A Blog Called Wanda

An old fashioned hello!

Let's talk! Today I'm sharing a card I made this weekend using a fun stamp set from Hero Arts! I only had a few more days to get an entry into the February contest! I love entering their blog contests. There's a lot of competition and it's fun to join in the mix. You don't have to have a blog to enter - they do their contests on Flickr - which is free - so I really encourage you to enter! CLICK HERE for the details on the challenge for this month.  This month's theme is Friendship or Hello cards.

 

 

I love this vintage stamp set - cool old phones and a neat font...Just begs for some retro colors and buttons and such. I like combining a bunch of 'stuff' on my shabby chic cards. Here I used a scrap of the patterned paper (Picadilly by Basic Grey) and a pearl pin to make a flag. One trick for putting light colored buttons onto dark cardstock is to put the button on a tiny piece of white paper. That way the color can come through.

 

 

Here are my supplies...The pretty red toile looking paper is the back side of the stripes...perfection! I found just the right shade of aqua blue Bazzil paper to match. These colors make me think of the 50's!

 

Let's talk!  The stamp set is called "Just Saying Hi." I love the sayings in it.

 

 

 

So there you have it for today! Thank you, as always, for coming by to see me! I hope you have a great day! See you soon.

 

Happy Valentine's Day 2012! XOXOXO!

Whew....I have a lot to share today! I had a super fun, busy weekend full of friends and laughter and food and crafting and pictures and oooh boy. I needed to go back to work to rest up! Hahaha. Happy Heart Day to you and your family. It's Valentine's Day! I'm sorry it's here because I feel like I was just getting in my crafty groove with hearts and stuff. I put all the Valentine crafty things away last night...until next year. I have one last card to share with you for the holiday.

As you probably know...I love banners! I'm crazy about 'em actually. Love them on cakes, and cards and hanging up for a party and all that. I even have a Pinterest Board called Banner Madness (click here). I wanted to make a pretty red and cream banner card so I got out some supplies and went to town with it! This card is definitely "more is more!"

 

 

Each little banner is different, but they are all unified by using the same papers, hearts, and butterflies. I adore crisp, bright red with cream.

 

Before I started, I went around the craft room and got out all kinds of yummy things I thought would go together. The pennants were cut from a Papertrey Ink die set and the hearts are also a Papertrey Ink die set. The butterflies were punched from Martha Stewart punches. The beautiful lace ribbon is from my sweet pen pal Holly in The Netherlands! I had to pretty much tear the whole room apart to find those teeny tiny clothespins!!!

 

This is the process of laying everything out first to see what looked best...before gluing it all together. I decided to layer two colors on each pennant.

 

 

Here they are all strung on a pretty piece of lace. I inked the edges of everything with linen distress ink just to make it look more vintage.

 

 

I busted out the sewing machine and made a free form edge around the cream paper. The message was stamped in brown ink.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now, somewhere along in the process, Mr. Buddy decided to hop onto my stamping table and have a look...and he liked this one the best! Bad kitty!

 

Friday night my friend CJ met me at Paper Garden to take a class from the fabulous Ms. Julie Ebersole! CJ is an amazing baker/cake decorator. She brought me the most adorable (and delicious) little box of truffles she made! Aren't the pretty? They tasted so goooooooood!

 

 

In class, we made five fun fold cards. I think this idea was my favorite. The card lays flat for mailing but then pops up into a little diorama. SO cute! I will be making some more of these - I have some ideas in my head already. Thanks for a great class Julie!

 

Saturday I spent the day with some of my stamping gal pals....all day....eating yummy food and stamping and laughing and being silly and carefree! Sunday the hubs and I decided to do our Valentine's Day celebrating. It's too hard to go out on a Tuesday night with the crowds and such...so we just did it a little early. First we went for a nice long drive in the car just to relax and snap some pics. Then we went for a tasty dinner at PF Chang's! Had great service and a wonderful time. Made it home in time to watch the Grammys. It was a perfect weekend!

Some of you might know that I LOVE my iPhone. No, I mean like I REALLY love my iPhone! hahaha. I have about 20 photography apps and like to try different things with my phone photos. One of my favorite apps is Instagram. I like the different filters and effects and I like the fact that you can "follow" people's feeds and and share your pix. You can CLICK HERE to see my Instagram stuff. I thought I would share some of my favorite photos from Sunday's drive. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One last picture...our daffodils have started blooming in our front yard! They are so fresh and bright and perfect right when they bloom. Makes me happy!!! Okay, that's enough of my yammering on for one day.

 HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!!

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Year of the Dragon - Gung Hay Fat Choy!

Happy New Year! It's the Year of the Dragon...and guess what, I'm a Dragon! So...it must be my lucky year! I think that 2012 is going to bring good things. Today is the first day of Chinese New Year. Every year I like to make Chinese New Year cards for my friends. Click here for my 2010 Year of the Tiger card and click here for my 2011 Year of the Rabbit card. Do you know what year you are?  

 

For this year's cards I went back to traditional red, black and gold. It was hard to find a Dragon stamp! The one I used is from Judikins. Here is the finished card:

 

 

 

The gold embossed characters are for double happiness. The dragon was stamped in vivid red ink onto a sheet of vellum and layered over another piece of paper.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In this photo you can see the white paper underneath the vellum. On that paper, I stamped a large Chinese character background and then some green bamboo. Both of those stamps are from Hero Arts. It was hard to get it to really show in the photo. But, you get the idea!

 

 

Here is the inside of the card. I wanted to carry the bamboo and green over into the inside to bring it all together. This symbol is for good luck.

 

 

Here are my envelopes....

 

 

I am a complete Starbucks groupie! I couldn't believe it when I found these SUPER cool Starbucks cards and sleeves last month! They were gone so fast! I must have timed it just right to get some. I actually collect Starbucks cards....I need to do a post on that one of these days....I have some good ones! And, these are a great addition to the collection.

 

 

The DH ordered me this amazing Starbucks Bearista bear on eBay from Taiwan! I have a Year of the Tiger one too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I took this photo in San Francisco's Chinatown last year,  and I love the color, the movement, and the drama of all those flags and lanterns. It really captures the essence of the place.

Thank you for stopping by my blog today! Gung Hay Fat Choy! Happy New Year everyone! Hope it's a good one, and best wishes for Health, Happiness and Prosperity in the Year of the Dragon!

Wanda!  

Happy Birthday to the hubs!

Hi! Today is the hubs' birthday and I thought I would share his birthday card and also share our outing to San Francisco yesterday to celebrate his birthday! My husband was born in San Francisco and he is a HUGE 49er football fan. Right now he's in the family room watching the game.  It is so hard to make him cards. But, I got an idea...this is his 49th birthday....so I made him a 49er card! Yeah! He totally flipped out and loved it. That made me really happy. I hope you get a kick out of it too.

 

 

I printed the SF logo off the computer on high print quality on good cardstock and then cut it out. I wrote the sentiment on the computer as well. The rest was inspired by the team colors of red, gold and white.

 

 

 

 

 

I can't remember where these chip board numbers are from...maybe Basic Grey? I painted them with gold craft paint before adding the glitter. I have found that if you don't put something (color) down first then the glitter looks dull. I LOVE making glittery numbers!

 

The stripe accent is based on the team's uniform pants. They have a stripe just like this down each leg. I cut the sentiment into a banner - cuz it just looked sporty!

 

 

Finished off the whole thing with some stars punched out of gold paper...

 

 

 

We got up yesterday morning, stopped at Starbucks, and headed into the city. From our house, we can be in downtown San Francisco in about 90 minutes. Oddly, there was no traffic yesterday! We stopped off on Treasure Island to snap some pics. It was sort of foggy and hazy, so the photo isn't really clear. I never get tired of this view.

 

 

 

First stop...Union Square...for shopping and people watching...and, boy, was there good people watching yesterday!

 

Tiffany's...Ah... I still have the first thing I ever bought there...my first pair of real pearl stud earrings. I think I've had them 25 years and I still wear them all the time. So many memories from shopping downtown.

 

All of a sudden, we heard all these police sirens and bullhorns. Weird, right? Well, turns out the police were clearing the street for the "Occupy San Francisco" protestors to come through.

 

 

On the top floor of Macy's is a Cheesecake Factory restaurant that has outdoor seating. It's really the best view of Union Square, and we like to go hang out there and have a meal when we are shopping. Here's the view from our table down onto the square, with the tree and the ice rink. It was a gorgeous evening!

