Flutterby

Not much stamping going on here. I baked last Friday (brownies), my girls love when I bake. I have done  some craft supply shopping but, have not done any stamping. I did find time to put together 4 small (6x6) memory books for a few friends I work with . One of the main classrooms I work in is losing the main teacher and both paraprofessionals. The teacher is moving to FL and the others are moving to other buildings/ classrooms. I decided to make a small book to remind them of all the fun we had together (with the kiddos). I put various pictures of each student in the book and decorated them all very similar. Once all the photos were cut, they went together fairly quickly. I cannot post photos of the books secondary to confidentiality. I will give them to the ladies in a couple weeks or when all get together for SUSHI sometime in the next week or so.

I was able to fit in some more small gardening tasks on Sunday. All the sod is lifted and ready for good topsoil and to plant the foliage that I bought last week at a local nursery. I cannot wait to get that project done. The grass has started growing (seed was planted a couple weeks agao when the 20 trees were planted). My Lilac trees are really very pretty this Spring. Friday they had a sworm of butterflies all over them. I was so pleasantly surprised. They smell som wonderful too.

Both my girls are still playing softball this season. That absorbs so much of my time both evenings and weekends. Not to mention that my husband has been working out of town. Its so hard to keep up with everything. I don't know how some (single) women do it. My oldest daughter's JV (HS) team won first place the county tournament this past weekend. She hit back to back home runs (5 runs batted in) in the final tournament game. This was her first over- the- fence home run "ever" and it was so exciting. I am so proud. I know it couldn't have come at a better time. The girls all did well. It was an exciting good time.

Well, I guess I have run on a bit. It is getting late and have some things to do. Have a great week and thanks for stopping by.

2010-2011 IN COLORS

I just got the latest edition of my Demonstrator Publication- Stamin' Success today in the mail. I was pleasantly pleased to see the new IN COLORS that will be available for the next TWO YEARS.
Wow, so many changes and so much to keep up with. Along with the new ink colors, you will also find  new Designer Series Papers, Stamp Sets, Single Stamps, Ribbon, Big Shot Dies, Simply Scrappin' Kits, Stampin' Around Wheels, Punches, and embellishments.
Check out the new colors below:

I am loving the COLOR RENOVATION announced last month. I have cleaned out, reorganized, and have starting using these colors together more and more. They are truly beautiful. The new  IN COLORS will fit in with the new families fabulously. I cannot wait until I can order them. I think I want all of them, for sure. I know many of my customers will also. I'm hoping they will have Stampin' Spots and markers available... will have to wait and see.
Stay tuned for some samples using some new sets from the Summer Mini, some of the new color combinations, and sizzix dies.

An Eventful Weekend- Without Stamping

Even though we had spotty rain all weekend, my husband and I got a ton of yard work done. We had 4+ tons of dirt hauled in on Thursday evening. We borrowed a tractor and hauled all the dirt to the back yard to build a raised bed and to fill in a low spot (previous swing set/ playground area).  The swing set came down last fall and the cut out rectangular spot needed to be filled in. We got the grass planted and hopefully it will fill in quickly. Ahhhh... my yard back. Cannot wait to see the green grass.
All our neighbors have planted fences around us and as you can see from the picture, my yard bumps into yards of the neighbors behind us. This drives us crazy! It was one of the cons when we bought this house. We decided to go a little green and plant a NATURAL  fence line. I hope we do not regret this decision. It took us a year to decide what to do- we went back to our original plan after talking with professionals. I planted small perinneals (Spirea) in front of the trees (hard to see in the picture)  for a little color contrast in fron to f the everbearing trees. We are happy thus far.

I fit in some time while he was hauling the loose dirt (top soil) to plant my annuals in my planters on the deck and around the house. I have 4 of these large urn-like planters that I plant every spring. I always change the flower choice and colors. This year I decided purple (pansies) and orange (unknown) and instead of Sweet Potatoe Vine as I have always used, I decided to use English Ivy to grow and drape over the edge. I hope these do well.  I have always had great success with Pansies- one of my very favorite flowers. GORGEOUS!