Make Mine Green

This week's challenge on the Sassy Cheryl's Challenge Blog is Monochromatic, thanks to the uber talented Sassy Ms. Dawn. I have to tell you that monochromatic is never easy for me, but this time I let the Sassy Ms Judy, pick my papers and all I had to do was pick a sketch and an image(makes it much easier).

I chose this image called Patient Secret for two reasons. First because I LOVE it, but second because it was fast and easy to color, and as time was to a minimum for creating a card with my trip to Washington. The sentiment was from the Silhouette Online Store, and a great reminder to me. I've colored her with PrismaColor and Faber-Castell Pencils.

That's it for me this week. Got back from Washington yesterday morning, so crafting is going to have to be sidelined until I get my house whipped back into shape.

The Rest of My Washington Trip

Well, here I am sitting at the airport at SeaTac, feeling a bit bittersweet. I'm on my way  home, and while I'm ready to see my DH and get back to Tazmania, I have to say I'm a bit blue to be leaving Anna and Judy. It has been a wonderful 9 days, and I've made new family with this visit. I've gotten to spend the rest of my trip with Anna and her family, and its been exciting.

On Wednesday, Judy's DH, Anna and I went down to do the Boeing Tour. No cameras were allowed, so no pictures there, but let me tell you watching them make these planes is an education in teamwork. The building itself is unbelieveable. From there we went to Anthony's, a seafood restaurant on the water. I had a delicious meal of Blackened Rockfish with a pineapple salsa. Just think ymmm.

From there Anna, and I went over to the harbor at Everett and to see the Lighthouse.

Judy putting on the vinyl

spraying on the Frosted spray

Finished jar

The amazing thing about my trip is that the sun shone all week long, so on Thursday, Judy came over and we worked on the luminaries for Anna's sister's wedding.

Anna and I also worked on a white board for her sister for a wedding present. We were really impressed with the magnet coverings.

On Friday, we headed over to the Ben Franklin(think more Hobby Lobby than the old Five and Dime). It was funny because Judy was looking at the Spellbinders and her comment that if she didn't have her Cameo, she would have been spending some money.

Today, Anna, her DH, her youngest and I had lunch at an Italian Restaurant, and then went up to Deception Pass. Her DH took these pictures, as I forgot to put my memory card back in my camera.

On the way home, we stopped at the Seafood store for Lopez Ice Cream. Anna has been talking about this ice cream for a year, so I had to have some. She was dead on right about how good it is. This is my cone with Coconut(almost gone) and Lemon Raspberry Swirl.

OK, need to close this computer down, and get ready to board the plane for home.

Let Me Show You Washington State

For my SMT post for the Sassy Cheryls Blog Challenge, I've got a few pictures of what I've been doing and seeing while I've been visiting Judy and Anna in Washington State this week. I have been blessed with some of the most amazingly beautiful weather. They assure me this  is the longest spell of continuous sunshine they've experienced this year.

The weekend was spent with crafting with Anna and Judy, and shopping at some craft stores.

Mt. Ranier from the Observation Deck of the Space Needle

Anna and Judy with the Chihuly exhibit in the background

On Monday, the three of us went into downtown Seattle. Our first stop was the observation tower at the Space Needle.

From there we headed over to Pike Place Market. The weather was amazing and the crowd was minimal. This picture is of just one fish booth inside the market. We missed the throwing fish.

When we got back to Judy's Monday afternoon, her DH took me for a spin in his T-bucket. He built this from a kit that was delivered on a truck.

Display Garden

Display Garden

Display Garden

Display Gardens

Tulip Fields

On Tuesday we went to the Tulip Fields up at Anacortes. I took over 200 pictures and am going to share a few with you. I will say, that I don't think there is any way to get the full effect of the amazing site of these tulips from a picture. You just have to be there.

Today we're off to do the Boeing Tour. I won't have any pictures from that as all cameras are banned, but I'm sure that I will have some more pictures to post for next week's SMT post.

A Sketch Challenge at Sassy Cheryls

You know I love a sketch challenge, and this week that's exactly what they have going at the Sassy Cheryls Challenge Blog thanks to the Sassy Ms Jackie. Here's her sketch for the challenge.

Isn't this a great sketch?

So this week for those of you that don't know, I'm in the great state of Washington spending some time with two of my Sassy friends, Ms Judy and Ms Anna. I'm at Judy's until Tuesday,  then moving onto Anna's. Yesterday Anna came up to craft with us, and Judy cracked her whip and had us working on our challenge cards.

Anna and I cheated a bit. Instead of cutting out 9 squares and trying to space them evenly and straight, we created a window that overlays over the printed paper. The DP papers are from The Sasha Paper Collection by Prima Marketing Inc. The solid papers are some that Judy says she bought in bulk from Cosco.