 

This is a snow princess from the Christmas department at Macy's. This just really caught my eye. I still can't decide if it's beautiful or sort of creepy!!! What do you think?

 

I liked this little guy...so happy and retro just smiling away...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not sure what was up with the harlequin elephants!

 

 

Mark took this shot with the fish-eye lens on his camera! 

 

 

This shot came from my iPhone at dinner...not the best photo quality, but it captured the moment! Cheers! And...Merry Christmas!

This one is also from my iPhone - with the instagram app. I LOVE that app! You can make your photos look old, or black and white, all kinds of stuff. I really love how this picture came out with the vintage feeling.  

 

One last stop on the way home - back at the same spot on Treasure Island to capture the city with her Christmas lights on! So breathtaking. This picture is better if you click on it and make it bigger.  

 

Okay, friends, let the frenzy continue! Have a wonderful week! 
  

Happy Thanksgiving

Hi everyone! Just a quick post today to extend my heartfelt wishes to you and your families for a lovely Thankgiving! I hope you eat too much, get too many hugs, and don't have enough fingers to count all of your blessings! I love Thanksgiving because the message is pure and simple - be glad and grateful for all that we have. Have a wonderful day! Happy Thanksgiving!

 

 

For each new morning with its light,
For rest and shelter of the night,
For health and food, for love and friends,
For everything Thy goodness sends.
~Ralph Waldo Emerson

 

Howdy!

Hi everyone! Greetings and salutations on this fine November day! Happy weekend to you all! Well, it's been a busy week here on the blog, what with all of the Taylored Expressions release week festivities and all that good stuff. BUT...we missed a very important day...my birthday! Hahaha. My bday was on Thursday. I'm a gal who loves a birthday, lemme tell ya. I love to get cards in the mail, to go out to dinner with my friends and to generally be spoiled by the hubs. Always have, and always will, love a birthday! In honor of this momentous occasion I have a birthday card to share with you. I also have some snaps to share of our fun-filled day spent in San Francisco.

First off, here's a card inspired by, and made with, the uber cute new Sidewalks Collection from October Afternoon. Do you not love that company? I love the retro colors they use and the happy prints. I made two cards using the same papers, actually. I'll post the other one a different time.

 

 

The pretty red doily is made from the big die from PTI! Nice! I cut out a pretty yellow border to offset the word paper.  

Added a nice big shabby chic rose to the whole thing and then used the stickers that came with the paper collection. No stamping involved! The Happy Birthday wording is a rub on!

 

 

If you're still with me...I have some photos to share too. I didn't really know what I wanted to do on my birthday. The hubs and I both took the day off from work and late Wednesday I decided it would be fun just to go hang out in San Francisco for the day, taking pictures, and shopping, and eating...you know - the good stuff in life. It ended up raining for much of the day, but we got some cool shots before the rain started.

FIrst we stopped off on Treasure Island, which is in the middle of the bay. Best view of the city and the bridges! The clouds were starting to roll in...the sign of things to come.

 

 

 

 

 

 

We went to this bakery I love called Miette. I have their cookbook and love it so much. They make yummy cupcakes and macarons.

 

 

 

 

For lunch we had a salami sandwich and cupcakes. Yum, no?

 

 

 

 

We hit up a couple of favorite art stores - Flax and Blick Art. Blick has the GIANT 'tower o' Copics' that I so would love to bring home with me. Unfortunately it would not fit in my purse! Every color in every shape... When I win lotto that baby is mine! Flax has the amazing paper room! Rows and rows of shelves with handmade papers from around the world. You look in a big catalog at the swatches and then go and find the corresponding cabinet. WOW. Been going here for years - it makes me want to be creative.

 

I had some fun with my iPhone photo apps - Instagram and Hipstamatic. I like to experiment with the images. Sometimes they come out neat, and sometimes not. I'm posting a few of those too.

 

 

 

Mark bought me an amazing leopard print cover for my iPad at the Tory Burch boutique. SCORE! It seems classy and cool at the same time. Rawr. LOVE. Thanks honey!

We did not buy these...but, man, aren't they pretty?

Thank you so much for coming by the blog today! I hope your weekend is just fantastic! See you soon!

I've gone batty!

Hi! How's your week going? Mine is going great...but fast! The DH and I spent a lovely and rainy day in Napa on Monday and then yesterday we did some more driving around and photo spotting. Today we've been at home taking care of business and phone calls, etc. Generally taking care of things. Tomorrow I have lunch plans with a gal pal and before you know it...poof...the week will be over. It's been a nice break from the office and lots of sleeping in. Hope you have been having a good week!

Today's card is a CAS Halloween card with a cool Bat cutout made from a EK Success punch. This idea just popped into my head because I kept thinking...what am I going to do with that giant bat punch?? haha.

 

 

I punched a bat out of some crisp, black paper and then layered that piece over some orange and white gingham. I popped that piece up over some orange paper with foam tape.

 

The Happy Halloween sentiment is from Amuse Stamps...don't you love the cheery mix of fonts? I had to add a couple of blings...even though it is CAS!

 

 

 

 

I took a ton of pictures in Napa on Monday but haven't had the chance to decide which ones to post, and haven't had the time to watermark all of them. I really wanted to share just a few today, though. I hope you enjoy the scenes! 
 

 

 

 

 

Thank you so much for coming by today to see what I'm up to! Have a wonderful day today!

 
 

An October outing in pictures...

Hi friends! How are you? Did you have a good week? I sure hope so! Can't even believe it's Friday already. I swear that time off from work is on a completely different time/space continuum in which time passes at triple speed. Oy. Hubs and I have enjoyed a week off together and have been bizzy bees running around getting things taken care of and having a little fun too. I wanted to share some pictures with you today. I have Halloween projects in the wings...been working on that. But today I thought I would share our day we spent driving around last weekend.

First off, I have to share this wonderful store I found in Nevada City, CA. Nevada City is about a 45 minute drive from where we live and it is a very scenic drive. We like to go there in the Fall. No leaves yet, though, this time around. Anyhoo...back to the great store I found. It's called My Favorite Things! The owner has been featured in Somerset Magazines...she loves all things shabby/chic/vintage. It was so much fun to look around and take pictures...

Here's a cute little Halloween Owl to greet you at the door...

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This little cutie almost came home with me...Love those red lips!  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On our way back 'down the hill' to our house, we stopped at Apple Hill, which is a big area full of orchards and wineries and people come and hang out and buy apples, pies and pumpkins. Everything was closed by the time we got there, but we took some nice twilight photos of the wineries... 

 

Almost harvest time!  

 

After Apple Hill, we stopped in Placerville to see what was going on there and to take some night pictures. I loved this scene at this restaurant. There was super cool 60's jazz playing and glasses clinking and it was the most gorgeous evening for a party...sigh... 

 

I liked this scene so much I tried a Sepia version!  

 

Here is the downtown area of Placerville... 

 

And, finally, a shot of Sacramento from a distance. Isn't that moon COOOOOL? This was the best shot of the bunch and seems kind of fun, right?  

 

And we always come home to our kitter cat...waiting patiently for the humans to come home and pay attention to him. Those eyes kill me. Serioulsy.  

Thank you so much for visiting today and watching my little slide show! I hope you have the best weekend ever. I'll see you soon with some Halloween stuff. Are you ready? I'm not! I already bought candy though, does that count? Bye!  
 

Labor Day Weekend 2011

Hi! Are you having a fun Labor Day Weekend!? I sure hope you are having fun in the sun with your friends and loved ones. We have been having a lovely weekend so far...so much so that I wanted to share with you! This post has a ton of pictures and some of this and some of that. I'll put the card pictures first in case that's what you came to see! I have some funny pictures of Buddy too - since I know his fans have been waiting for some new pix of that handsome devil! Thanks for coming by today. Here goes nothin'....

This weekend was the Five Year Anniversary celebration of the Paper Garden Boutique and Dave Brethauer came back to see us in Sac-town to celebrate in style. I never miss a chance to hang out at PG or to take a class with Dave. Dave also designed a line of stamps just for the Paper Garden! That is very cool! I bought them...of course! Hee hee. Beautiful flowers and sayings...

Whenever Dave comes to town,  I like to make him a card using his stamps...you know he is the owner/designer for Memory Box Stamps. His Autumn Collage image is a total favorite so I used that to make him this card:

 

 

I cut out the center of a piece of paper using my Nesties and then later mounted it over the top of a cream piece of cardstock with the stamped image. I think the tone on tone of the kraft helps keep it masculine.  

