Mystery: Where oh where are you camera?

Missing:  beloved family member Cannon Sureshot.  Three years young.  Wearing a black camera bag.  Distinguishing features:  memory card is taped together, batteries are rechargeable, pictures of girl kissing whale on memory card.  Last seen in the vicinity of Michaels in Westminster but could be anywhere thanks to the dark corners of my mind.  I used to curse that big lens and bulky bag but would retract any previous misgivings for my baby back in one piece.  Please contact me if you have seen her.

Mystery Gourd

Yeah!  After a week of being away from my garden I can harvest something!  I was hoping to come home to some red tomatoes but they are still green.  I picked these beans, blanched them (I always think about the Golden Girls when I use that word) and froze them for later use.  Now, this gourd!  I need help from some garden girls to tell me what to do with this one!  I just love how it turned out but do I dry it for decor?  Cut it and eat it?  How?  Help me out ladies, let me know what you'd do!!!

Well I stayed up late Saturday night watching the crazy gals at My Pink Stamper but I didn't make the design team .... this time!  I'll keep trying!  Thanks for all of your great comments and encouragement!  I appreciate you guys!!!  

Texas is the Bestest

Just got back from spending the week in Texas.  Best week ever.  Hubby was visiting for work so we tagged along.  We have friends that just moved there so they generously volunteered to be out chauffeurs for the week.  They are such an awesome couple, treated us like royalty!  I cannot wait to scrap these pix!  All 562 of them!  Here's the rundown for the week:

Monday:  We walked to the Alamo from our hotel, must've walked for miles that day!  It was hot but not totally unbearable ... only 101!  Walked to the Tower of Americas and walked the Riverwalk.  It was a long day after getting up at 4 a.m.
Tuesday:  Our friends took Ange and I to the Natural Bridge Caverns which was amazing.  Ange loves her rocks and she got her fill there!  We then went to a drive thru animal preserve.  It actually rained while we were there, they are in a severe drought so naturally Ange thought she brought the rain with her for them.  A little more Riverwalk and dinner with some great friends.
Wednesday:  Seaworld.  If you remember, we granted Ange's wish to swim with the whales for her birthday so she was beside herself all day!  Another long day, eating dinner at 9:30!!!  But hey, it's vacation.  We had a wonderful time and Ange is going to be a marine biologist and work at Seaworld.  Go or it sister!
Thursday:  Tourist attractions, missions, Mexican Market and a little swimming to cool off while the boys played golf.  Really!  In 100+ degrees.  There was a breeze so they claim it wasn't hot.  We gave Zinc her treat bag and she loved it!
Friday:  Travel home.  The flight was great, a little long but we managed.  We left Texas where it was a nice 93 degrees and landed in 104 Baltimore!  It was cooler in Texas the whole week!  It was an awesome trip and can't thank hubby enough for letting us go especially when this was supposed to be the summer without a vacation due to our remodel.  It was awesome!

Pink Stamper Design Team

I cannot believe I am leaving for vaca tomorrow and all I can think about is the My Pink Stamper's design call!  Wasn't going, thought I should pack then had an idea at the last minute, like usual!  We are visiting some friends and they have a cat.  I am being mentored by the gift master herself and I know she would not show up empty handed so I picked up a few kitty treats.  Can't just give present them in the Target bag, although the cat would like that just as much!  So, using the colors Robyn selected for the challenge, I whipped up a gift bag instead of rolling my undies and packing my shampoo.  I think the kitty will like it!  Hope you do too wink, wink, purr, purr!

I used:

Hello Kitty Cart for the kitty

Car Decals for the letters

Bazzill solid cardstock

Pattern paper from Kaiser

Random Ribbon and gift bag

Mystery: Why wait?

Busy weekend here at the Turner ranch.  Busy Birthday weekend.  If you didn't know, now-a-days, as opposed to the 'olden days' when I was a kid, birthdays are celebrated for days on end.  Friday is Ange's 11th birthday.  i knew it was coming for about 364 days now but just got the brilliant idea for the theme THIS MORNING!  I do this to myself all the freakin time!  Why?!?!?  Am I better under pressure?  Wouldn't I like to go to be on time the night before?  Do I not blog surf for hours researching ideas?  Am I just the best procrastinator??  yes, yes, yes, YES!!!  using my Samantha tone.
Ange wants to swim with the belugas when we go to Texas so thinking, thinking, thinking, oh let's do an aquatic theme.  Duh!!!  So off to Walmart I go 8 hours before her party to pick up aquatic items.  I got sweedish fish, licorice (sea anemones), carmel popcorn for barnacles, bull's eye candy for life rings (after you eat the middle out), ruffle chips for life rafts, wasabi mix for pirate booty, regular goldfish crackers, etc.  We pulled the table scape off using some shells and driftwood we collected during a recent park visit and some creatures she won at the carnival last week.  She wanted to make the signs for each label and they turned out cute with her touch added to them ... I didn't have time to search in the 100 degree attic for my netting but nobody noticed it was missing.  That was about it for theme.  I had a bff's daughter's grad party to go to in the afternoon so I did what I could in the short hours I had to pull it out of my butt.  Here's a few pix of the table scape ...

goldfish crackers and sweedish fish

rafts, sea anemones and eels

The barnacles and life rings.  