The images were merged using the Silhouette software(that was the first thing Judy wanted to know how to do on the Silhouette). On a side note, I should warn all of you that I've created a merge monster. The images I used for this card are called Sassy Sally and Her Over sized Birthday Cake  merged over the Beauty in the Making Notes stamp set. Everything is colored with PrismaColor Pencils and Faber-Castell pencils.

You all cannot imagine how much fun it was to create this card with two dear friends. It's Sunday afternoon, so there's still time for you to get your challenge card made and entered as the challenge doesn't end until Monday afternoon at 5 p.m. EST.

Camp Taz

My friends that I made on the Weight Watchers boards  came this past Wednesday  through Tuesday for our spring Camp Taz(taz is my nickname for the tasmanian devil, in reference to me being in constant motion). We started this camp with a couple of days of visiting with two of my online buddies in the spring of 2003. Since then it has evolved to a twice annual function that runs from Wednesday to Tuesday. The number vary each year, but the fun, fellowship, and laughter don't. This year over the whole weekend, there were a total of 6. A couple of them had to leave early, and one didn't arrive until late. All of us are 60 and older, yet it doesn't stop us from walking and kayaking. Unfortunately due to some crummy weather we only got to kayak once. This is the crew that was there Saturday afternoon for the only kayaking trip.

One of the things we did was to go and do a tour of my favorite antebellum home, Waverly Mansion. On the way to Waverly we stopped at a park in West Point to get pictures in front of the wisteria arbor that is absolutely gorgeous this year.

Waverly is an amazing home, and one of the most amazing facts is that it set vacant for 50 years, and when the present owners bought it in 1962, very little structural damage had been done to it. During those 50 years it was used as a party place(my father told me he had partied there in his youth). This picture was made in the gardens at Waverly.

I'm also serving on the grand jury this week. I'm contained in a space of about 24x14 feet, chairs wrapped around the room with 22 other people. Let me tell you it is not a pretty picture, for someone that doesn't sit still like me. Be sure you come back next week for my SMT, because I'm going a visiting.

This is my Show Me Thursday post for the Sassy Cheryls Blog. You still have time to post a picture of what's been going on in your life this past week.

Anything Goes

Thank you, thank you, thank you Mz Sassy Jackie. You've saved my rear with the Anything Goes theme for the Sassy Cheryl's Challenge Blog this week. My Weight Watcher Camp starts  tomorrow, and I've been finishing up projects for everyone else, and trying to get ready for my friends arrival. Fortunately for me, I started a card several weeks ago, and after getting the base done, I changed directions. It's been sitting on my table waiting for me to color and image and get it finished. It is also fortunate as I also needed a birthday card for my granddaughter.

The image is called Have You Heard. Wonder just what she's really saying to that Ladybug. This week, I've colored her with Copics. I decided I needed to practice and use my markers.

I used the knife tool in the Silhouette Studio Designer software  to cut the tops off of the tulips and then use them on the card base to make them pop up. Then I cut the whole tulip and placed on top of the cut out tulip. They make the perfect stand for on this easel card.

It's early days, so get busy and get entered in the challenge and a chance to win not one but TWO free images from the Sassy Cheryls Stamp store. I know that some of you prefer rubber to digis, so just to let you know, Sassy Cheryls has gotten into the rubber business.

Baby Charles is Turning 1

It's been almost a year since my niece gave birth to my husband's namesake. I have no idea how the year has passed so fast. It seems the older I get the faster time seems to be passing. His birthday party is going to be May 4, and since I'm going to be tied up with my Weight Watchers Camp, Grand Jury Duty and a trip to visit crafting buddies in Washington for the next 3 weeks, it was necessary for me to get off my duff, and get busy on the party invitations and decorations.

So my first entry in the Sassy Cheryls Show Me Thurday Blog two week challenge is the fruit of my labors. So far this has been a Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday endeavor, but I can happily report that I am done.

First on the agenda was the invitations. I went surfing the web for monkey invitations since that was the theme she wanted to use. I found tons, but we agreed on the wording of one, and this is the final result. The monkey clipart is from a kit from Clipart Corner and the polka dotted papers are from a digital kit called Modern Dotty Blue Brown from Cupcake Cuties. I have used the two kits for all my birthday projects.

My second project was note cards. In the South, we're all about monogramming, so I had to used the diamond monograms that I purchased from the Silhouette Store and then added the monkeys to the bottom.

My niece wanted a Birthday Banner, so this is what I came up with. It took me all day to figure this one out to keep from having duplicate papers next to each other. I also blue up and print and cut out the monkey in the palm tree as a starting and ending point for the banner.