 

Here is the beautiful stamp. Instead of stamping in black, I used dark brown. I stamped a second image and colored the leaves to cut out to add on the outside of my frame.  

 

Colored pencils did the trick for this card... 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Here are three of the lovely ladies from Paper Garden! Chelsea, Stephanie and Kelly! They make me happy!  Aren't they beautiful?

 

 Here's Dave in the classroom! A full house, as usual...

 

This is one of the cards we made in class... 

 

 And here's another one...This is one of the flower images he designed for the store...

 

Okay...so you thought my day was over??? After the festivites at Paper Garden, we drove to the bay area to watch the opening game of College Football Season! YAYAYAYAYAY! I am a die hard fan for my school and we go to games whenever we can. This year, our stadium is being renovated. The old girl was built in 1921 and she needed retro-fitting and updating. This is how she currently looks:  

 
 

Well, as you can see, ain't no football happening there this year! Yikes! So, all of our games are being played in San Francisco. The game yesterday was played at Candlestick Park (home of the 49ers). It was weird to see the stadium all painted for us instead of the 49ers! I've been to a million games there before, but never like this! Ha. It was a gorgeous day for opening the season!  

 

This made the trip even better! At least for right now, we are undefeated! We win some and we lose more, but I love my Bears no matter what. Great start to the season!

 

We had planned to stop on the way home and take night pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge and the city. It was SOOOO foggy that you couldn't even SEE the bridge! We'll have to save that for another time. We did manage to take a few pix of the Palace of Fine Arts though. It was gorgeous at night!  

 

Today was time for Mr. Buddy to have a bath and a comb-out. Kind of a kitty spa day if you will. He got his nails trimmed and then a lovely warm bath, followed by a warm towel, a style, and a nap in the sun. I thought it would be fun to share some comparison pictures with you guys! Okay, so here's Buddy in 2007 in our kitchen sink.... 

 

And here's Buddy today in our kitchen sink! OMG.  

 

2007..... 

 

Today! I would say he grew just a bit! Um, yeah, like 17 pounds!!!! He's not really mad, just cold. But, we put the towels in the dryer for him so he can be toasty when he gets out.

 
I hope you enjoy the rest of your long weekend! HUGS!  

  
 

What a day yesterday!

Hi friends! I hope you had a fabulous weekend! Mine was jam packed with fun things to do and friends to see and junk food to eat, and everything amazing! I don't have a card to share today since I was too busy to make anything. I wanted to share some pictures with you, though, if that's okay! Saturday I spent all day with some of my stamping friends! I've known most of this group for 16 years now! Wow. We had a fantastic time catching up, stamping and learning. Awesome day.

Sunday the DH and I spent the day in Berkeley and then ended the day by going to see Adele in concert at the Greek Theater! OMG. The concert was postponed from June when we were originally supposed to see her. It was well worth the wait! Her voice is really indescribable. 1000% better in person than on the CD. Truly a gift. I have no words really. It was an intimate show outside under the stars on a beautiful full-moon evening. It was magical. I won't forget it!

First stop yesterday morning was at one of my FAVORITE crafty hangouts - Scrapbook Territory! Yeah! They just got in a truckload of the new My Mind's Eye Lost and Found 2 collection. WOWZA! I think I went overboard and bought some of each color palette. YUM. Here's just a little taste of that goodness:

 

 

And I found this...Stamping Anya! I hadn't seen her before...and I got the last one! She will be fun to color up with my Copics for sure!

  
While I was shopping and talking...I had the best timing, since the Cupkate's Cupcake truck pulled up right outside! Kristen ran out and got us cupcakes...(Thanks Kristen!) and I chose the Salted Caramel version... Now I'm not sure what could be better than having cupcakes AT the paper store???

 
You guys are probably wondering where the DH was during all this? He nicely dropped me off and then went off scouting out some photo opportunities down by the Marina where you have the perfect view of the Golden Gate Bridge and San Francisco! He came back for me later.  If you are ever anywhere near Berkeley you HAVE to stop at this store!

This is a super cool display that has every color of the Tim Holtz Distress inks so you can see how the colors look next to each other. I love the graphic-ness of it all...

 
 

There were some ladies working on amazing scrapbooks at the work tables. I had to take a photo of this creation. LOVE the yellow and grey together and all those patterns working together. I am inspired by this...so you may see some yellow coming soon!

 

And....finally....the highlight of the entire weekend! The Adele Concert! It was very hard to take pictures with such low light, but I got a few that capture the essence of the evening. She was wonderful. Her personality is spunky and delightful at the same time...warm and sassy at the same time. LOVE. Didn't think it was possible for me to be enamored more with her, but after this...I am.

 

  

 
  

 

 
  

 

 
 

Here's a video to share too! Keep in mind that videography is NOT my specialty! hahaha. She saved this song until the very very end...just when everyone was about to go crazy from not hearing it!  

 

The concert venue is actually on the campus of my college! It was such a gorgeous evening, so after the concert we walked through campus taking night photos and trying to capture the cool full moon! That's the moon in the right of the photo. I didn't want to go home...I wanted to stay out all night!

 

On our way out of town to drive home we HAD to stop for a snack! I am one hundred percent certain that I am too old to be eating Strawberry Pie and soda at midnight! But I did it anyway! Sometimes you gotta be crazy.  

 
Thank you so much for letting me share this all with you! I hope you like my little story and the pictures. Wednesday is the TE monthly blog hop and I have a card all ready for you! I hope that you have a great week!  

 

Life is Good!

Hi Friends! Happy weekend! Yippeeeeeee! This week was a bit rough - especially at work. Yikes. Lots going on at my job. Isn't that true of everyone's job right now? I was so happy to see this week be over and I had a very nice dinner with a sweet friend last night to start the transition into weekend time. I have a fun card to share with you today...inspired by, of all things, a purse! One of my gal pals at work brought in the most adorable purse and as soon as I saw it I was inspired. My little crafty brain cells started thinking up a card! It was mostly the color - bright and happy and vivid. You'll see...

 

 

 

 

Here is the purse that inspired me! I loved the raw edge on the denim, and the crisp white stitching. Also, that pop of pure white and yellow is perfect in the simplest way. Love.

 

 

 

I wanted to mimic the stitching, so I busted out the sewing machine and stitched a free form double border around the blue paper. The buttons are from Stampin' Up. I love their buttons.

 

The flowers and the words were cut out using my Cricut machine. I tried two different fonts and ended up liking the one that looks like typewriting (Doodletype). The flowers are from the George cartridge. I wanted to incorporate that yellow ribbon...but it didn't work out. I put three flowers on at first, but then I added more later. I couldn't help it.

 

 

 

I hope that LIFE IS GOOD to you this weekend!!!

 

Here's a little tidbit from our dinner last night! Beautiful early evening light in the restaurant on a gorgeous plate of Caprese salad. MMMMM.

 

My sweet friend and her doggies Mezzo and Aria! I went over to her adorable house after dinner and we chatted some more...

 

And, then, when I got home, this is what I found passed out on my work table....HA! What do you suppose this one is dreaming about? Have a wonderful day everyone! Thank you for coming by to visit my blog. Mwah.

 
  

Some Summer Stuff...

Okay...so it looks as if I'm all into butterflies again! (Remember Butterfly week a while back?) I just can't seem to get enough of those pretty creatures! They are literally popping up everywhere! Today's post is full of some Summer stuff - a couple of cards and some photos...stuff. I hope your weekend is a terrific one. We are doing house projects and a mountain of laundry. Hopefully later I can get some stamping in and maybe a movie. Thank you for visiting today! Taylored Expressions sneak peeks start again on Monday - August - wow. How did that happen? Anyhoo...

First up, some butterfly cards. I was inspired recently by a pretty color scheme and wanted to do my take on it. Soft yellow, a pretty coral pink and a light blue. YUM. That's the first card here:

 

 

A simple design - could be used with any sort of punch. Mittens for Winter, Flowers, Leaves... I added a pop of color along the bottom with the yellow scallops. I used light brown ink to put some text on the butterflies with the big Hero Arts Friendship text stamp. They seemed too plain without it. Glue down the middle only - to get them to pop off the page.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Okay, so I was closing up shop after making the top card and something came into my head...GINGHAM! You guys know that comes into my head very often! hahaha. So I made the exact same card with gingham butterflies and substituted green for blue! Yay! The sentiments on both cards are from PTI.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The gingham butterfly card I made as a thank you card for my friend Jane who invited me up to the hills for dinner last night. I brought her a big bunch of sunflowers and that card. As I was driving up to her house I saw these AMAZING clouds in the distance. I had to take a snap out the windshield! Isn't that neat?  

