Shoshone Falls

Look where I went today! My sis and I drove to Shoshone Falls near Twin Falls, Idaho. It's about 2 hours away from my house. The falls are on the Snake River.

For most of the year, these falls are dry. Just a trickle runs over the edge. Usually, you can only catch the falls at full force for a couple of weeks in May when the snow melt runoff is heavy. Some years they don't run like this all year. There are a series of dams upstream where the water is held in a reservoir for the farmers to use for irrigation and for recreational use in the reservoir like boating and such.

If you can see it, the little tiny dot on the falls at the left is a hawk or falcon flying in the wind created by the falls.

This year, they are dumping off some of the water because they will have to much when the spring runoff comes out of the mountains. Isn't the rainbow beautiful. I didn't think we were going to see the rainbow today but the clouds cleared just about the time we got here.

When I was a kid, almost every year my grandparents would bring us here for a picnic. There was always a lot of water running off the falls in those days. They also let people walk around the falls a lot more. We used to be able to walk out onto the rocks in the picture below. These days, they only have a couple of walkways that you go on.

When there is enough water, they harness the energy from the falls for electricity. I think they still use this old power house.

This is the view down river. A few miles down river, Evil Kenievel made is famous failed attempt to jump the Snake River Canyon on a motorcycle (in the 1970s).

Then we hit the a thrift store (didn't find much) and their tiny mall. My sis was looking for a new Easter dress. It was really a fun day to spend with my sis.

I know it's not like being there, but I hope you enjoyed the pictures.

Blessings,
Christine

Sweet Pink Saturday

It's Pink Saturday again and today I have some yummy chocolate cupcakes. Actually I haven't tasted them yet but they sure look yummy.

I'm making carrot cake for Easter dinner and I thought the kids would like cupcakes better. So this is what they are getting-- chocolate cupcakes with cherry pink frosting. Yum!!! I don't think all of them will make it to my sister's house by Sunday. Shhh - don't tell anyone how many I made.

Beverly at How Sweet the Sound hosts Pink Saturday every week. This is a very fun event. Each of us post a picture of something pink on our blog on Saturday and try to visit as many of the other blogs as possible. I'm not sure how many participate but it is in the hundreds. Big thanks to Beverly for coordinating all of it!

Sarah, I might be late to the quilting bee so serve these until I get there. I set this plate aside for you!

Blessings,

Thursday Thunks

I found this last Thursday on someone's blog and thought it would be fun to participate! I can't remember whose blog it was on; I'm sorry I can't give you the credit!

At Thursday Thunks they pick a subjec and everyone is to interpret it anyway they want. You write about it on your blog... simple as that. Go on over and play along.

1. What was the last thing you ate? Pistachios, already shelled. I didn't have to do all the work!

2. I say the color purple.. what do you think of? grape soda

3. Lamps or ceiling lights?Lamps, ceiling lights are to harsh.

4. What color rabbit is your favorite? chocolate, of course

5. Your car breaks down on a deserted road and your cell phone has no signal - what do you do? Panic!!! Then wish I still had On-Star (it works a lot of times when cells don't) and just sit and wait; that's what they tell you to do isn't it? (and starting digging under the seat for food tidbits)

6. What is one thing most of your friends do online that you just can't understand the fascination and do not participate in? Twitter

7. What do you need right now? lunch, all I've eaten today is pistachios

8. And your most serious injury you've had was....? Broken wrist.

9. What is the most evil thing you've ever done? I can't think of anything

10. Give us some random fact about you. I make Easter bunny cakes for my family dinner every Easter. This year I'm making pink cupcakes too because I love cupcakes so much!!!

Blessings,

Cuttlebug Challenge is Having a Spa Retreat

Cuttlebug Challenges is having a Spa Retreat on their blog.

They are sharing inspiration and challenges including several giveways including spa items as well as scrappie things! Go over there and check it out!!!

Blessings,

Yellow Parasol and Catching Butterflies

Isn't she just the cutest!!! I used the sketch from Crafts for Eternity except it doesn't meet the challenge because it doesn't have a rabbit!!! Cute Card Thursday's challenge is citrus colors and Simon Says is yellow and green.

