My Boys

I absolutely loved this picture of my honey and Skippy and knew I couldn't do a layout of my boys without Cowboy too!

Sisters

Is there anyone on earth quite like a sister? If we are blessed with long lives, I will know my sister and brother longer than I will know anyone else. My brother and sister are the only people who really know my story and truly know the craziness that is unique for every family.

But my sister is the only one who can answer my phone and pretend to be me because we sound exactly the same. My sister is the only one who really knows what I mean when I say, "Ahh, I sound just like mom!" My sister is the only one who really doesn't care if I eat so much pizza that I'm going to pop but then cheers me on with my weight loss even if it's just half a pound. My sister is the only person I've ever been hounded to sing a duet with by my voice teacher. My sister always has time for me, even when I ramble on for an hour straight about nothing at all.

Now take all that and multiply my sister blessing by a million. Because even if she wasn't my sister, I would still totally adore her. I would want to do all the hobbies we share with her anyway, but it's just that much better because she's my sister. So here's to all of us who get to share a special bond with our sisters.


This is a picture of us a few years ago when we were singing together in Symphonic Choir. I mentioned those hobbies, right?









My sister, my friend.

Nature

Have you ever been in a forest so thick all you see is green and brown and you barely even notice the creatures around you? Well, this deer was RIGHT behind me, and I didn't even know it. My husband just happened to turn around to talk to me, saw it, and snapped a picture of me standing there. She continued to follow us for a while as we walked along this boardwalk above the river. It was one of those moments I'll never forget.









Supplies-
Cardstock--Stampin' Up and Core'dinations
Chipboard--Basic Grey
Ink--Distress Ink by Ranger
Pearls and Buttons--Hobby Lobby
Die--Sizzix
Crystal Effects (Clear Lacquer)--Stampin' Up

Stationery Box

What a fun project this is! Thanks to my sister, she reminded me that you can find all kinds of great tutorials on YouTube, including this one! It takes about three sheets of cardstock, one of them extra heavy for the box. She also had some great ideas for teacher gifts, and you can see one of her beautiful stationery boxes here:
http://unrepentantcrafter.blogspot.com/2011/06/what-not-to-buy-teacher-or-so-ive-heard.html



The lid can be just regular cardstock.



Inside, the possibilities are endless. In the tutorial, she added a pencil holder and put stamps in one pocket. I put several different gift tags in one compartment, and a couple of mini cards in the other. The biggest pocket contains stationery pages for quick notes.



This little notebook is attached to the base and contains lined paper inside.



Cute little mini cards are perfect to attach to any gift.

Have fun with your own stationery box!

The Joy of Snow...for dogs that is...

So today officially began my first day of summer vacation. I spent the weekend visiting in-laws in Billings and attending Corgis Gone Wild. See http://billingsgazette.com/news/local/collection_6aeba637-1fdb-57ef-95d1-b6dbb8cdbcc3.html#3

(Did you know they do a costume party FOR DOGS at Halloween? My hubby and I already have ideas for their costumes.)

I'm also proud to say that while these guys weren't the cutest two Corgis there by any means, they were some of the most well behaved. :) I guess if you can't have the cutest kids, you'll go for good?

And now that it is beautiful and green outside, of course, the first thing I would choose to do is SNOW, right? I was inspired while I watched my dogs run around this weekend playing with other Corgis and chasing toys. Their zest for life is so inspiring!

Actually, it totally wears me out sometimes. But that's beside the point. I LOVE IT. There's just nothing like a dog to remind me what it's all about. So here's a layout truly inspired by Skippy and Cowboy, the most fun two little Corgis anyone could ever have. Also inspired by Lisa M. Pace's book and her firm belief that you can NEVER use too much glitter!

The Joy of Snow









Try using felt...especially glittery felt like this :)...and make a box-top flower from it. It turns out really puffy and cute!







Click on the picture above to see the wonders of crackle paint applied on top of acrylic paint and then painted again. Just don't look at the part where my finger squashed into the letter J while the crackle paint and acrylic paint were still wet...oops.


Glitter, glitter, and more glitter!

And now to scrapping some greener days!!