My latest creativity!

The last few days I haven't gotten anything accomplished!  I need to get some of my pictures backed up, but that is SO boring!  When I back them up, I also like to go through and clear out the duplicates, blurry, etc. etc.!  So, instead of that...I think I'll post here!  We were supposed to have this winter storm that is affecting 2/3 of the United States, but so far all we've gotten is rain (even that's over now) and now it's just cold!  Right now it's 23 degrees!  Brrr...  I'd rather have some snow!  LOL



Baby Card

I did get a birthday card and a baby card made a few days ago and over the weekend my mom came over and we worked on a couple of new types of cards!  Next week is a scrap retreat.  I don't seem to scrap at all when I'm at home.  I have some kind of a block I think.  It has something to do with the tornado that we experienced a few years ago when I lost all my scrapbook pages.  Instead, I just make cards!  :-)

Anniversary Card for friends



Anniversary card for friends



Don and I celebrated our 19th anniversary a few weeks ago!  Some friends of ours share the same anniversary date and another couple has theirs a few days later.  We went out together for dinner to celebrate!  It was very yummy!  I made anniversary cards to take with us!  I thought they turned out very pretty!





Valentine Card





"Pop Up" card

Valentine

Snow Day!

Tree outside Don's office (or Man Cave)



Looking from the back deck!



Snow Covered Bush





I *L*O*V*E* the snow!  It may very well be because I am (was?) a native born Southern Californian!  I lived there all my life except for a brief time in the early 80's when I lived in St. Louis, MO for a few years and up until we sold our house in So. California in 2005!  When we had snow it was up in the mountains and something that you drove to.  It was usually so full of people like us that there was no where to park and any place to play had a zillion others there too!  On the freak occasions that we did have snow it was never anything to write home about...and melted just as quickly as it came!



(Want to go for a swim?  Brrr...)



It started snowing this morning about 8:30 and it's been snowing all day!  It's let up now and we're not supposed to get any more - today!  This snow is different from the snow we had a little over a week ago.  Isn't that weird that snow can be so different?  It can be "dry" or it can be "wet"!  This snow is definitely wet but it's oh so fluffy and white...well, until Tess goes potty in it! 






The snow makes everything look beautiful - even the wood pile!



I love to go out and take pictures in the snow!  I bundle up with so many layers that before I get my first shot I'm sweating and unzipping!  I can barely wait to get back inside so I can get all those layers off!  The last snow I got some great pictures of Tess running in the snow!  She is hilarious.  We all know she's crazy, but she really is funny in the snow!  She runs and runs and runs...well, you get the picture!

I have an internet friend (Diana) that takes some awesome photographs!  I've tried to take a few at different angles like she does!  I have taken a few really neat ones by thinking "out of the box"!  (Not necessarily these that I'm showing you today!) 

While I love the snow...it's also nice to be snug and warm inside the house...and even better with a nice fire in the fireplace! 

A few Valentine's Day cards!

I sure wish that I could come up with some creative ideas for titles!  Some people have such cute and witty titles to their posts!  Oh well...here are some pictures!  :-)

I have to restamp the "Love" part, but thought I'd post it anyway!  I need to figure out where I got my inspiration from, all I can remember is that it was on Splitcoaststampers.com!  :-)

"Cased" from Susie Nelson

 "Cased" from JMunster

Wow!  It's been almost a year since I've written a blog!  Yikes!  What was up with that?  LOL  And if you look at the post directly under my one from nearly a year ago, it was that I was going to try to blog more in 2010!  Really?  I posted two blog updates!  Oh all the good intentions - down the drain!  Now to do better in 2011!  I was going to share some of my art work too!  I really did create a lot of things!  Just didn't share them...at least not on my blog!  Well...maybe I'll have to go back and add some of them, but then again, maybe not!  :-)

So with that...I'm sharing a link for my paper artist friends!  Here's a link to a contest where you can win a new Scor-Pal and several new stamps!  I'm in!  :-)

http://scrappingwithlisa.blogspot.com/2011/01/news-and-blog-candy.html

Oh and while I'm at it, I guess I can share a few of the cards I made for Christmas!  :-)  Which one is your favorite?  LOL





From this to that!