 

 

And this is why Jane is my friend...(not really)...because she had lemon drop fixin's chilling in the freezer awaiting my arrival! Score! She found this cool lemon sugar stuff at BevMo and put it on the rims.

 

 

Um, yes please!!!!!

 

 

Wonderful! Drinks followed by a wonderful dinner and wonderful conversation late into the night. A perfect Friday evening.

 

 

I bought some Ranier cherries earlier in the week and went to eat them this morning and they were so lovely I had to take pictures. Yeah, I take pictures of everything! I think they're so colorful and simply perfect as only nature can do.  

 

 

 

 

 

Life is just a bowl of cherries! Happy Saturday!

 
  

The Ocean....

Hello everybody! I hope that you all had a wonderful weekend full of summer fun! I am on my last day of a four day weekend and just hanging out in the craft studio making a card to share with you. My theme for today is the ocean.... Friday DH and I went for a marvelous, relaxing, wonderful drive to the Point Reyes National Seashore. We spent the entire day driving, talking, exploring and taking pictures. No TV, no internet, and, practically no people.

I love the ocean. Really love the ocean. It is my favorite place to be. Sometimes I even get a physical longing to be near the sea. The fresh air, the fog, the cold, the sand, the smell. All of it. One day when I win lotto I will buy us a home by the sea. Until then, I am very lucky that it is just a short drive away. I took a lot of pictures on Friday (no surprise right?) and the pictures inspired me to make an ocean card this morning!

 

 

 

I found paper in the lightest shade of beach-glass green. I cut out the words with my Cricut and glued them onto my background paper. (This idea was totally inspired by this post from Heather Nichols)  Yes, this did take forever...and required tweezers! I love the end effect though!

 

 

 

I made the coral about five different colors and ultimately ended up using a green ink that matched the paper exactly. I added a few light green blings and mounted the top piece with foam tape. This card matches my mood. :-) 

 

Here are (some of) my ocean pictures from Friday. I hope you enjoy them! This first one is from North Beach.  

 

 

 

This pretty algae is the other inspiration for my card. Not the color, but the shape and texture, made me get out that coral stamp. I loved how everything in this picture was in shades of tan, white, and stone. It was so pretty.  

 

 

 

 

 

This is Point Reyes Lighthouse. You have to walk about 1/2 a mile out and then walk down 300 stairs to get to it. I wasn't feeling up to the trek, but DH went and he took this awesome photo!  

 

This is looking down from the Muir Beach overlook. 
 

Drake's Beach inhabitants!

 

The drive itself is lovely and peaceful...Isn't this a pretty house?  

 

All over the area there are working dairy farms that have been here for hundreds of years.  

 

Happy cows come from California!  

 

The rest of the pictures are my favorite flower pictures from the day.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And finally...the lovely San Francisco Bay!

 
 

DH makes these great videos of trips for us and he made one for me to share today. It's about three minutes long and has more of the ocean pictures...set to music.   

  

I hope that you have a wonderful week! Thank you for popping by today - you make me happy!

 
Wanda 

Happy Birthday America! Happy 4th of July!

Hello there friends! Happy 4th of July to you! I hope you've been having a great weekend with your friends and families and enjoying this special summer time! I am feeling especially patriotic this year on the 4th, since I was just in Washington DC last weekend. That was my first time to our nation's capitol and I found it very moving and special. I thought I would take the time today to share some of my favorite pictures from my trip. I was very lucky to be able to see so many historical places. I went to Colonial Williamsburg and Monticello as well as Washington DC and Georgetown area. It was even better than I had imagined. So much to see! I wish I had more time....but I bet everyone says that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

  

 
 
I just posted some of my pictures here...trust me there are a lot more! Hahaha...you guys know me better than that! I took 624 photos in all! I chose about 60 as my top favorites to tell the story of my trip and I created a separate page for them. I didn't want to take up like 10 blog pages! If you would like to see all of my favorites...CLICK HERE TO GO TO MY PHOTO ESSAY PAGE...

Thanks for coming by today and God Bless America! Happy 4th of July!

   
Wanda!

Happy Saturday!

Hi everyone! Hope your weekend is off to a great start! I'm running around like a chicken with my head cut off trying to get organized and packed for my trip that starts Monday. You know how it is...laundry, organizing, trying to remember 500 cords to everything...ugh. I've got it down to a science pretty much but it still is a hassle...no matter how you slice it. Mark is making a video and Buddy is, what else, sleeping...

I was going to wait until July 1st to change my blog banner over...but I really wanted to do it today! I'm feeling in a patriotic mood, what with my impending trip back east to the colonies, and it being so close to 4th of July.  The banner photo is a picture I took on our honeymoon, almost ten years ago. This was a building in Nantucket covered in flags. It really gives that east coast patriotic vibe... Of course, the picture was taken on FILM! What's that? Good thing for scanners!

I don't have a card to share today but I have some (more) pictures to share of my prized hydrangeas! I hope you're not tired of them?! They are GINORMOUS now! I nursed these from baby plants about five years ago. All the wet weather we had made them very happy! I put in a shot of our garage so you get the context! And, yes, that is a full size flag!

 

 

 

 

This is my favorite color on earth...only God could do this...  

 

 

 
 

Now this picture is of some Camellia leaves. The way the light was hitting the leaves made me stop and look. I thought it would be a good image to help with my Copic coloring of leaves?? It's very interesting if you study the play of the light and dark...and then there's the dark leaves in the background too. All the leaves appear to be one color, but when you look closer you see so much more.

 
ENJOY YOUR DAY! DO SOMETHING CREATIVE!  

 

A change in plans...and making the best of it!

Hi everyone! What did you think of all the Taylored Expressions craziness this past week? Whew! Lots of fun and lots of projects to share. I hope you are having a wonderful weekend. I just have some ramblings for today and some pix to share. You know how I like to do it...this and that. I had been hoping to share with you something different today - but that didn't work out - so I'm sharing how we made the best of it.

The DH and I met on a blind date! 18 years ago yesterday, to be exact! We were set up by a mutual friend and our first date was for lunch. Well, the rest is history as they say. We went out for eight and a half years before we finally tied the knot (our 10 year wedding anniversary is this year), so we always celebrate June 4th as an anniversary too. One of my favorite singers is Adele and we bought tickets to see her in concert at the Berkeley Greek Theater last night. We got a pretty hotel room too and were all set for a very romantic weekend. Unfortunately, Adele ended up cancelling the concert and the rest of her US tour due to illness, and it was POURING rain, and freeeeezing all weekend too. I had hoped to share some cool photos of the concert as well as of the historic Berkeley City Club...but that was not meant to be.

DH and I have fun no matter what we're doing as long as we're together. So...we spent the day shopping and hanging out. We had a very nice lunch at PF Chang's and had some fun at the art store and at the mall. I took a few pictures and some of them came out alright! Today's post is a just a little photo essay. Thanks for coming by to see me!

Out in the front of the art store we saw this cute pink scooter...named Buddy! hahaha. LOVE this. Inside the art store we found 350 colors of Copic Markers! hee hee. (I only bought five)...

 

 Here's part of our yummy lunch...so warm and tasty on a cold rainy day...

 

 

My favorite vignette from Pottery Barn! I could just move right in...just bring my clothes and some snacks and I'd be all set. This store is so gorgeous. I love the red, white and blue beach theme so much.  

 

 

The green in these bottle just called to me...  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here's a fresh little scene from Crate and Barrel... 

 

 

 

 

 

The diffused light from clouds/rain is perfect for flower close-ups... 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

The sun came out for a little whle just at the end of the day. Everything was so fresh and clean and green. Felt good to breathe all the fresh air.   

 

Before driving home we decided to drive up to the top of Mt. Diablo and see the sunset. It did not disappoint...The hills are amazing this time of year. This is looking south from Mt. Diablo towards San Jose.  

 

 

 

Right before the sunset there was this amazing sliver of bright orange. It looked like a fire in the sky. Didn't last long. This is looking west out towards San Francisco.  