She's pretty cute too, huh? I used the sketch from Sketch Saturday and that's all for this one.

Both images are Cute Daisy May downloads. I'm really liking the digital images because you can do so much with them. I used the watercolor pencils, AGAIN. I'm getting stuck in a rut, but it works for me.

That's it for tonight. I'm takin' the pup out and goin' to bed. They changed my late night TV schedule so maybe it will get me in bed earlier!!!

Blessings,

Springtime in Paris

I used the Paris street scene stamp today. Isn't it beautiful! As soon as I saw this online I knew I had to order it and it would be my favorite stamp. I definitely wanted to paint this today so when I saw the challenge at Flourishes Timeless Tuesday it was perfect. There challenge is to use your favorite stamp. The challenge at Secret Crafters is to use stripes so it fits that one too.

The next time I paint this one I'm going to try to paint it with the real watercolors. I wasn't that happy with the range of colors I had to work with using the pencils. This one took me about an hour to color and I think it would be quicker too. It's a very large stamp so I can't play around with the card much. I think it would be fun to make this into a window card.

I colored several other images today. I wanted to use the watercolor pencils a little before I tackled this one (hehe). I might even get another one before I go to bed.

Blessings to everyone,


Oh, I had one more thing. Somehow I ordered two of these stamps. I was planning on giving away some blog candy in the next couple of weeks so this stamp will definately be in the mix. I will probably get things together and post the candy on Monday. Hint: It will include a small challenge but you don't HAVE to participate in the challenge to enter.

Girly Girl Fairy

The challenge at Colour Create was to use duck egg blue and rose. I hope this is what the meant. The extra challenge was to use stitching but it wasn't compulsory. That was good because I didn't do it. I've never done stitching on a card. It's too much work to pull out the sewing machine!!!

This is one of the stamps I got in the mail today. She is "Lovely Fairy" from Auntie Amy's stamps. Isn't she cute? Once again, I used my water color pencils. I thought I had some paper that went with her but when I got her done, it just didn't work so I just used plain card stock for her. It makes the image stand out even more. Ya, that's right!! With those colors she is very girly girl!!!

One of the other stamps I got today is amazingly beautiful. It is a Paris cafe street scene. I think it will take a couple of times to get it colored correctly because it very intricate and is made for watercolors. I can't wait to start it but it will have to wait until tomorrow because if I start it now, I won't be able to sleep until I get it done! (hehe)

Blessings,

Metamorphosis

My blogger friend, Carla, is a very gifted photographer. I would like to share her talent with all of my blogger friends today. Over the last few weeks, she photographed a caterpillar egg, taking new shots every couple of days until it was a butterfly.

Also, while you're there, check out this post. She captured the hatching process from beginning to end. It is stunning!

I got some new stamps in the mail today; I'm really excited to use them!!!

Blessings,

Enjoy Butterflies

Stamptacular Sunday Challenge had a party today celebrating their new challenge. I found it a little late but was able to get in on a couple of there giveaways. One of them was to make this weeks challenge by midnight tonight ET to get into a special drawing. I have to get there quick to post a link to this card. Tell ya more later.

Okay, I seem to have forgotten how to calculate time zones. When it's 9:00 MT, it's only 11:00 ET. So I had no time issues. That's good because Mr Linky wasn't playing nice.

Now about the card. Stamptacular's challenge was to make a card portraying new beginnings. For me, the ultimate in new beginnings is the metamorphosis of a butterfly. It has particular meaning to me. As those who read my blog regularly know, I have undergone a metamorphosis of my own. Several years go I suffered a major heart attack (a spontaneous artery dissection) and ended up with diminished heart capacity. I'll get to the point quickly. Several years later I was feeling pretty bad when the docs told me I needed a heart transplant.

I felt the time that I was ill and the time I was waiting for "the call," I was a little Caterpillar crawling around. After the transplant, I was in my cocoon recovering and getting my strength back. During that time, I morphed into a butterfly with the most beautiful heart anybody could have. Needless to say, I {heart} butterflies!!!