Our granddaughter, Ashleigh (8 years) made the competitive dance team a few months ago. This is the first year that she tried out for it...and she made the team! :-) I am very proud of her, not only is she a great dancer...but she is not afraid to go out there and dance in front of a large crowd! She has been in dance lessons of some kind since she was just two years old and she just loves to dance! :-) Her first competition is tomorrow. The dancers all have some kind of case that they use for their make-up, hair stuff, shoes, pieces of their costumes, etc. We found this box at Wal-Mart (it's a Stanley Rolling Tool Box) and she wanted me to paint on it for her.

No problem...right? So everything was going fine and I was actually done with painting it a few days ago. Last night I took pictures and then started to varnish it. (You take pictures before varnish so that you don't have glare...) I knew pretty quick that something wasn't right! The varnish I was using it put on with a soft rag...no problem, except there was a problem...it was almost as if the paint was dissolving! Ugh! Then I thought that maybe if I used a brush it might go on easier and not "disturb" the paint. So I tried another section. Same thing. Well, except for one spot...on the handle where I painted Ashleigh's name...I brushed the varnish on and it didn't bother it at all! Too weird! Now what do I do? I didn't have any paint thinner and I wasn't sure what it might do to the plastic of the box. I figured the varnish was removing the paint so I just put more varnish on and rubbed! It did the trick except it left a slight residue. This morning I sent Don to the hardware store and he came home with "Oops". It took the rest of the paint and the residue right off! After that was done, I wiped off the box and started to re-paint! Remember...her competition is tomorrow! :-)

I actually had probably jinxed myself because I had told my mom the other day that I wished I hadn't put the "background" on. She told me I could repaint it! :-) Or maybe I'll just blame it on her! :-) Anyhow, today instead of cleaning the house painted! I do like it better without the background, but I was trying to copy something that Kimberleigh had sent me for inspiration!

Anyhow, here's Ashleigh's dance box! The top opens up with a tray (the "tool" box) and the middle slides down and opens for a chest! I've included the picture used for inspiration, the sides (that are "original") and the box as it is now! It's bright and fun! :-)

Artistic Creations...

Thought I'd show you what I've been working on (and some of the reason I stay up late)!  My creativity seems to "come out" later at night and just doesn't work well in the morning!  I know that some people are just made that way and I'm one of them!  :-)

I just finished and mailed out an altered clipboard.  Now some (I can hear Rick & Bob now) might want to know why on earth you'd "alter" a clipboard!  Actually, it's really only because you can!  It's like a canvas or another surface to work on!  Kind of like some of those abstracts you see and wonder "why"!  It's not really meant to be functional, more like a piece of artwork that you'd enjoy looking at! :-)  The theme is supposed to be "all about you" but why would anyone want a surface all about me?  I created it instead to be something that I would like to look at and on the back I made a small "all about me"!  My swap partner can remove it from the back if she wants to use it!  Pretty smart, huh?

Tonight I've been working on a couple of ATCs.  ATCs are Artist Trading Cards.  These are quite the rage right now!  They are like mini pieces of art that we trade amongst each other.  There are ACEOs (Art Cards, Editions and Originals) that can be sold, but ATCs are only traded!  The group that I belong to "Art For The Creative Mind" has lots of swaps and most have a theme.  The ATCs I'm working on are children using buttons and bows!  There's a LOT of artistic license here so that can really mean most anything!  :-) 

It's been really neat making these ATCs because on my computer (that had been stored for all the years we were traveling) I had some images I had scanned years ago from pictures that my dad had from his family and I'm using a couple of those!  The only down side is that ATCs are 2-1/4" x 3-1/2" so there's not much room and the pictures had to be printed pretty small!  I don't know "who" these family members are...just that they are really old!