She also wanted a photo banner. Having no idea what pictures she's going to be using and whether they'll be 4x6 or 6 x 4, I made the months separate circles, and then made slits in the frames so that they can be turned in either direction. The wonderful thing, is that the Silhouette cut all slits so they're centered in the frame. Now to make them a bit sturdier, I have blank frames glued to the back of each of them.

Finally I saw a high chair banner and had to make one for baby Charles.

So that's my SMT post for the first week of the Challenge. Be sure to grab your camera and snap a pic of what you've got going on in your life. It's a two week challenge, but there are also two winners of a Sassy Cheryl Image of your choice. Now how can you lose?

I Have A Screen Door!

Since shortly after my DH and I built Tazmania, I've been asking about the possibility of a screen door. There are days, when we really don't need the AC, but we need air circulating. His response has always been that he couldn't get a door to fit. That totally made no sense to me, since it was a purchased door unit. What he meant was that since he took the outside facing off of the door and built a new  one out of cypress, it wasn't going to fit easily.

Finally last Friday, he had to put a new storm door on one of our rental houses, and I HAD HIM. No way could he weasel out on my door now. So he came home with the door on Friday afternoon.  I helped him to hang it, and I have to tell you sometimes we work well together and sometimes we don't. It was touch and go on this one, but we made it by maintaining our sense of humor.

So this is my screen door. It looks very good with the cypress don't you think? This is my Show Me Thursday post for the Sassy Cheryl Blog, and again I'm getting it in just under the wire.

Hold On To Your Hats - It's a Sketch Challenge

I know, I know, you're all sitting there with mouths agape wondering what has happened to me. It's Tuesday, the Sassy Cheryls Challenge Blog challenge only started today, and I already have my challenge card made. Don't worry, I promise not to make a habit of it. It was just that I really love a sketch challenge, and this one is easy and fun. We have the sassy and talented Miss Judy to thank, and I do thank her very much.

I post on the Sassy Cheryl's PCP group every day, and a little over a year ago, I started posting a SMILE or some quote of encouragement on the morning post. Last week one of the SMILEs was a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt - "A woman is like a tea bag. You never know how strong she is until she gets into hot water." That quote resonates with me, and when I was looking through my SC images, and came across this one called Polly's Tea Cup, I knew I had to use it with the quote for my card.  I've colored my image with PrismaColor and Faber-Castell Pencils.

I quickly whipped up the card parts using my Silhouette Studio Designer software, creating my tea bags. I filled my parts with digital papers from a kit from Just So Scrappy 2 called  Have Tea With Me. I created the tea bags myself. The teabags are about 1" tall by .8" wide and the Earl Grey label is less than 1/2" in diameter. Print and Cut is a wonderful thing.

Now remember, don't think this is early a posting is going to happen again any time soon. Thanks for stopping by.

Favorite Colors

The theme this week on the Sassy Cheryls Challenge Blog is Favorite Color Combo set by the one and only Sassy Miss Cathy.  As usual, I'm to the last minute getting my card made, but it wasn't due to the fact that I couldn't come up with a favorite color combo. I knew when I read the challenge last week, what colors I was using - purple and lime green, as that seems to be my bent in colors of late. I just bought a new rolling travel bag that is grey, purple, black and white striped and a new purple computer bag, both of which I had monogrammed in lime green. They'll be easily identifiable for sure.

For my image I chose this adorable image called Pondering Thoughts. She reminds me of me as a kid, waiting for May 1st, when my Mom deemed it okay to go barefoot. Her feet look like mine did after a winter  in shoes - a long way from being sticker tough. She's 100% colored with pencils, both PrismaColor and Faber-Castell.

I, of course, used my Silhouette Cameo, and pattern filling (I've added a new tutorial in my sidebar on a quick and easy way to Pattern Fill) to create my card. One of the neat things I did was using a decorative knife(Silhouette Studio Designer Edition only)

to divide the top layer into two pieces. I filled each with the pattern of choice, and then grouped the two pieces, so that it printed and cut as one rectangle(saving both on ink and assembly time). I thought the Serrated Blade 2 went along with the Wiggle Wiggle Wiggle theme. I also used my tutorial on combining a shape with a fussy cut image for my image cut-out.

The papers are from Shery K Designs Lime and Purple kit.

I guess you've all figured out by now, that I absolutely love my Silhouette Cameo, and even enjoy making the tutorials. If you have any questions or requests for tutorials on the Silhouette Cameo, please feel free to either ask in a comment or e-mail me. Also if you've gotten a little useful info from any of the tutorials, I'd love to know that too.