamped the Verve Visual blossoms on the Polished Stone as well. I used my Versamark pad to stamp the small blossom on the Bashful Blue cardstock piece. If you scroll all the way down this page, you will see some examples of Polished Stone colors I have made.

And now for the great news! As many of you know, I just love the humor and design of Hambo Stamps. Yesterday I was asked by Monica to be a Guest Designer for July! I am very excited about this, and am looking forward to designing some new projects with new stamps! Stay tuned!

Saturday, June 14, 2008

Opposites Attract!

My favorite two SCS Challenges, in order, are Saturday's Inspiration Challenge and Friday's Limited Supplies Challenge. I find that rather amusing, as one lets you pretty much do whatever you want, and the other one can be quite limiting. Complete opposites.

For today's Inspiration Challenge I chose this bedding ensemble:

I loved the non-symmetrical pattern on the bed, and the contrast in the colors against the white.
This is what I came up with:

I started stamping the main image and worked out from there. The chipboard flower was really an afterthought, when I wasn't happy with the look of my card yet. The Cuttlebug embossing folder (EF) has a really cool leaf pattern along the bottom that I liked with the rest of the card design. It's a little hard to see in the photo.

I tried a sentiment in various places and wasn't really satisfied with it, so I just left it off! That's why we have insides of cards, right?

Well, that's all for now -- I have two weddings this afternoon and an anniversary dinner with some friends later tonight! AND, my son got here safely from NC last night, so I am one happy mom today! Have a great weekend and thanks for coming by!

Stamps: Garden Silhouettes, The Art of Life, Flower Factory
Paper: Old Olive, Whisper White, Chocolate Chip, DCWV Old World MatStack, Retired SU DP that I can't remember the name of right now (Brocade something?)!
Ink: Old Olive, Blush Blossom, Chocolate Chip, Wild Wasabi
Accessories: Chocolate Chip satin ribbon, chipboard flower, Cuttlebug EF

Friday, June 13, 2008

I Was Knotty!


Yes, I admit it; I was knotty. I mean naughty! I didn't get back here to do my tutorial or talk about education in Ireland. I hope to get to it soon -- but in the meantime, enjoy this knotty card I made for today's SCS Limited Supplies Challenge: Get Knotty.

This is my card for my dad for Father's Day, so the challenge was perfect! We were to use knots of any kind on our card. I chose this retired SU! set: Schooner, and used the knot image, plus tied little knots in my "rope."
The inside says "Wishing you calm seas and a gentle breeze. Happy Father's Day!" stamped.

Stamps: Schooner (retired SU!)
Paper: Blue Bayou, Bashful Blue, Whisper White, DCWV Old World MatStack DP
Ink: Chocolate Chip
Accessories: string

Enjoy your Friday the 13th! I have a list of things to do before my son comes home today from college!! Have a great weekend and I hope to see you back here tomorrow for my favorite challenge of the week: the Inspiration Challenge!

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Snails are Making a Comeback!


Okay seriously, isn't it funny how some creatures that we wouldn't particularly like in real-life are becoming such popular stamp images? Take bees, for example. I love bee rubber stamps, bee knicknacks, bee balm! But I am allergic to the real things! They sting me and it's not good. :)
And slugs! Who wants to see a slug in their house? I am not sure I would want to see one in my garden, even! And frogs.....and mice.....and snails!! For today's SCS Sketch Challenge, by the time I had uploaded my card to the gallery, I was the third snail (all different!) there out of 35 cards! 10% snails! And all adorable.

And oops! I numbered my panels wrong when I went downstairs to start making my card. So #3 and #4 are switched.

I love this little snail - he is such a cheerful guy! He is watercolored using ink pads and an aqua brush. Do you think I should add a little glitter on his shell? Maybe along the lines with some Stickles? Or not?

Stamps: Hambo Stamps
Paper: Whisper White, Lavender Lace, Apricot Appeal, Almost Amethyst POP DP
Ink: same as above plus Green Galore, Sahara Sand, Bashful Blue
Accessories: lavender brads (American Crafts), paper flowers (Hero Arts), dotted grosgrain (Hobby Lobby), large oval punch and designer label punch (SU)
Techniques: watercolor

Check back later today for some more gab I promised yesterday!

Tuesday, June 10, 2008

House Guests and Flowers


I made this for today's SCS Color Challenge:
Regal Rose
Real Red
So Saffron

I love Flower Factory, and although it is retired, I will probably always keep it, as I think it's really versatile and I love flowers! I also had this double colored ribbon in my stash, which fit perfectly with the colors.

I used Holly's (Toy) sketch found HERE.