The sentiment is cut out with the Cricut Calligraphy cartridge. That cartridge has a ton of sentiment cutouts. Way more than is on the back of the box. The butterflies are cut out with my Cuttlebug and a Quikutz die.

I'll be starting another card tonight but I probably won't get it posted for a couple of days. The weather is going to be beautiful the next 2 days so I'm going to be working in the yard. On Wednesday, were back to rainy in cold!!!

Blessings,

Strawberries!

Look! My strawberry plants are coming up!!! Yes, that is a rose vine in there with it. Last year I read (I think on the Univ of Iowa extension website) that strawberries and roses should be planted together because they give each other the nutrients that they need. So, I decided to try it. Hopefully both the strawberries and roses will do very well this year.

Last year, I didn't get very many strawberries and most of the ones I did get were eaten by the squirels. My neighbor always feeds them peanuts so I have a lot of squirels in my yard and a LOT of peanuts buried in my pots and beds. However, she moved so maybe I'll have better luck this year.

I have a trellis on the side of my deck for the roses to climb on. I planted 2 plants 3 years ago and planted one only last year. Let's hope they all grow really well this year and cover the trellis. Tomorrow is supposed to be a beautiful day so I'll be out in the garden most of the day. It gets me motivated to get in the garden when I see something like this.

Blessings,

Happy Shower Day!

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There are three posts right in a row, so don't miss anything!!!




For this card, I used the sketch from Inspirational Sketches and Flourishes Friday Focus Challenge is paper piecing.

Isn't this image cute. The cat lying on the towel while his person is reaching for it. I paper pieced the shower curtain from the reverse side of the floral background paper. This is about the end of this paper. I have made several cards with one sheet of 12x12 reversable paper. I bought it last year to make an Easter card for a friend.

This is another digi stamp from Squigglefly. I love these downloads. If you want to try out digi stamps, they have a free download for you. The images are all very cute and they are so versitile. They come in 4x6 with two images, one to the right and one turned to the left. They also come in 8x10 with both right and left. Wouldn't this image be cute done as an 8x10 wall hanging? Once you get it on your computer, you size it to whatever will fit your needs. They are also having a blog hop this weekend so go over and get started because it ends Sunday!!!

Blessings,

Chick Loves Bunny

I used the sketch from Mojo Monday for this card. The challenge at Our Creative Corner is to make an Easter card or project.

I made a card like this a couple of days ago but this time I colored the chicky darker so hopefully he is the focal point of the card. I used the watercolor pencil on them. The little heart on the bow actually says "handmade with love" on it. I got a pack of them last week at Joanne's. I love to use them when I'm making cards for friends and family.

The image is the free Easter digi stamp that I got from Bee Crafty for putting her banner on my blog. Check her blog out for more information. She has another free digi stamp for everyone. I don't know how long she will be offering these but ya' better go take a look before it's too late.

Blessings,

Some Bunny Hearts

Over at Truly Scrumptious the challenge this week is Flower Power with a sketch. The ABC Challenge is to use hearts, and Stamp Something's challenge is to make an Easter card. This card fits all three!!! I'm getting some Easter cards made for my family and neighbors.

My inspiration for this card was one of my T-shirts. Do you know the company that makes T-shirts and stuff that is called Life is Good? They mostly sell them at sporting goods stores but we have a Life is Good store in our mall. (Yes, we only have one mall.) I have a pink T-shirt that has a small dark pink heart on the front with the words "Life is Good" under the heart. I think this is my favorite T-shirt. It has a lot of meaning for me. I would have taken a pict of it, but I have had it for a number of years and it's in pretty bad shape. Any way, I painted the flower pots like that T-shirt. Once again, I watercolored the image.

This is another digi stamp from Squigglefly. Isn't it cute! I love these downloads.
Blessings,

Polka Dot Rain

For this card I used the sketch from Friday Sketchers. As always, there were some things I would have done differently. I would have put some ribbon on the horizontal strip and also used a border punch on it. It also fits in challenge Cafe Mojo's which is Spring is in the Air.