It's kind of fun though seeing "how" these come together!  Some times I get inspiration from looking online at others that have created ATCs, cards, tags, pages, etc.  Other times I get an idea in my head or think of something to use and just start pulling "things" out that I have!  Sometimes I also just browse through the aisles at the store and things kind of come together!  A lot of times, tonight included things don't even end up like I had originally thought!  One thing I really need to start doing is keep track of the items I use to make some of these things!

I hope you enjoy looking at what I've created!  I'll be interested in seeing your comments!  :-)

A new year and a new format!

I hope to be better at blogging in 2010! Man, I have a hard time typing that! I guess after typing 00, 01, 02 and so on it's hard to break that habit! :-)

This morning I was thinking about our blog! It's not quite the same anymore since we aren't traveling as much! There's not that much to share on a day-to-day basis since I can't regal you with our travels! :-) That's not to say you won't hear about the things we see and do when we do travel...and we are planning some trips this year! There's a lot I'd like to share that don't have to do with traveling so that's why I thought our blog needed a new look!

Not sure of specifics for many trips but I do know that we have plans to once again go to Baker, CA for the annual Baker-Vegas Challenge Cup Relay Race. There are several posts in the archives that tell about our trips there! I think this will be our 17th year! That's in April and in June Don and I are the co-rally masters for a Monaco Wannagos rally right here in Arkansas! I hope that all of our motorhome friends are going to come and attend the rally! It's our FIRST and hopefully LAST rally that we are hosting, but I do think it will be fun! It's June 8-12 in North Little Rock! Not far from home and really, NLR and LR have a lot of things to see and do! We are planning some fun things and hope to have some great entertainment (No, Don or I won't be part of them)! Another trip we have planned is Effingham, IL for the Corvette Rally that is held there. We went last year with our friends, Jerri & Lloyd and hope that they go again this year! :-)

One of the other things I'm thinking of doing on our blog is sharing some of the artwork that I do...I haven't done a lot of painting since we moved into the house, but I have been doing a lot of paper crafting - scrapbooking, making cards, ATCs (Artist Trading Cards), tags and all kinds of things! I've made two paper bag books and I'm working on an altered clipboard right now! I belong to a Yahoo Group (I actually belong to several) and we do a lot of different swaps! It's been fun to stretch my creative side and I'm having fun doing it!

That's about all I can think of for the moment! It's late and I need to head to bed! <-- Nothing different about that!

Happy Anniversary!

Wow! Can't believe we are celebrating our 18th anniversary! Don and I chose this date to be married because it was his parent's wedding date as well! I figured it lasted a long, long time for them so it had to be a good day! We had a very small wedding with just our family and a few very special friends. I don't think the church would have held more than 20-25! After the wedding though we had a great party with lots of friends and family! :-) It was a lot of fun! Left the next day for our honeymoon and was it ever romantic! Yeah right! We took our fifth-wheel (that's what we had at the time) and went camping! It was appropriate since we met while camping 6 years before we got married! I do remember Don spent a lot of time on a pay phone outside the campground calling work! I even think we drove in one day so he could go to a meeting! Now that's what I call dedication! Grrr...

It sure doesn't seem like 18 years (or 24 years) has passed! It DOES make me feel old to think about it though! :-) I'm sure there were those that thought it would never last! We fooled them, didn't we!

Happy New Year!

Want to wish all of our friends and family a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year! Can't believe it's 2010 already! Seems like it was just going to be 2000 and we were all worried that our computers would freeze up and stop working! Looks like they are still working, and nothing has gone missing - has it? Well, maybe a lot of our money but I don't think we can blame THAT on 2000!

Happy New Year! Hope to see all of you in the coming year!

The History of Veterans Day

****Taken from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Website****

World War I – known at the time as “The Great War” - officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France. However, fighting ceased seven months earlier when an armistice, or temporary cessation of hostilities, between the Allied nations and Germany went into effect on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. For that reason, November 11, 1918, is generally regarded as the end of “the war to end all wars.”

