A Beautiful, Scrappy Sunday

Today was a B-E-A-utiful day here in Washington. Sunny. Crisp. Clean. These are the days I live for here, especially on a Sunday when Travis is home and we can take Sedona out for a walk together, and that's just what we did. We strolled downtown and went to the new marina where we enjoyed gorgeous views of the sound. I snapped these pictures using my new Kodak EasyShare C653. I actually won it about six months ago, but I hadn't really played with it until today. If you're looking for a good point-and-shoot camera, this one really delivers with sharp 6.1 mega pixel pictures and a 3x optical aspheric lens. It's small enough to fit in your pocket!

Have you ever been on a ferry before? I hadn't until I moved up here a little over a year ago. It's a pretty nifty public transportation system. It amazes me how they can hold so many cars and still stay afloat! Physics - I never did get it :)

There's a great little park right next to the ferry that has water fountains and an interesting rock sculpture. The fountains were not on due to the cold weather we've been experiencing, and I'm glad for that! It was too cold for a romp in water. I must say, the views from here are wonderful!


Here's a close-up of one of the rock sculptures. Strange texture, don't you think?

Onto some scrappy news. This past Friday evening, I attended a last-minute cropping party. We all had such a good time! I actually scrapped, and it felt great. Here's the LO I created of my ferret, Zoe. She's such a ham for the camera.

For this LO, I used paper by Best Creation, Inc. and Noteworthy. The flourishes are rub-ons by Heidi Grace, and the small patterned paper is Basic Grey. The pink sparkley letters are Cheeky Shimmer Stickers by Making Memories, and the bling is by Crystal Stickers Elements. The lovely scalloped oval was part of a RAK I received from my friend, Heather.

Here's a sneak-peak at another LO I'm working on about my princess, Isabel. That large flower is also from the same RAK package from Heather. Thanks, girlie!!

I hope you all enjoy a wonderful holiday tomorrow!!

You're all the cat's meow

Happy Friday, everyone! TGIF, right? I know I'm excited for the weekend to come. Travis and I will be renting Shrek 3 (I know, we're behind the movie power-curve) Saturday night and having a quiet evening at home after I teach a jewelry class that afternoon. Sunday should also be nice and peaceful. We always have a special Sunday morning breakfast, so I'm looking forward to that, too. In the meantime, I finished my kitty card the other night using my MFT stamps.

I also told you guys that I was working on a LO of Sedona. I'm still not finished, but here's a sneak peak.

Now, you're all going to think I'm neurotic, and maybe I am, but I bought another paper trimmer! I am just not going to be satisfied until I find THE one. So far, I've tried the Purple Cows 2-in-1 Paper Trimmer, and it was a bust. I sent it back to Joann.com. Then I bought the MM Precision Trimmer. I still have it and I do like it, but I feel like there has to be more out there. So, I bought the Carl Paper Trimmer at Staples. I really liked it, but I couldn't get a straight cut everytime, so back it went. I was at Costco a couple days ago and finally caved on buying the Fiskars rotary trimmer for $22.

I haven't had a chance to really craft with it, but so far I do like it. It yields straight cuts every time, but it needs to be broken in. The blade has to make a groove in the new cutting bar beneath it before it will slide smoothly, so I keep trying to condition it by just sliding it back and forth. I'm more than likely going to a crop tonight at my friend's church, so I may take it along to really test it out. I'll give a full review of all the paper trimmers I have tried out in a future post.

Does anyone have a paper trimmer that they are so in LOVE with that they wouldn't dare part with it? I feel like I'm on a quest for the holy grail! Help!!

Have a great weekend, folks.

Sometimes you just get lucky

Happy Tuesday, everyone! I was blessed this morning with sunshine and decided to snap some photos of my critters. It's not often we get such great light streaming through the windows, so I had to take advantage of it. Plus, I was browsing through my pics the other day and realized that I only have a handful of critter pics from last year in large part due to the fact that we just don't get that many sunny days. Today, I got very lucky with my photos. Have you ever tried to take a picture of a wiggling, jumping ferret? Getting good pictures of them can be very tricky, so I used all my critter-mommy power to get them to behave, and you know what? It paid off.

Here are a couple pics of Poker in classic Poker poses. He's very inquisitive, and he's a ham for the camera (when he stays still, of course).


Next, we have Keno, our gentle little man (they're all gentle; he just seems extra kind). He loves to sniff your face and really get to know you!

Let's not forget Beowulf, affectionatey known as Bay-Bay around here. He's not the sharpest tool in the shed, but we love him to bits! This boy knows how to get down and play.