I always put my cards together with a little bit of reposition tape first and look at. I wanted to keep this card simple because the image is quite large in relation to the card, so I thought I had enough. As soon as I put it together with permanent adhesive, I realized it needed more. Oh well!!!

The image is a digi download from Squigglefly. They are having a blog hop this weekend. You can go here to start hoppin'.

I used water colors again. I really do love the water colors!!! When my hands stop shaking I'm going to pull out the real ones. There's a funny story there.

About a year ago I bought a small professional set of watercolors that are made for artists take when they want to paint outside. I thought it would be perfect for my scraproom. At the time, I was shaking too much to use them. Yesterday, I decided to try them out again but I couldn't find them. I searched and searched for them so I just decided to clean up and maybe I would come across them. Two hours later, after organizing paper, moving things around, cleaning stamps, etc., I still hadn't found them.

So I just decided to change my mind and use my pencils instead. I knew there was a piece of paper I wanted to use on the top of the pile in my scrap paper drawer and of course, I opened the wrong drawer. I know where everything is, but can I open the right drawer the first time around? Noooo!!! Well, guess what was in the drawer I opened. My watercolors were in the drawer with my templates. I have no idea why I put them in there!!!

The bad news is that I'm still shaking too much. I don't know why I can color with pencils and then use a brush with water, but it works that way. For those that don't know, I shake because of medications that I have to take. If you want to know more, check out this post.

Blessings,

Yummy Pink Saturday

It's Pink Saturday!!! This is one of many California Pottery pieces that I have, most of them pink. Doesn't it look yummy with the pink Kisses? Yes, I sorted out all the pink kisses so I didn't taint Pink Saturday with another color!!!

Now you can see it empty. That's a sad sight after the one above, huh? :-(

And this is what I use it for normally. It is in my studio and contains various small die cuts that I made and they weren't quite right when I got ready to use them. Some day I will figure out something to do with them. A lot of them are pink; I {heart} pink!!! Maybe an art journal page. I should make it pink so I can display it for Pink Saturday!

Beverly at How Sweet the Sound hosts Pink Saturday every week. This is a very fun event. Each of us post a picture of something pink on our blog on Saturday and try to visit as many of the other blogs as possible. I'm not sure how many participate but it is in the hundreds. Big thanks to Beverly for coordinating all of it!

Pink Blessings to Everyone,

Striped Monkeys

I'm back on my regular schedule of doing my cards in the late evening again.

My Time to Craft's challenge this week is is to have some "Island Fun." The image is an Autumn Leaves clear stamp set. I made the flowers using a Cuttlebug die and I glued little seed beads in the center. My niece was going to be married last summer and I designed the invitations for her. I did these flowers (in the same colors but more pastel) for an example. However she didn't like the flowers (she wanted daisies) and then she didn't get married either.

I used my watercolors again. I really like the watercolor pencils. I'm going to have to break out the real watercolors one of these days. I would be able to get more colors with them. I kind of struggled with the greens on this one.

I bought and downloaded a couple of digital stamps today that I want to print and color. My printer is out of black ink and I need to by some different water color paper. Mine is to thick to put through the printer. So tomorrow I'll be off to Walmart to get some ink. Then I'll come home and print a coupon and go buy some new watercolor paper and whatever else I think I'll need at the time.

The weather man said it's supposed to rain tomorrow but after that, sunny and in the 60s. I'll be able to get out and get some yard work done. Yay!!! I love my garden. I'll have to wait to paint the deck until we've had about a weed of no rain though!!!

Blessings,

Blog Candy Alert

Danniele is at it again. She is having another giveaway!!! This time she is giving away a Bind-it-all, a cupcake apron and a hand made custom vintage pearl neclace.

Also, Squigglefly is having a blog hop where you can enter for a chance to win candy from 11 design team members and a grand prize. Woo-hoo.

Get on over there and take a look. Now!!!