Birthday Girl

Isn't it fun embarrassing our kids!  Just because it's their birthday doesn't give them the day off!  I've either made Ange a pin or a t'shirt for her to wear on her birthdays.  Why should this year be any different?  We took her and two of her friends to Cape May, NJ for her birthday.  She's been whining about going thru beach withdraw because the last few vacas have been to lakes.  So she got the beach for a day.  Hopefully that will satisfy her wave craving.  When I picked up the tees from Michaels they had glitter iron on paper.  Had a thought that I could Cricut designs for them but had a hard time getting the sheets to stick to the mat.  I was able to cut out some bigger letters though.  BBF was for Best Birthday Friend.  Thought the candles looked good for 11.  Couldn't just embarrass her though ...

Whale of a Card

Because of the aquatic theme birthday and the swimming with the belugas ... I made Ange a whale of a card if I do say so myself!  I used the Birthday Bash cart and cut a few different phrases out and pieced them together and the whale was from Gypsy Wanderings as well.  Thank you Gypsy!  The paper was from the Nantucket DCWV packet.  My new fav!  The whale is embossed with glitter!  The red/white stripes are also embossed and glittery.  I just added the dashes on the outside.  Probably should've shadowed 'birthday' but haven't mastered the welding yet!

Embellish Mag

Because I Give a Hoot

Bff's was having a grad party for her daughter so I wanted to make her a card.  Although we are in the midst of the homeliest card contest (rules below) I decided to make her a real card using some real stuff.  I used the owl punch from Stampin Up and some random cardstock from my stash, probably Bazzill because that's pretty much all I use.  Her high school colors were red and black but nooo she wanted her party to be her college college of purple and gold.  Took a few minutes and waited til the last possible minute but turned out cute ...

added this to the inside cover ...


Thanks to Terry over at Going Over the Edge for inspiration!

Here's the deal on the homeliest card contest ... between my bff and I we have tons of scrap stuff but not tons of time to play.  Well, for her daughter's birthday card (the one I made the rooster card for) she ran out of time and drew a stick figure on a piece of white cardstock.  I retaliated by sending a torn piece of notebook paper with something scribbled on ... and so it begins ... here are the rules:

1.  run out of time to make a proper card

2.  stare at all of your stash but use none of it

3.  double score for being late

4.  mis-spell the recipients name

5.  don't put enough postage on it so they'll really have to pay for it!

It's just something silly we do to amuse ourselves.  We don't have enough play dates to get together so we have to make up little games!  

Partying with:

Made it Myself Mondays

Progress

On the first day of summer 'vacation' - when school ended - I made a list of things I wanted to accomplish this summer.  One was to reorg my laundry area.  Scratch that!  I got a nice over the door shoe hanger a few weeks ago at Lowes.  I asked hub to hang it for me soon after.  Needless to say, I hung it today.  My original plan was to hang it on the wall behind the door because I ultimately want to get a glass frosted door but when and if that happens I'll move it then ... I had four plastic tubs that I used to sort my summer/winter/ spring/ fall table decor and gifties.  When I reorged the scrap room I emptied some great baskets and  reused them in the laundry area. Here's the before and after ... ready for laundry day!

before ... plastic tubville

Welcome to Basketland.  Lots more color.  I had tons of those 3drawer guys too so I use it to  hold swiffer refills and appliance booklets.

The new back o' the door organizer for miscellaneous caca.

Happy 4th of July!!

Yeah!  I finally did it!  I made something!!  Here's the story!  I posted a few months ago about a to-do from the Family Fun mag ...

Loved it so I picked up a remnant from Jo's a few weeks ago ... when I got it home it was too small so I picked up another few yards last week.  I tied then I dyed and I dried then I realized it was the wrong one!  what a bummer but I made it work anyway ... 

drying ....

all bunted up on the front porch ...

Happy 4th!!!

Metamorphasis Monday

todays creative blog

Tip Junkie

Stamp Class

After weeks of hearing whispers coming from my scrap room telling me 'come back, come back', I finally was able to sit and make a few things.  Boy did it feel good!  Got my butt groove back in the chair!!  I had to make a few samples for one of my classes at Michaels.  Of course I didn't follow the directions exactly, had to put my own twist on them.  It's called Card Tricks focusing on embossing - my favorite thing!!   Whatcha think?  Here are just a few of the cards I made!  It's hard to tell but all the images are embossed.