Last, but not least, is our little girl, Zoe. We call her "lunch-money" because she may be tiny, but she's a bully! She doesn't get along with the boys, so she's all by herself, but she has us to play with. Out of all the shots I took today, the last one of her is my favorite.


After being camera-happy in the ferret room, I snapped a few pics of my other critters. Here's one of Sedona that I really like. You can see her carmel colored eyes so well in this photo.

Isabel was enjoying the sun, too, when I snapped this picture. She was talking to me (no, I'm not crazy - this girl can meow up a storm and it's as if we're actually carrying on a conversation) and had just put her ears back when I pushed on the shutter. I love how I was able to get her two little "fangs." That's what she is most known for around here!!

Lastly, here's Mr. Grouchy-Pants, Attila. I don't blame him for being grumpy - he had a tummy ache (yup, I was up at 6am cleaning a hairball....yum...)


I hope you enjoyed the pictures of my furry little family!! I am currently working on a page about Sedona, and it's almost done. I'll try and post it tomorrow.

Have a great day!!

A LO all about Me

Happy Monday, everyone! I have a bit of the blahs today probably because it's icky rainy outside. I still cannot get over how dark it is here on gloomy days! Dark days like this make it difficult for me to be creative since I don't have much natural sun-light coming through the windows. I have two Ott-Lites that I use, but they only go so far. Nothing can replace the real sun!

Here's a LO I was working on a few days after New Year's. I had put down all the pictures, but didn't like how I clustered them originally. After a few days, I finally came up with an arrangement I am happy with.


I bought the buttons on clearance at Impress when I went with Noel, and the cute flower brads in the lower right side are from a RAK I won over on Leigh's blog. The paper is Bazzil and DCWV Glitter Stack, and the "Remember" stamp is by Heidi Swapp.

Want to learn more about me??

LOL! If you'd like to know more about me, read on! My blogging buddy, Christina, has tagged me with a different kind of game. The game works like this: answer the following questions, then add one of your own to the list. Then you need to go tag two of your friends (Kelli and Michelle, you're it!). Here it goes...

1. My 2 favorite scrapbook topics: Travis and my critters

2. The 2 best places I've been to: Crater Lake, Oregon and Lake Tahoe, CA & NV

3. 2 things I do everyday: Critter clean-up and message board hopping

4. The 2 things everyone knows about me: I love birds and hippos

5. The 2 places I wish to visit: Australia and New Zealand

6. 2 things you may not know about me: I love herpetology (the study of lizards and amphibians) and I'm currently enrolled in a correspondence course through Cornell University.

7. My two favorite foods: Surullitos (a Puerto Rican snack) and Filet Minon

8. My two favorite musical artists: Nicholas Gunn and U2

9. The last thing you watched on television: I'm currently watching M*A*S*H.

10. The one thing you can always count on to make you feel better: Shopping for scrapbook supplies and beads

11. My two favorite outside activities: Bird watching and walking Sedona

12. If you had the time, what would you do to keep fit: I try to go to the gym as often as I can.

13. How you would spend a perfect day: My perfect day would be at a day spa with no animals barking, meowing, dooking, or chirping. It would be SILENT.

14. If you won the lottery, what is the first extravagant gift you would buy for yourself (you know, after helping everyone else)? I would buy a huge lot out in the middle of no where and build two huge houses on it - one for us and one for my mom and dad (the lot would be BIG, mind you).

TGIF, everyone!!

A Simple Hippo Card

Sometimes, simplicity is key. I made this card using my Rubber Soul stamps. I just love the little flying hippo!

Today was one of those crazy-busy days where I was running all over town. I taught a jewelry class today that ran about 40 minutes over and pushed my time-line back a bit. I was all set to brave Costco after my class when I realized that the carefully thought-out list along with all my coupons were sitting neatly on my desk...at home! Grrr! I was a bit peeved to say the least. I did, however, get a few other errands out of the way. I even found some of the $1 Autumn Leaves stamps at Joanns. Ahhh...blissful new stamps. I was instantly in a good mood.

Guess what?! It's snowing over here right now - again! We had a nice little powdering a couple of nights ago, and most of it melted away. A few hours ago, I walked by our front window, and low and behold, the largest snowflakes I have ever seen were falling from the sky! Even Travis has never seen flakes that big, and he's been through it all. We let Sedona out to go potty, and that goofy thing was peeing and attempting to catch snow at the same time!! After doing her business, she started jumping up and down trying to catch the snow. She is the silliest thing ever.