 
 

 

 

This morning Office Max was nice enough to put a little fort in the newspaper just for Buddy! He loved it right away! Silly cat. I wonder if he's 20% off, since he fits in the bag?  

 

Why yes, I am quite comfortable. Thanks for asking. Could you please bring me some crunchies?!

See you soon! I have to craft up something to share with you guys this week! What are you working on?  
 
 

It's a first! I have a Guest Blogger today!

Hi there! The hubs is my #1 fan and supporter here at my bloggy blog...he has always encouraged me to blog away and never complains about all that time I spend in the craft cave. For some time, we've been talking about having him be a guest blogger to talk about his favorite place (Yosemite) and share his favorite pasttime (hiking). So...without further ado...my first guest blog! Have a great week!

Greetings! I hope everyone is enjoying the last bit of the weekend. I am fortunate to be the first guest blogger ever here at A Blog Called Wanda! For those that do not know me, I am Wanda's husband Mark, aka "DH." Some of my interests are nature, hiking (especially in Yosemite), collecting Silver Age Marvel Comics, making videos/slideshows....and I share Wanda's passion for Photography. Today I am going to share some Yosemite hiking photos and a video...I hope you enjoy them!

First up, here's a collage I made in Picasa of some of my favorite photos of the Valley floor.

 
 

These next three photos were taken on the Mist Trail along the Merced River on the way to Vernal Fall. It's called Vernal Fall (not Falls) because it only falls one time...straight down. Yosemite Falls, on the other hand, has three separate drops, so it's called Falls. Just a little trivia. Back in the 1800's the Mist Trail had wooden ladders to go all the way up. Now the steps are carved from the granite. Wanda has done this hike with me before. It's on the way to Half Dome.

 

This is the amazing view as you round the corner and see the first full view of the Fall. The trail is on the right side and you can see why it's called the MIST trail. There is a famous photo of John Muir taken on this exact spot.

 

The View looking down on the Fall. Can you see the people looking over the edge? 

 

One year my friend Randy and I hiked to the top of Yosemite Falls in the SNOW. Here is a sign we passed on the way down. The hike is about 4 miles from the Valley floor. I'm not a small guy and I kept falling through the snow. This trip will not be repeated in the snow. We made it to the top though!  

 

Here is a view of Yosemite Falls I took from Glacier Point. Glacier Point is at about 3200 feet up from the Valley floor. I have hiked up the Four Mile Trail which brings you to this amazing view. If you look closely, you can see the switchbacks in the trail on the left side of the Falls.

 

Half Dome is the most challenging hike in the park...and you can see why when you look at these cables. The cables come at the end of an 8 mile hike! There's only one way to the top! For added fun, go on Youtube and search for Half Dome Cable videos. Before I hiked Half Dome I had heard that it would change my life. After I hiked Half Dome, I found that to be true. It's a milestone for me.

 

Here is a photo of me at the TOP looking out over the edge of Half Dome! I'm not the Gilligan dude in the red shirt. I'm the guy in the blue shirt! This is over 4000 feet above the Valley floor. I love this picture. This gave me the priviledge of going to the Yosemite store and buying the shirt that says "I made it to the Top" and I wear it proudly.

 

Winter in Yosemite is a whole different place. No crowds. Different vistas and everything covered in snow and ice. Here is a cool shot of some frozen leaves, and below that another collage, this time of Winter scenes. 

 

 

 
 

The famous Tunnel View! It's named after the tunnel right before it that was carved out of the granite in 1933. This view never gets old. The waterfall you see is Bridal Veil Fall. You can see Half Dome in the middle and El Capitan to the left. El Capitan is the largest piece of granite in the world. People come from all over the world to climb it.  

 

I wanted to share one of my short videos too. This is the first video on Wanda's blog. Let's see if it works like it's supposed to!

 

 

Every blog post needs a picture of BUDDY! Here is my shot of him lounging on the back of Wanda's chair in the family room.  Looking quite debonair.


Thank you so much for letting me bust in on all the stamping and crafting activities and share with you. Wanda will be back soon with more cards. Have a great week. Mark.  

Scenes from a weekend...

Hello everyone! Are you having a lazy-around-the-house kind of Sunday or a run-errands-til-you're-crazy kind of Sunday? We are having the lazy variety... Some laundry is in the dryer and I'm in the craft room mostly cleaning, but hopefully creating soon. I've had a nice weekend so far and thought I would just share some pictures with you today.

Yesterday one of my gal pals hosted us at her house for a girl day. It was fabulous! Relaxing and silly and just a plain old good time! We started out by having a make your own pizza bar. Isn't that the most fab idea ever? We started with Boboli pizza breads and then piled on the goodies. You know I love to take pictures of food - so I couldn't resist. And, trust me, it was just as good as it looks! :-)

 

 

Here's mine before it went into the oven....LOTS of veggies!  

 

And when it came out...

 

Are you hungry yet? I could eat this every single day I think...

 

 

 
 

After pizza we did a little bit of easy stamping and chatting...made some cheery Spring cards with this nice color palette and some favorite Amuse stamps. 

 

 

 

After stamping we had desserts and played Scrabble (otherwise known as the game I lose every time) and had some champagne! Perfection if you ask me! I really must get better at Scrabble. I think I am improving from playing Words with Friends on my iphone. I have some friends who are killers! (You know who you are)!  

 

 

 
 

The next set of pictures are from today in my front yard. This morning we had a full on thunder storm...which is extremeley rare here in Northern California. In fact, I'm not sure I've ever heard thunder that loud around our house. The lights flickered a bit and then it blew through in about an hour. As soon as it stopped raining I grabbed my camera to capture the just-after-the-storm light. It did not disappoint.

 

The hydrangeas are growing like crazy. I think there are probably about 200 blooms on two plants! The blooms are all in various stages. Some are completely green, some are all blue...and most of them are in between.  

 

See what I mean about that glorious light!? I did not photoshop the color on these at all! When the sky is cloudy there are no shadows and no glare...just soft even light...mmmmm.

 

 

 

 

 

This is our front flower bed with all the pretty impatiens the DH planted last weekend. By then end of the Summer they will fill the entire bed and be about a foot tall!  

 

I think maybe the thunder scared Mr. Buddy! He is in his cat camo tent with those giant eyes looking at me...am I okay??  

 

Thanks for popping by today! Have a blessed day.  

 

Hero Arts ATC - and some flower pix!

Helllloooooo! Wow, this was a whirlwind week! Lots of activity on the bloggy blog with all the Taylored Expressions projects! Wasn't that fun? I sure enjoyed my first month on the Design Team. Thank you for all the kind comments and emails! It means so much to me...I read every comment and appreciate them all. Today I have some stuff to share...this n that. A card for a contest, some pictures...ya know.

Before I go on I have to share a milestone with you, my bloggy friends. On Wednesday I got my 100,000th blog hit! OMG. Really? How fantastic! Thank you for stopping by and visiting me! I feel the love! I would never have dreamed this. Thank you!

I won a Hero Arts contest a couple of months ago and I got to choose $50 worth of free stamps! WOOT! So, I decided to use my new stamps to enter the May Hero Arts contest. The themes for May are to make an ATC, use flowers or use colored pencils techniques. I decided to use ALL THREE! I made an ATC with flowers and used my colored pencils! Sometimes I get so stuck with my Copics that I forget to get out the pencils. It was nice to do something different. Sit back and spend a bit of time with me!

Here is my finished ATC. An ATC is an Artist Trading Card and is a little piece of art that is 2.5 by 3.5 inches. The trick is to see how much yumminess you can fit on that tiny size! People make them and then trade them with their friends like baseball cards. Here is my ATC!

 

Here is a close up of the card. I used a big text background stamp in a very light brown first, on cream paper. You can barely see the text. Then I stamped the pretty bird collage stamp off to the side. Lastly I stamped the word "friends" on the right. All stamped in dark brown ink - not black.

 

I stamped the collage again and cut out the main flower and some of the leaves to add later. The flower is popped up with foam tape. The extra leaves are on the left side with the clip. I added a sweet butterfly to finish it off!

 

Here is the collage stamp. One of my fav things to do is to just stamp part of these cool stamps. You don't necessarily have to use the entire image. Isn't this stamp cool??

 

 

 

 

After I made my ATC...I was like...What do I do with it?? I know! I'll make a card for it to fit on! I stamped the same text image onto the mustard paper. You can barely see it. Then I added another sentiment and some twine...kept it simple.

 

 

 

 My finished card!

 

 Here are the stamps I used...all from Hero Arts!