Stamps: Flower Factory (retired SU), Green Thumb (Papertrey)
Paper: Whisper White, Regal Rose, So Saffron
Ink: Regal Rose, Real Red, So Saffron
Accessories: Marcy scallop punch, ticket corner punch, Cuttlebug Swiss Dots EF, circle punch, red brads (American Crafts), ribbon

My son is coming home from college in NC for three weeks on Friday! We are really excited to see him. He is driving back, which he hasn't done before (he usually flies), so we are praying for good weather and rest each night for him. He will take 3 days to drive back. My sister is flying in on Monday from Arizona for a three week stay as well, so it should be lots of fun around here.

Usually I am inspired by something to make a card, but today I am inspired by my card to get some fresh flowers and have those here Friday!

I sure enjoyed reading all your comments about my Ireland trip and how some of you have been there - and other places too! I had mentioned in my "trip list" that education was a much higher quality there and Laurie asked how so. Tomorrow I have some thoughts on that, as well as a new technique tutorial (new to me anyway!) for you to try! I hope you will come back then!

Saturday, June 7, 2008

Today is 6-7-8!!

Happy Consecutive Numbers Day! It's 06-07-08! If yesterday can be National Doughnut Day, I figure today can be Consecutive Numbers Day!

I have two cards to show you today. The first card is for today's SCS Inspiration Challenge. Stef gave us three pictures of a beautiful bedroom from Domino magazine, which won one of their decorating contests. I chose this picture:
I loved the serenity of this room - it's no wonder it won the magazine's contest!

I chose the mirror as my inspiration. There are two other pictures which you can see if you click on the Inspiration Challenge link above.
I haven't added my sentiment yet, because I am not sure what I want to use this for. The blossoms are stamped in Ballet Blue Craft Ink and embossed with Pretty Pearls EP (retired SU).

Stamps: Garden Silhouettes
Paper: Bashful Blue, Whisper White, Pretty in Pink, Two Scoops Basic Grey DP
Ink: Ballet Blue Craft Ink
Accessories: Cuttlebug EF, ticket corner punch, circle cutter, white organdy ribbon, paper flowers, pink brad, Pretty Pearls EP, heat tool

The second card is another one I made for yesterday's Limited Supplies Challenge: Silly Celebrations. I chose National Doughnut Day for this card. And what goes with Doughnuts? Coffee, of course! It's like PB&J, Ham & Cheese, Oreos & Milk!
Doughnuts and Coffee!!

In honor of my favorite color, my coffee lid is pink(ish)! The little doily is my coaster for my coffee cup~

I used Beate's Weekend Sketch Challenge for my layout on this card.

Stamps: Hambo Stamps
Paper: Naturals Ivory, LSS DP
Ink: Close to Cocoa, Chocolate Chip, Ruby Red, Palette Noir
Accessories: coffee brown brads, satin trimmed organdy ribbon, distressing tool, aqua brush, sponge

Thanks for coming by today!

Friday, June 6, 2008

A Chance to Help Someone in Need . . .


I made this silhouette card for a few challenges:
1) Sharon's (notimetostamp) blog challenge: using solid stamps. I chose the Essence of Life and stamped in red, as Sharon gave us the idea to make them as colorful as we would like! Be sure to check out her challenge!

2) For a weekly challenge I do with some friends. Billie chose this thread and we are to make cards for Sandy, who lost everything but the clothes she had on, in a brush fire in Florida last week. She is a stamper, and now has no supplies as well. I encourage you to reach out to her and send a card - and some supplies, if you have extra things you don't need. I know I do!
Billie's requirement for us was to use Holly's (Toy) blog sketch:

I moved the middle panel up to the top and changed the shape to an oval.

3) And for today's SCS Limited Supply Challenge: National Gardening Day!

Stamps: Essence of Love, So Many Sayings
Paper: Brilliant Blue, Real Red, Whisper White
Ink: Real Red Classic dye ink and marker
Accessories: word window punch, round tab punch, scalloped oval punches, white brads, red dotted organdy ribbon, Cuttlebug Swiss Dots EF, dimensionals

And now for a recipe! I haven't posted one in awhile and this one is rather timely, as the Irish food and scenery are still so fresh in my mind! I had Irish stew twice on my trip and it was so tasty! This recipe takes some time, but it is worth it!

IRISH STEW

Ingredients
1/4 C. extra virgin olive oil
1 1/4 lbs. stew beef, cut into 1-inch pieces
6 lg. garlic cloves, minced (I just use my garlic press)
6 C. beef stock or canned beef broth
1 C. of Guinness beer
1 C. of fine red wine
2 tbsp. tomato paste
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. dried thyme
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 bay leaves
2 tbsp. (1/4 stick) butter
3 lbs. russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 7 cups)
1 lg. onion, chopped (I don't add this, as my husband doesn't like onions!)
2 C. 1/2-inch pieces peeled carrots
Salt and Pepper to taste
2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

1. Heat olive oil in heavy large pot over medium-high heat. Add beef and sauté until brown on all sides, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté 1 minute. Add beef stock, Guinness, red wine, tomato paste, sugar, thyme, Worcestershire sauce and bay leaves. Stir to combine. Bring mixture to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, then cover and simmer 1 hour, stirring occasionally.