Here's a funny picture of Sedona in the snow back in February 2004. She was only four months old, and about 45 lbs.

I bet you'll never guess where I took that photo? Underneath all that snow is sand! We were in the high-desert of California. Much to many people's surprise, it does indeed snow in the desert. It's always funny to me to see a cactus covered in snow.

Have a fun Thursday, everyone!!

Valentine's Day Card with Rubber Soul & MFT Release Party

Happy Wednesday, everyone! I can't believe it's the middle of the week already! I have a jewelry class to teach today, so I'll be gone the majority of the afternoon, but I wanted to share one of my latest cards. Some of you may have seen it already on the CKMB or AMR MB.

I used the new Rubber Soul Valentine's Day stamp set that I got on Sunday at their Poulsbo store front. I just love that place! Even Travis was picking up stamps and showing them to me. I also scored some of their retired sets for $1.99. That's right! Normally $14.99, reduced to two bucks. You can't beat that!

I also wanted to let you know that one of my favorite stamping companies, My Favorite Things, is having a release party tonight from 6-8 pm PST for their January stamps on Split Coast Stampers. Click here to get to the forum. Click here to see previews of their new stamps. If you like critter stamps, then this is the party for you!! Kim, the owner, usually offers a 20% off coupon for your ENTIRE purchase, plus she has free shipping on orders of $40 or more, and trust me, you can find $40 worth of stuff to buy at her store!

To give you a taste of MFT stamps, here's a card I made using one of their sets:

Doesn't the dog look like Sedona except with cropped ears?? I just love this set. It also comes with a similar cat image. I'm working on that card right now, so stay tuned!

One last thing. I wanted to share with all of you the awesome stamps that Christy grabbed for me. If you know me at all, which I think you all do, I LOVE birds. They're my thing. When I saw the new Inkadinkadoo stamps, I knew I had to have them, but I couldn't find them anywhere here! Now I'm the proud owner of two groovy sets. The first one is called "Birds Galore" and the second one is "Bird Assortment." Can you imagine the fun cards you can make with these stamps?? Oh, my head is twirling in circles just thinking about it. Now I know what I'll be dreaming of tonight!

Enjoy your day everyone! Now go be scrappy.

I'm back with a new card

Apparently, I'm addicted to blogging because I couldn't stay away that long! I have a new card to share. I made it last night along with four other cards which I'll be posting over the course of the week. I just love the way this one came out. The monkey stamp is from "Mindy's Zoo" by Autumn Leaves and the "Enjoy" stamp is from one of the imfamous $1 Studio G sets. I used my Prismacolor pencils, OMS, and blending stump to color in the image.





I also have to tell everyone that I have the coolest scrapping friend. She sent me two Inkadinkado stamp sets that I have been drooling over for a while, but couldn't find. I'll post pictures of them tomorrow when Photobucket isn't down for maintainence. Thank you, Christy!! You rock, my friend, not because you sent me fun stuff, but because you are one of the coolest people I know!!

New Links

I have posted new links on the side of my blog. They include my favorite on-line stores, scrapbook and stamping companies that I love, and webisodes. I hope you find them useful and inspiring! I also updated my blog roll-call. If I missed anyone, please let me know and I'll add you!

I'm going to take a few days off from blogging. Poor Travis claims he never sees me anymore, so this weekend we're going to spend some quality time together. I also have classes this Saturday, so I won't be around much.

I leave you with an un-finished LO of mine. All it needs is the journaling, but I wasn't really in the mood to jot down my thoughts.

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!!

Happy New Year!

Greetings everyone! I hope your New Year's was a good one. I rang in the new year with a killer migraine last night. I wish I knew what prompted a migraine b/c I would certainly stay away from it. I ended up taking an Imitrex, and boy did it do a number on me! I was up for most of the night. I'm hoping tonight will be much more pleasant.

I've been a busy bee working on some LOs and cards. I made this card for a challenge over on the All Moments Remembered Message Board impromptu crop:

I created this next LO for a challenge over on the CKMB after-Christmas crop.

Nothing is glued down just yet, but you get the idea. I'm so excited to be starting my wedding scrapbook. I hope Mr. Mojo sticks around!

One last little thing. I visit A LOT of blogs. It takes me at least an hour and a half to go through all of them, but I love it!! I want to make sure that I have YOUR blog listed here. If I don't, please leave me a comment and I will add it. I visit so many that it's hard to keep track of, and I wouldn't want to exclude anyone. Thanks!