 

 

 

Tuesday night the DH and I met up downtown to have a frappuccino and take some pics! The light finally got nice at about 7:00. Until then it was too bright. There were some gorgeous flowers in a big circle in front of the state Capitol building. I wanted to share the pictures with you before it got to be too long... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And finally...Mr. Buddy! What do you suppose he sees out of the craft room window? I think I'm pretty sure it was a squirrel! He's on the hunt!

 
Have a wonderful weekend and Happy Mother's Day to all you fabulous Moms out there! Thanks for visiting today. Hugs!

 
 

Miami!

Hi there! I'm back from my trip to Miami! Got home super super late Friday night (I guess technically early Saturday morning). That is a long trip and both of my flights home were delayed. It feels good to be home with my DH, my kitty and my stamp room! I had a fantastic trip to Florida. I was there for work and so we worked our normal 9 hour work days. After work, however, I managed to see some sights and enjoy the amazing weather. Since I was there two weeks, I also had a weekend to enjoy,  and I drove all the way down to Key West. It wasn't humid and was about 80 degrees each day. I'm not normally a warm weather person, but it sure felt good. I took almost 400 pictures! It was really hard to choose some to share on the bloggy blog. I hope you have fun looking at the pix! Have a fantastic week! The pictures are from Miami, Key West and Miami Beach.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Now...If you made it this far...thanks! Haha. Back in the day I would have been that annoying, crazy Auntie who showed up at your house with five carousels of slides from her vacation...and made you watch them all on a sheet tacked to the wall! I love to share pictures! Smile. 

Spring has arrived in Northern California!

Just a note before my post: I am going to be in Miami for a couple of weeks for work. I am wondering if anyone has suggestions for me as to places to go, stamp/craft stores, restaurants, whatever?? Please leave me a comment if you would be so kind!  I have planned some blog posts while I'm gone, and when I get back I hope I have cool pictures to share!

Spring has definitely arrived here in my part of the world! My allergies are in full effect but I consider that a minor nuisance compared with all the beauty that surrounds us this time of year. The hills are turning green, the trees are making new leaves, the cherry blossoms are spectacular and, here in Sacramento, it's Camellia time. I took a gander out in my front yard yesterday morning and then grabbed my camera so I could share with you. I know a lot of you are still in the throes of Winter...so I hope this makes you warm inside. Have a wonderful day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

These fresh green buds mean that my prized Nikko Blue Hydrangeas made it through another cold Winter. These are my favorite plants in the yard. I can't wait to see their happy pom pom faces!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
From our home to yours...Happy Spring and have a blessed day!

 

New and fun technique!

Hi everyone! Today is the start of a super busy week here on the bloggy blog! I have a post today, Wednesday will be my latest iCopic Blog creation and then Thursday is another Blog Hop for Taylored Expressions! Good times! There is still time to join in on the Taylored Expressions "Going Green" blog hop! Click on the link and check it out!

Today I'm sharing cards I made a week or so ago for the Papertrey Ink facebook contest. I'm so excited that they started doing contests where customers can send in our cards and share with everyone else. There is some hecka talent out there and I've really enjoyed looking at the items posted. The contest series is called Make it Monday and they put a new technique on facebook every Monday...you then have all week to enter for a chance to win some PTI swag.

This first Make it Monday had the technique of taking lots of related word stamps and stamping them in a pattern, combining fonts and styles. It was really fun. I ended up sending in three entries. I didn't get a chance to blog them back then so I'm doing it now. Hope you like them and hope you will try this new way of using your stamps! All supplies, in all three cards are from Papertrey Ink.

Each of those phrases is a different stamp! All combined into a great image! I used a sweet tag and these gorgeous colors...oh my...

 

 

 

 

 

This one was my favorite of the three. I really love all those phrases and I loved combining them all with the cute house stamp. I stamped everything first and then used my oval nesties to cut out the center panel. Those butterflies and ribbon in chartreuse...love that. This is going to be a housewarming card for my bestie who just moved into her dream house. Can't wait to give it to her tomorrow!

 

 
 See you soon!

 

Valentine Goodies...a photo essay...

Hi friends! F-R-I-D-A-Y! Thanks for stopping by today to see me. Well, you know how I love to take pictures of stuff!? Today's post is a photo essay of my Valentine loot from my sweet DH. He is too good to me and always has been a romantic at heart. This year for Valentine's Day he bought me the most gorgeous red roses and some WAY yummy sweets from Sucre in New Orleans. What a treat! It was so hard to stop and take pictures of everything before devouring it! I really just wanted to rip the box open and go for it! I had fun getting all artsy with the colors and textures and had a real full-on photo shoot right here in the craft room. 

UPDATE! The DH sent the company a link to my blog post and they wrote back with an amazing proposition! Sucre has very graciously offered a FREE GIVEAWAY to one of you! Please leave a comment below, any time before midnight PST on Saturday. I will randomly pick a comment/winner and Sucre will directly mail you some goodies! Sa-weet! Be sure to leave me your email address so I can get in touch with you. I will let you know on Sunday if you're the lucky winner!

Even the boxes are so pretty and inviting... 

 

 

These are dark chocolates with a pinch of sea salt on top...They were in the aqua box...
 

 

 

 

 

These are French Macarons. O.M.G. Truly. Seriously. O.M.G. Some of the flavors are pistachio, orange, lemon, almond, and strawberry...The pink strawberry ones are covered in sparkly stuff. Almost too pretty to eat. Almost.

 

 

 

  

 

 

 
 


 

 

 

 

 

I could have taken about 100 more pictures of these Macarons. I love the graphic nature of them on the glass and the colors are so inviting. I had fun working with the reflections.

 

These are the healthiest roses - hearty and strong and the most vivid shade of deep red. Just how Valentine's Day roses should look. They are still going pretty in the vase five days later. I picked out the best one to shoot some pictures.

 

 

 

 

 
 

Do something creative every day! Have a wonderful weekend! 
 
 
 

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to everyone! Time for some reflection, and then, a look ahead. It was one year ago exactly that I started this blog. I had no idea what I was doing or where it was going. I only knew that I wanted to blog and share and be part of the online crafty community. I could not have imagined what has happened in the last year here. The experience has been so rewarding and fun, and most of all, positive!

In the past year, I have written 195 blog posts, received 889 comments from readers, and had 30,324 "hits" here at A Blog Called Wanda!

I have met the most wonderful, creative, and kind women in the past year. Perfect strangers who took the time to say something nice. Some of you have ended up being friends who are now part of my day to day life. We share so much in common even though we are all around the country and the world. That is the most meaningful experience of all. I feel really lucky to have met you.

I think that putting my creations out there for all to see has made me become a better stamper. A more intentional stamper...trying to get out of my comfort zone. It's a risk to put your creations out to be judged! But, nothing risked, nothing gained...and I have gained a lot by doing so! Some fantastic opportunities have come my way to be a guest designer or a Design Team Member...and I've won a few contests along the way too. More fun than I could have dreamt.

I could go on and on, but I will spare you! I feel very fortunate that you all take some time out of your day to visit me and see what I'm up to. It makes a huge difference in my life. Thank you! I love blog comments, so please say hi if you're here!

Three weeks ago was the DH's birthday and his wish was to get up early and go on a photo shoot up and around the pretty Gold Country of Northern California near our home. I have to tell ya, I didn't want to get up at 5am on my day off, but the payoff was well worth it! The light that day was spectacular. It had rained the day before and there was a thick layer of gloomy fog burning off. Made for the best pictures I feel I've taken in a long time.

I decided to save them for New Year's because as a group they gave me a "fresh start" sort of feeling. A feeling of quiet and peace and new beginnings. It's hard to explain, but maybe after you look at them you will feel that too. They just seemed right to start the new year. I hope that 2011 brings many blessings to you and your families this year!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CHEERS TO MAKING 2011 OUR BEST YEAR YET!  

Coffee & Christmas Lights...

Tonight I'm sharing with you one of our favorite holiday time traditions...Coffee and Christmas Lights! For years now, every winter, we go out scouting for the best holiday light displays! It's so much fun and I look forward to it all year. We try to go as many different nights as possible. The evening always starts with a trip to Starbucks for a Peppermint Mocha! (of course, right?) Then we pile in the sleigh, I mean truck, and head out. The DH drives all the time so I can look and relax. It's wonderful time together. We are so lucky that there are several places in Sac-town that go all out for Christmas lights. Last night's destination was downtown... They even put a map in our local paper! So, sit back and put your feet up...and I hope you enjoy the pictures!