2. While the meat and stock is simmering, melt butter in another large pot over medium heat. Add potatoes, onion and carrots. Sauté vegetables until golden, about 20 minutes. Set aside until the beef stew in step one has simmered for one hour.

3. Add vegetables to beef stew. Simmer uncovered until vegetables and beef are very tender, about 40 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Tilt pan and spoon off fat. Transfer stew to serving bowl. Sprinkle with parsley and serve. (Can be prepared up to 2 days ahead. Salt and pepper to taste. Cool slightly. Refrigerate uncovered until cold, then cover and refrigerate. Bring to simmer before serving.) Beer and wine are optional, but it won't taste as good!

Serves 4 to 6.

Thanks for stopping by today! I appreciate each one of my readers!

Thursday, June 5, 2008

All Wired Up!


For today's SCS Ways To Use It Challenge, we were challenged to use wire on our cards. After being gone to Ireland for the last two weeks, I am trying to get some stamping mojo going. It's tough when you have been away from it! I looked all over my stamp room for any wire -- and finally remembered (doh) that I make jewelry...(jet lag issues and being blonde don't help). So I used some beads and jewelry wire on my card. It's kind of odd, but I am hoping by the weekend, I will have my mojo back!

The piercing is done with an Ornare template four times to make a square.

My post title, "All Wired Up" has a little bit to do with the wire on my card, and everything to do with Nebraska weather! My husband and I were up from about 11:30 last night until 1:30 this morning. We had an incredibly giant thunderstorm with 2 inches of rain, 55 mph winds, and tornado cells within 50 miles in every direction. I looked outside across the street and all my nieghbors must have been up too, as everyone's lights were on (some in the basements!) at midnight. I think everyone is a little jumpy - or wired - around here! It was a loud storm -- my beagle ended up under the bed again - but about 1:00 things started settling down - just in time to get up again at 2:15 to get my daughter to her high school to catch a bus to take her band to the airport! They are flying to Disneyland for 4 days -- she is going to be quite the traveler this summer!

Here is a picture of the storm that produced the tornado last Thursday - taken a couple miles east of my town:

It is a fantastic picture --- a storm chaser named Ryan McGinnis took it and it is circulating around town, of course! (Edited later: it is on the front page of our paper tonight!) It certainly shows the power and strength of wind and rain. After watching some home videos on youtube, I can honestly say that I am glad I was in Ireland then. It's freaky enough seeing and hearing it on the internet!

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope the weather in your part of the country doesn't have you all wired up!

Stamps: Baroque Motifs, sentiment by Inkadinkadoo
Paper: Bashful Blue, Not Quite Navy, Two Scoops Basic Grey DP
Ink: NQN
Accessories: Ornare piercing template, scallop punches, circle cutter, paper piercer, brads, jewelry wire and beads

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Some pictures from Ireland . . .

Well, I am back! We had a fantastic trip and saw so many beautiful things. I took over 1300 pictures!! It was hard to chose, but I have chosen a few here to highlight the trip. We sang four scheduled concerts and some impromptu ones as well. The scenery is so gorgeous and my pictures do not do Ireland justice at all, but they are what I have to remember the trip. I will definitely be going back and taking the whole family next time. My daughter loved it even more than I did, and did not want to come home!

Put your mouse on top of any picture to see the caption!

Some quick trip thoughts:
There are more ways than I thought possible to fix potatoes.
40 shades of green is probably not enough to describe all of the colors of the Emerald Isle.
Musicians and dancers from Riverdance, Lord of the Dance and the Chieftains in your hotel ballroom performing a two hour concert is an incredibly special treat.
I have never smelled fresher air.
Seeing an Irish cow, horse, dog, cat, and one of the 9 million sheep is way more exciting than seeing the same animals at home.
Our country is so very young.
Diet Coke is Diet Coke everywhere! (Although much more expensive there!)
Education in Ireland is much higher quality than in the U.S. (I say that as a teacher!)
Shopping makes for happy women everywhere. (And the shopping is fabulous there!)
Pubs have great food, music, and are on just about every corner.
McDonald's has invaded the world.
The Book of Kells is a magnificent work of art and life.
Our coach driver knows more about the history of Ireland spanning three thousand years than I do about America's two hundred. :(
Roundabouts are a better system than exits.
Narrow roads make for increased heart rates.
What a beautiful world we live in.