Winds and more winds!

This time of year, we always say that Utah is moving in as we have high western winds and get a lot of red dirt from the high deserts of Utah. Last Sunday, the wind was especially vicious, with just waves of red dust blowing. I was thankful we weren't on the road pulling a camper or trailer of some kind because it would have been all over the road. We have had some snow and rain, altho nothing like they've gotten on the Eastern Slope, and it did clean the air, but the wind is blowing hard again this afternoon and the skies are looking red again. There is supposed to be another storm front moving through, so we'll see if we get any moisture from it. We are so dependent on winter snow and what small amounts of spring rains we get to give the crops a good start and provide plenty of irrigation water for the rest of the summer. I was totally flabbergasted a couple of years ago to learn that right here where I live, we have a lower annual rainfall than Tucson, AZ!

And another deadline!! I have been a Stampin' Up demo for about seven years ago and a member of the SUFriends Yahoo group since I first signed up. Soon after I signed up, we had a card swap where we included info about ourselves so we could get a little better acquainted and I participated in it. SUFriends is now celebrating its 10th anniversary (Congrats!!) and to celebrate, one of the members is hosting another "get acquainted" swap - which I signed up for and promptly forgot about! It dawned on me about Wed. that I had signed up for it and when I checked, that was the post-mark date! Oops! I contacted the hostess and she graciously gave me an extension, altho I had to take some liberty with it since I had to make a quick trip to the VA hospital 40 miles away with DH Fri. afternoon (he's okay now). Anyhow, I have my cards all done and ready to go in the mail tomorrow. My cards were done with a modified polished stone technique, using Pixie Pink (of course, they are supposed to be done using SU products!), Mellow Moss and Pale Plum inks on glossy. The flower is from Echos of Kindness, a hostess level 2 gift and colored with Pixie Pink and Garden Green watercolor crayons. Papers used are Pixie Pink, Mellow Moss and Always Artichoke. The butterfly is done with a Cuttlebug cut/emboss folder from Pixie Pink paper. The ribbon isn't SU, but I think that will be allowed!

TOPS fun

I belong to an international organization called Take Off Pounds Sensibly, otherwise known as TOPS, and when the need arose for some cards........ Members take turns doing the program, so I suggested we make simple get-well and sympathy cards to have on hand! Yesterday was the day and by and large the ladies had a very good time and were quite pleased with their creativity. I took my camera with very good intentions, but intentions don't take photos, either, so....... Only one lady didn't really enjoy it and, of course, she had to get one of the last that I put together about 1:00 yesterday morning, so it wasn't the most ingenious, cute, etc., etc. Actually, I shouldn't even have included it. But they now have a supply of several cards when they need them. And I had each lady sign the back of her card - or cards as some of the more creative did a couple of them. The cards were "thirds" cards, as my friend Shelly Newkirk calls them, where you add two or more strips of paper to the front of the card, a sentiment and maybe some embellishment and you are good to go. I had made a kit for each card and if you don't think coming up with 24 different ideas wasn't something?! I had included eight birthday kits, but they don't do birthdays, so we had sixteen get-well and sympathy cards kits, each one a little different. It is one way to use paper - LOL! I am just thankful it's behind me for now - hope we can do it again sometime.

Deadlines - Again!

Well, another deadline popped up - but at least I got it all under control. Saw the notice in the paper this a.m. of the death of my dentist all the time I was growing up (he was the only one in town - LOL). He enjoyed riding mules and after he and my dad both retired, they would head for the high country, Doc on his mule and Daddy on his horse. They rode together for 20-25 years and now they're riding together again. Happy trails to you both!

Wanted just a quick and easy card to take to the funeral, so dug around in some stack packs and came up with this card. Everything except the printed paper is Stampin' Up - Hunter Green, Whisper White and Going Grey. The background paper is from DCWV's Old World Mat Stack. Stamps are from SU's Brighter Tomorrow and I added grey ribbon, adorned with the Styled Silver Hodgepodge Hardware. I thought it all came together quite well. I really need to get another sympathy card done for a woman I've know since she was a baby who also passed away yesterday, but we'll have to see.

I belong to TOPS (Take Off Pounds Sensibly) - I know, it really doesn't look it - but I am supposed to have the program Thur. a.m. and I am hoping I can get enough kits put together that we can do some quick and easy cards to have on hand for birthdays, etc. Wish me luck, as I have at least the one funeral to go to Wed. a.m. - the other one is that afternoon, but how close I am to being ready for Thur. will decide whether we go! Will post some of the ideas we're going to use later.

Hope you're having a good week!

Time Doesn't Slow Down - For Anything or Anyone!

It's a good thing this blog is at my mercy and on my time set - if there was a deadline for anything, I seriously doubt anything would get accomplished! I keep thinking tomorrow is the day I'm going to really get things going in my rubber room - and of course, tomorrow never comes. Having a back that decides it is not going to cooperate and let me get things done doesn't help either. Ah, the indiscretions of my youth - rather, the foibles of my youth. I was fortunate to grow up around horses, but they have also been the source of a substantial amount of lower back pain in the years since! Doesn't keep me from wanting to ride again - DH and I both were so lucky and we still want to get a couple of horses - even if it means hiring a crane to get us on board! A stump or a ladder will definitely be a requirement - LOL!

Anyhow, I have finally gotten a chance to play a little in my rubber room - of course, there was a deadline for two cards and have some more to design before Thur. - maybe I do need deadlines! The first card was for a baby shower this past Saturday for our grandniece, who is due around May 24. She does know it's a boy and the colors chosen for the shower were blue and brown, so..... The "B" was done on my Silhouette and the rest of the words are from "Just B" by Stampin' Up. Colors used were SU's Chocolate Chip and Bashful Blue. The baby rattle is from SU's Sketch an Event, which is retired. The ribbon was some I picked up in Michael's and it is such a perfect match. I also picked up a couple of the new EK Success punches while at Michael's, so used the "zig-zag" punch along the edge. It also embosses small dots, so highlighted them with a Chocolate Chip marker. I also did up a dozen thank you cards for her, using Cuttlebug folders and SU's Much Appreciated set in the Bashful Blue and Chocolate Chip.

I participate in the Just One swap on Technique Junkies each month and this month I was paired with an incredibly talented lady, Vaudene Tanaka. She always makes such beautiful cards and I certainly wanted one that would at least come halfway close to hers. So, without further ado, here 'tis! The technique I used was Golden Glow for the background and I used Blush Blossoms and Cameo Coral for both the paper and the inks. The small roses, from SU's Flower of the Month set (retired) were done with Regal Rose and Garden Green markers. The large leaves, from the Level 1 Hostess set God's Beauty, were also done with Garden Green. Although it's not readily seen, there is a swirl stamp in the background, which was from SU's Baroque Motifs. The large rose was done with a modified Penciled Twinks technique - I didn't have a Twinkling H2O that really went with the colors I used, so I used rust Perfect Pearls! I accented some of the petals with Crystal Accents to make it look like there was dew on the rose. The words are also from the God's Beauty set.