THIS is where it all begins....mmmmmm....

 

 

Our beautiful State Capitol building and tree.... 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 


 

 

 We have a little tiny ice rink right in the middle of downtown....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 This is one of my favorite places to go....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And again....mmmm....

 
 And to all a GOOD NIGHT!

 

A pause from the Christmas craziness!

Christmas craziness is in full swing now! I have had fun activities and parties and get togethers three days this week already! (Yay!) Combine all that with shopping, wrapping, stamping, addressing, and shopping, and shopping...and a girl just needs a break! Today I am posting some Winter snow pictures I took last week and I'm taking a moment to breathe...a la Oprah Magazine's Breathing Space! Ahhhhhhh. A brief respite from the crazies...

Respite: a reprieve: a (temporary) relief from discomfort; a pause from doing something (as work); suspension: an interruption in the intensity or amount of something; a pause for relaxation. Yes, that is exactly the word I was looking for! Have a great weekend everyone!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 
  

  

My San Francisco Pictures!

Howdy! Monday already? Yup. At least it's over! hahaha. As I've mentioned before, this old gal is NOT a morning person and getting up at 5:00 every morning for work is just uncivilized! Mondays are the hardest...but I made it. It's all easier from here. Another busy week too... I have been doing College Fair nights at local high schools on behalf of my University (Go Bears!) and it is really fun, but exhausting. Wednesday night is the last one.

Today I want to share some of the pictures I took last weekend in San Francisco when we went on our little anniversary rendezvous. Believe it or not, I did edit substantially. Also, you will note my fascination/obsession with the pretty red Chinese lanterns.  I hope you enjoy the pictures, and that you have a wonderful week ahead of you.

First stop in the morning was the beatiful Japanese Tea Gardens in Golden Gate Park. I wanted to take my pictures while it was still foggy. One of the tricks to getting pretty, bright, even color is to shoot your pictures when it is not super bright and sunny outside. This seems contrary to what you might think but it works! No shadows and not harsh spots. The only down side to this is that the sky will look white. Not good for roaming landscapes and photos with a lot of sky.

 
 

 

 

 

 

I opened my shutter for about 1/8 of a second in this one to make the water appear soft and flowing. However, it was super windy, so the leaves are moving too. I kind of like the effect.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next few shots are just random things in Golden Gate Park. We walked around a while after our tour of the Japanese Gardens.

 

 

 

 

 

I was trying to take a picture of this weird, cool plant...but there was this little yellow birdie in there too!

 

Famous Coit Tower and Bay Bridge view from the top of Lombard Street.

 

Another famous shot of the cable car and Alcatraz...looking down Hyde Street from Lombard.

 

City Hall enshrouded in fog in the afternoon. See what I mean about the white sky? I still like the serene image of this great building.

 

 

Chinatown! Good luck cats - I have a thing for Good Luck cats and I collect them, and Good Luck cat rubber stamps too! I bought a really pretty gold one on our trip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Coolest fabric store on the planet! Britex on Geary. I bought the most beautiful raw silk in a perfect shade of periwinkle to make my wedding outfit here...There is an entire floor of ribbon, buttons and findings! Heaven.

 

 

 

 

 
Hope you enjoyed our little tour of San Francisco today! I will be back soon and I do believe I have some kinda big bloggy news to come shortly. I will share soon, I promise. Mwah.

Can I please go live at Pottery Barn?

Happy Sunday! Today we are doing much needed chores around the house and getting ready for another week of work. Why do weekends go by so quickly? Just the way it is I guess. The boys are watching football and I have some pictures to share today. Yesterday we went to our local mall in Roseville. I love to go to Crate and Barrel and Pottery Barn when they change the stores over for each season. The decorating is so inspiring and creative. Seriously, I could just live at the Pottery Barn store. I'll just get my clothes and things and make myself right at home!! You don't think they would mind, do you? Maybe they would...

 

 

 

 

I bought one of these pretty mercury glass pumpkins...and that's all!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Why is it 100 degrees outside today when I'm ready to wear sweaters and drink hot cider and build a fire? I hope you had a great weekend and have a great week ahead!!

Up, Up and Away!

Wow!  I have something really fun to share with you today! The hubs and I decided last night to do something crazy and go to the Reno Great Balloon Races today! We had to wake up at 2:00 this morning and get ready to go. Then we drove two hours to the Rancho San Rafael Park in Reno, Nevada...find a place to park, walk a mile...all in the pitch darkness! The event kicks off at 5:00am! Even Starbucks wasn't open yet!

The whole event is free. There is no charge for parking or admission. There were thousands of people there and lots of families. It was a spectacular sight and a very nice time for us together. I love car time with the hubs to talk and connect. Afterwards, we drove down the hill, found some coffee and some amazing breakfast at a little place in Truckee. We did all that and we were back home at noon! You know, sometimes you just have to do those last minute crazy things to keep life interesting. I hope you enjoy looking at the pictures and I hope you all had a great weekend!

 

 

 

A pretty bride card!

Hey everyone...I'm sitting here in shock watching the live stream news about a giant fire in San Bruno, CA which is very near where I lived and worked for several years of my life. It looks like a gas main blew up and it is really scary. I'm sending some prayers out that way to all the residents and emergency personnel that are dealing with a horrible situation right now. Somehow, stressing over my blog post for today seems pretty minor.

Tonight I'm changing out of Fall mode to share a custom card I made for a photographer friend. She wanted to send one of her brides a thank you note using her wedding color (pink) and a photograph. My friend gave me this very artsy, cool photo she took and I made it into this clean and simple/elegant card...

 

 

My "go to" wedding font is usually Scriptina...which I used here. I printed the words on a piece of vellum to soften the contrast of the photograph. Vellum always seems wedding-y to me too.

 

Layers of white and yummy pink Bazzill cardstock...

 

 

A gorgeous Prima flower...

This is a great technique to use for scrapbooking too. Pretty with portraits, weddings and such. For our honeymoon scrapbook album I printed out my vacation journal entries on vellum and then put the vellum sheet over some of our favorite pictures.  I need to get crack-a-lackin on some new Fall projects! Take care and have a wonderful night!

Happy Fall! Taylored Expressions #126 Challenge Card...

Yay! So, Fall officially starts in a few weeks...but at my house...it officially starts today - September 1st! I have always been a Fall person. I love everything about it. Cool weather, cute sweaters, college football, craft fairs, fog, new binders, apple cider, beautiful leaves, harvesty scented candles, Thanksgiving, my birthday, our wedding anniversary, Halloween...shall I go on??? ACK!   Bring.It.On.

I put up a new blog banner today for the season. In the past, my blog banners have all been digital images I've taken. This new one is from a photograph made using film (gasp! remember film?). I scanned it into my printer on very high resolution and it came out fine. I was worried it wouldn't look right since it didn't start out as a digi image. It's a picture I took on our honeymoon. The hubs loves Fall too...so we were married October 3rd, 2001 and our honeymoon was spent in Boston, Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine and New York. We got married on Cape Cod - in Chatham - in a pretty little gazebo right by the water. Our honeymoon was the most wonderful trip ever. We took 28 rolls of film! Then we had to wait for them all to be developed! It killed me! The best thing about digital photography is the instant gratification part. Don't you agree?

Thanks for listening to my story...I'm sure I'll be rambling on more and more about how much I love Fall. Especially once football starts. That's a whole different story...

My card for today is my entry into the Taylored Expressions Challenge #126! Yes...I do have a card for today! haha.

 

 

 

Here is the sketch image from Taylor:

 

 

I was going to use flowers, or hot air balloons, and all sorts of things for my card...but then I recalled a photograph I had taken last Thursday night and it was instant inspiration! Instead of bright and colorful, I went sort of moody and monochromatic for this challenge. I really like how it came out. It would make a nice masculine card, I think.

 

 

 

 

 

Here is my inspiration photo - a lovely cappuccino I had at dinner Thursday night. I went out with my bestie JP to Cafe Bernardo. For the Sac-town crowd - it's at the corner of 15th and R. The food is delish and fresh and healthy and the atmosphere is casually elegant.

 

This is another photo I took at the restaurant Thursday night! I have been dying to share it with you and I feel like it really fit the mood/tone of today's post. The ceiling in the restaurant is painted all black and then there are different types and sizes of chandeliers hanging all over. LOVE IT!