Blessings,

Magnolia Meets Basic Grey

Basic Grey's challenge this week is a sketch. As I started putting this card together, I was exactly with the sketch but turned sideways. I attached the striped paper to close together so it looks like it's just one piece. But it's two, really! And then I thought the image was cuter attached a little crooked. I think she looks cuter this way. All the paper is Basic Grey except the background.

I decided to put down the Prismas today and use my watercolor pencils. I'm much more comfortable with the watercolors. I used a paint brush with my VersaMark ink pad and embossing powder for her wings.

The Magnolia was a RAK from Jen at Pieces of Me.

Blessings,

My Light is Going Out

I'm in mourning.

My favorite soap opera, Guiding Light, the one I've watched since I can remember, is going off the air on Sept 18th. No more Josh and Reva . . .

. . . no more Coopers . . .

. . . no more Lewis's . . .

and no more Spauldings (that's a good thing). There's always one family that you love to hate.

Only on a soap would people have that look on their faces during a wedding. (hehe) I think this is the instance that Beth's (the bride) x-husband who everyone thought was dead walked in. Well, the guy on the right, Rick (which is also the bride's x-husband), and the guy next to him knew that he was alive. They, however, didn't know he was coming back to Springfield. (So soap opera-ish.)

Guiding Light is the longest running show in broadcast history. GL started on radio in 1937 and continued operating on radio and television for a couple of years so people who didn't own a TV yet could still listen to their soap.

GL was the first soap opera to have African-Americans in leading roles. It raised awareness for several issues, such as discrimination against women (in the 40s), teen alcoholism and drug abuse, uterine cancer, postpartum depression, AIDS, Down syndrome, leukemia and breast cancer. I could name most of the characters that were portrayed in those roles. Well except for in the 40s. (hehe)

GL's Find Your Light campaign served many people. The actors went to New Orleans and other city is need to help rebuild houses. The show also encouraged others to participate in their Find Your Light campaign and highlighted, during commercial breaks, some of the things the viewers had done.

Kevin Bacon , Calista Flockhart , James Earl Jones , Cicely Tyson , and Hayden Panettiere were all on GL before they made it big.

GL was not renewed for 2009/2010 by CBS after 57 years on that network. The production company is trying to find GL a new home. (Did that sound like an obituary? I didn't mean for it to, but it seems fitting.)

I already TiVo my soap each day but only keep one episode. It's not hard to catch up with what you missed on a soap. I think I'm going to start recording all episodes now. They'll probably have some good story lines in the meantime though.

I got some of this information from http://www.myglcommunity.net/. Most of it I already knew but wanted to confirm some things.

I sure hope the find a new home!!!

Blessings,

I just proofread this and I can sure see the tech writer in me coming out when I'm writing about facts. Say what you need to, get to the point and say it quick. (hehe)

April Fools!!!

I must not be too devious because I've never been good at April Fools jokes/pranks, but my mother is. Both of these stories happened after all of her children were well into their 30s.

One year my sister, Rose, was coming to visit from out of state the weekend after April Fools. My Mom called me on AF and said that she had just purchased airline tickets for us to go visit Rose. I said, "We can't go to Rose's because Rose is coming here." She would reply, "We're going to Rose's; won't that be fun!!!" This went on and on, both of us repeating similar things, until I thought my Mother had totally lost her mind. She wasn't even 60 yet. When she could tell I was getting really worried, she yelled, "APRIL FOOLS."

A couple of years later, we were having a family get together at my Mom's -- siblings from out of town and everything. I got to her house for dinner and was hanging out in the kitchen when I realized there was no silverware on the table. I opened the drawer and their was none in there either. I got in the china hutch, that silverware was gone too. Okay, by this time I realized it is AF and now I'm wondering what the heck she's up to. When I asked her about it, she would just smirk and shrug her shoulders. We all sat down at the table for dinner and she brought out the "eating utensils". They were cooking utensils; big spoons, spatulas, ladles, etc. The worst part was that she was serving spaghetti.

I can't remember off the top of my head about the things she did when we were kids, but she was always up to something!!! I'll add more if I think of anything else during the day. I do remember that she ALWAYS did something to our breakfast. It's not much fun to wake up to purple oatmeal.

Blessings,