In November 1919, President Wilson proclaimed November 11 as the first commemoration of Armistice Day with the following words: "To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…"

The original concept for the celebration was for a day observed with parades and public meetings and a brief suspension of business beginning at 11:00 a.m.

The United States Congress officially recognized the end of World War I when it passed a concurrent resolution on June 4, 1926, with these words:

Whereas the 11th of November 1918, marked the cessation of the most destructive, sanguinary, and far reaching war in human annals and the resumption by the people of the United States of peaceful relations with other nations, which we hope may never again be severed, and

Whereas it is fitting that the recurring anniversary of this date should be commemorated with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations; and

Whereas the legislatures of twenty-seven of our States have already declared November 11 to be a legal holiday: Therefore be it Resolved by the Senate (the House of Representatives concurring), that the President of the United States is requested to issue a proclamation calling upon the officials to display the flag of the United States on all Government buildings on November 11 and inviting the people of the United States to observe the day in schools and churches, or other suitable places, with appropriate ceremonies of friendly relations with all other peoples.

An Act (52 Stat. 351; 5 U. S. Code, Sec. 87a) approved May 13, 1938, made the 11th of November in each year a legal holiday—a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace and to be thereafter celebrated and known as "Armistice Day." Armistice Day was primarily a day set aside to honor veterans of World War I, but in 1954, after World War II had required the greatest mobilization of soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen in the Nation’s history; after American forces had fought aggression in Korea, the 83rd Congress, at the urging of the veterans service organizations, amended the Act of 1938 by striking out the word "Armistice" and inserting in its place the word "Veterans." With the approval of this legislation (Public Law 380) on June 1, 1954, November 11th became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.

Later that same year, on October 8th, President Dwight D. Eisenhower issued the first "Veterans Day Proclamation" which stated: "In order to insure proper and widespread observance of this anniversary, all veterans, all veterans' organizations, and the entire citizenry will wish to join hands in the common purpose. Toward this end, I am designating the Administrator of Veterans' Affairs as Chairman of a Veterans Day National Committee, which shall include such other persons as the Chairman may select, and which will coordinate at the national level necessary planning for the observance. I am also requesting the heads of all departments and agencies of the Executive branch of the Government to assist the National Committee in every way possible."

On that same day, President Eisenhower sent a letter to the Honorable Harvey V. Higley, Administrator of Veterans' Affairs (VA), designating him as Chairman of the Veterans Day National Committee.

In 1958, the White House advised VA's General Counsel that the 1954 designation of the VA Administrator as Chairman of the Veterans Day National Committee applied to all subsequent VA Administrators. Since March 1989 when VA was elevated to a cabinet level department, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs has served as the committee's chairman.

The Uniform Holiday Bill (Public Law 90-363 (82 Stat. 250)) was signed on June 28, 1968, and was intended to ensure three-day weekends for Federal employees by celebrating four national holidays on Mondays: Washington's Birthday, Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and Columbus Day. It was thought that these extended weekends would encourage travel, recreational and cultural activities and stimulate greater industrial and commercial production. Many states did not agree with this decision and continued to celebrate the holidays on their original dates.

The first Veterans Day under the new law was observed with much confusion on October 25, 1971. It was quite apparent that the commemoration of this day was a matter of historic and patriotic significance to a great number of our citizens, and so on September 20th, 1975, President Gerald R. Ford signed Public Law 94-97 (89 Stat. 479), which returned the annual observance of Veterans Day to its original date of November 11, beginning in 1978. This action supported the desires of the overwhelming majority of state legislatures, all major veterans service organizations and the American people.

Veterans Day continues to be observed on November 11, regardless of what day of the week on which it falls. The restoration of the observance of Veterans Day to November 11 not only preserves the historical significance of the date, but helps focus attention on the important purpose of Veterans Day: A celebration to honor America's veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.


~~ With that, I'd like to send my sincere thanks to all our Veterans and military personnel..for defending our freedom and this great country that we live in. ~~