Are you as excited as I am about the change of season? What is your favorite tradition? Have a wonderful day all!

What a week!

Here it is...Thursday... Or as I like to call it...Friday Eve! One more day to the work week and then it's time for a little rest and relaxation. It's been quite a week. Tonight it took me over an hour and a half to get home from work. A total of 28 miles. Ugh. I think I might be traumatized by this. We'll see.  

Last night we signed the loan documents for our home refinance...which is a complete blessing! I am so grateful to all the peeps who helped in the process. Part of our loan doc signing was electronic! Can you believe that? Well, our poor notary (very nice lady) wasn't 100% sure of the situation so it took two hours! Anyhoo...very happy that is done and very relieved to have a lower house payment! It's a good thing.

Not too much time for stamping this week...I made the card for Taylor's challenge and that's it. I thought I would use today to post some silly and/or fun pictures that have been hanging out in my camera just waiting for the right post!

I hope to get in some stamping time this weekend...and maybe a movie too. I really want to see "Inception." I hope you have a wonderful weekend and hope you like the pictures. Take care!

 

What? How much? No way I weigh that much! Really?

 

This was just plain weird. We were out at the little strip mall getting a coffee...when this happened. It was the day before Easter...but I don't think that's a good enough excuse! Wh-aaat?

 

Got any good gossip?

 

Hi Mom! Extreme close up!

 

A pretty scene at the Crate and Barrel at the mall...

 

Our pretty little impatiens in the front yard early in the season!

 

Warning...you're going to be hungry after you read this!

So you all know that I'm always saying...you have to bring your camera everywhere you go! You never know where beauty will be found and ya need to be ready. Here in Northern California we have this great grocery store chain called Nugget Market. The stores are gorgeous and the food is always fresh and beautiful. When I went there last week to buy the items for the mango salsa...I busted out the camera and took some pictures. I really liked how they came out so I wanted to share them with you. I'm warning you, though, you're going to be hungry after you see these...

 

 

 

Can't say I didn't warn you! Don't you want to go cook now??

Greetings from California!

Hi! I hope you had a wonderful Easter and a great weekend. It was pretty cold here on Easter Sunday...but luckily the rain held out for most of the day. We had a nice day at church and then breakfast out. The afternoon was spent cleaning up the old stampin' room.

I made this fun card to say "Greetings from California!" I started off with the main image and then I did some digging around and found all those old stamps of stamps! I had taken some pictures of our State Capitol a couple of weeks ago and I thought they would make a nice combo blog.  

Here ya go...

No matter how much 'ugliness' is going on inside there...the building is beautiful! Those clouds were to die for and that crisp blue sky...oh my.

A close up of the focal image. I colored it with my Copics of course. This is a stamp from Carmen's Veranda - memba them? They used to be at all the stamp shows. Cool stuff.

I'm including the next two pictures to show that I went to the vault for this card! I remember buying this stamp set at this tiny little stamp store on Piedmont Avenue in Oakland - back in the day. Everyone had this set. I have loved Hero Arts for a long time. I hardly ever get rid of my stamps - each one is like an old friend, or a memory of something.

  

Yes, I  bought this stamp set in 1995! EEK.

I don't know where I got these two stamps!

A few more shots of the Capitol. I work just a few blocks from here and sometimes I need to take it all in and go for a walk at lunchtime. It really is remarkable.

 

 

Have a great week ahead everyone! Thanks for stopping by today! 

Simple, Quiet, Spring Beauty...

Does anyone else remember this old song?: Tis a gift to be simple, tis a gift to be free. Tis a gift to come down to where we ought to be. It has a nice sing songy rhythm and a sweet lilt. I was going through the pictures on my camera from the past two weeks and I was struck by how many of them are of a simple image of Spring. They were a good reminder  to me to be present in the moment and take note of what is around me. I thought I would share some of the pictures with you today - since I don't have a card made right at the moment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

I started this post with a quote from a lovely old Shaker song from the 1840's. I will end the post with a quote from one of the wisest men of MY generation:

"Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it."   Ferris Bueller

 

As lovely as a tree...

This post is about the AMAZING Camellia tree that has been my artisitc muse for the past week. This tree has captivated me with her astounding beauty. She sits at the far edge of the park that surrounds our grand State Capitol building. She leaves a carpet of pink petals beneath her. She stopped me in my tracks. The morning light was more than I could take.

Gather round, and get some popcorn - the big tub - cuz this is a long post. I took about 75 pictures and it was very hard to select only a few to put on the old bloggy blog. Thanks for coming by today and I hope these pictures inspire you as well. I'd love to hear from you.

 

 

 

 

 

  
 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I THINK that I shall never see

A poem lovely as a tree.

 

A tree whose hungry mouth is prest

Against the earth's sweet flowing breast;

 

A tree that looks at God all day,

And lifts her leafy arms to pray;

 

A tree that may in Summer wear

A nest of robins in her hair;

 

Upon whose bosom snow has lain;

Who intimately lives with rain.

 

Poems are made by fools like me,

But only God can make a tree.

Joyce Kilmer, author

 

Another Tuesday Trigger Challenge Card!

DO SOMETHING CREATIVE EVERY DAY! I have been trying to live that statement this year. Take a picture, cook something new, make a card or a handmade project...Something creative each day. It has made me a happier person. I carry my camera around with me now. I take the time to sit down and create things I am proud of. I try to help others in their crafty endeavors. It's been wonderful.

When I saw the Tuesday Trigger image from Moxie Fab this week I gasped - SO gorgeous. I adore that color pallete! Such a beautiful collage of items. Here it is for you to enjoy:

I mean really, can you stand it? I could have made 50 cards from this inspiration. What caught my eye most was the center image on the right hand side with the pink flowers. I had recently taken a gazillion photos of the most amazing camellias blooming near my work. So, I decided to combine a photograph with my stamping. I hope you like my card!

 

 
 

The closed front of the card - yup, another easel card, folks!

 

 

 

 

I had some paper left after finishing my TT card, so I decided to make some more cards with the same color scheme. Here is one I'd like to share with you!

 

 

Here are some of the fab women who help me do something creative every day! Love this crazy bunch!

   
I will do another post, hopefully soon, with all of the pictures from the Camellias blooming. I have some favorites...Have a Creative Day!

Signs of Spring...

It stopped raining long enough for me to get out in the front yard and photograph the first signs of Spring at our house!

The daffodils bloomed about a week ago and I have been waiting for some nice light ever since - to show off their wonderful sunshine color. They are the first cheery signs of a change in the season...

See the nice, even, bright color? Contrary to what you would think, wait for an overcast day with nice even light. Bright sunlight would not have worked here. These pix are straight out of the camera.

 Some Spring bokeh for Pioneer Woman:

I love the contrast of the bright yellow against the brick and the green:

Here is a close up of one of my prized Nikko Blue Hydrangea blooms left over from last year. They say not to prune them...so I didn't. Love love love the texture of this:

The sure sign that more gorgeous blue hydrangeas are on the way! Yippee!

So, all this Spring folly sparked my creative juices in the craft room. I have been waiting for the right opportunity to use my new bird/branch punch from Stampin' Up and the new Memory Box Papers. The key to this card? Lots and lots of layers....

  
  Close up of my little birdie friend:

Some of the supplies:

 
I hope Spring is headed your way too - especially my friends on the East Coast. Have a wonderful week ahead. Take care. 

The Light Box Experiment...

I have been complaining about taking pictures of my cards, and not being happy with the results. SO...the DH and I bought all the stuff this past weekend to make a Light Box. The theory is that you make a perfectly white light box so that you get true color and eliminate shadows when taking indoor pictures.

The directions I used to make the box can be found here: http://www.studiolighting.net/homemade-light-box-for-product-photography/

I bought the foam core board and tape at Michael's and the lights/bulbs at Lowe's. Total cost was about $35.00. It took us about an hour to make it. I followed the directions exactly and the finished light box is a 20 inch square. Here are some photos of it:

My final thoughts on the project.

I think that the box is too large. If I made it again I would probably make it a 15 inch square. Be sure that whatever type of light bulbs you buy, that the box says 'daylight' so the color of the light is not yellow. I used 100 watt daylight CFL bulbs. Also, the more light, the better. I may end up buying another light to put on the top pointing down. Overall, the colors in the card photo above are much closer to reality than what I was getting without the box. This experiment is still ongoing...

Please let me know if you have any suggestions that have been working for you!