Families and Water go together!

Our youngest daughter and her two teens came for a weekend. The teens are 12 and 14 and were a barrel of fun! Their mom said their dad had a good, long talk with them before they came and that's why they were so well-behaved. I say it didn't matter. They were still a lot of fun to be around. We took them Friday and Saturday down to a local river where the water runs over tiny falls and you can see clear to the bottom. And guess what! My DH (twice!!) forgot his camera!! We had some good shots too, especially of the teens jumping off a large rock into a small hole at the base. I think I'll have to add "keeper of the cameras" to my long litany of jobs!! HA!!!

They left late yesterday and the house is so quiet. That's both good and bad. I can hear myself think and I'm thinking I'm sad they are gone! Doesn't that just speak volumes about how I miss my families??! I just get more committed to moving closer to them in the future.

To make things sweeter, my youngest grandson helped me tremendously with my small treat boxes, getting them ready for sale at the upcoming Jubilee in September. He has a good eye for color and composition and came up with some really good ideas for marketing the little boxes! I've found a fellow crafter in the family! Woohoo!! His mom helped us too by layering elements on the boxes and making sure they were securely fastened. Such fun!! I can't show you pictures because I want to sell them (that sounds so selfish!). But I can show you pictures of a recent swap I did at Cardmaker Magazine! Well, the picture is a collage of the 8 cards I made. When you have dial-up, attachments are your worst nightmare! And just forget about trying to download them to something like Photobucket! I'd still be going at it from last week!! HAHA!!!

The swap was a cute one - create 8 cards using Crayola colors - red, yellow, blue, brown, black, purple, orange and green. I used the Bold Brights from Stampin Up's color line and the Big Blossom flower. I inked the flower using the Bold Brights ink pads or markers (gotta love a marker!!)and then stamped another large background stamp on the inked Big Blossom. This removed some ink, resulting in a pattern on the Big Blossom flower. Then, I punched a one-inch circle from a sheet of super sticky tape, placed that in the center of the Big Blossom flower and then sprinkled color-coordinated glass beads on the tape. I filled in spaces with colored glitter that matched as close as possible. Lastly, I stamped Good Friend in matching colors on Whisper White and mounted that on cardstock, layering the friend stamp crookedly on purpose to add character. Aren't our friends usually slightly wackier than we are? (Well, we like to believe they are!) Because of the beads, I inserted each card into a clear acetate envelope for easier storage and shipping through the mail. (Can't wait to see what I get in return for this swap!!) The recipe for the 8 cards follows the tip of the day below.

I had a lot of fun and actually got this one done ahead of schedule. But, like the proverbial black cloud, I missed a card. I had been scanning in the cards and placing them in the mailer and I didn't put the last card scanned into the mailer. I didn't see the mistake until the next day when I was opening the scanner and saw the last card! AAIIIIIEEEE!! I let Terrie know by email that I was mailing the missing card that day. Oh, I am my own worst enemy when it comes to projects!! Whooo!!!

Well, that just about wraps it for today. I sure hope you're enjoying these last few days before your routine gets smacked upside down with school, projects and GETTING READY FOR THE HOLIDAYS!! (Well, are you??! You know you're already behind! It's August already, for pete's sake!! GO! GO! GO!!)

Tip of the day:
Learn to text your teens! My two grandkids gave me their "private" cell numbers and I texted them all the way home. (Of course, I asked them for their numbers.) That's how I learned they arrived safely and I didn't have to worry about them. How awesome is that!!

Recipe for cards:
Stamps: Big Blossom, Good Friend
Cardstock: Whisper White, Real Red, Basic Black, Chocolate Chip, YoYo Yellow, Glorious Green, Only Orange, Brilliant Blue, Lovely Lilac.
Ink (Pads and Markers): Real Red, Basic Black, Chocolate Chip, YoYo Yellow, Glorious Green, Orange (Marvy Marker), Brilliant Blue and Elegant Eggplant (Didn't have Lovely Lilac).
Beads: No source (Michaels, JoAnn's)
Glitter: SU!, no source clear
Adhesive: Snail (SU!), Super Stick Tape sheet
Envelope: Clear acetate (SU!)

If you have any questions about the cards, email me!! Thanks for stopping by!