I'm in a Holiday frame of mind....

I'm sitting watching the Olympics and thinking about Christmas and the cards I need to make for my September class.  Sometimes cards come together in a few minutes and sometimes they don't this was a don't.  Di will be thrilled to see all the snippets I created making this one....  I am happy with the finished card.....and then there's this one, it did come together very quickly and I like it, yes I do....

I think today while I'm watching the Olympics I'll be putting together some of my card kits.  I have many and I need to get them finished. 

Speaking of the Olympics....I'm loving watching them.  To all my friends across the pond....I loved the opening ceremony your country should be very proud.  The venues are amazing.  I just finished watching the women's bicycling event.  The scenery along the way was so very pretty.  I'm sure the rain didn't please those racing, but it's nice to see how green everything is.  Great turn out to see all the racers. 

It's on to basketball...... soooooo have a most wonderful week!

Hugs to all,
Mary

WOYWW-164-Snippets-Sydney and More

Whew....I've been busy this week.  Before I go on, and I do tend to go on.... Here are the cards for my August Class - which will be Wednesday, August 15th.  I think there are 2 spots still available. 

I love the graphic on this card. And since today is Christmas in July (7/25) and inching ever closer to Christmas....Here's card #2. 

This is an easy and quick card to make.  I'm all about easy and quick, especially at Christmas.  This one is also going to be not too expensive to send. 

I'm getting many emails inquiring as to Sydney's health.  She's doing much better, however, we are still having issues with her being able to keep food down.  Yesterday was her first day without a vet visit to hydrate her or to do blood work to see if she is improving.  On the up side, she hasn't lost any more weight.  The vet isn't sure what caused her kidney's to fail, but he's leaning toward poison.  Not sure if it was something she found growing in the yard, or from another source.  Her brother Baxter has been very concerned and sticks pretty close to her.  This photo was taken during Brenda and my crop. 

She looks rather comfortable....Baxter looks a bit crowded.  Usually he's the one that hogs the bed.  Think she might be taking advantage of him? 

Sooooo now on to some crafty moments.  Here's my desk for WOYWW - 164  You will note, it is very dark outside.  Seems the two now sleeping dogs thought it was time to get up.  We were up at 4:30 AM  Both dogs are now sleeping.  So not fair! 

I thought I'd take advantage of the early hours by working on an album.  This is a first for me, it's a soft spine mini album.  I'll show it when I'm finished.  I may be very late to learn of this gal, I know several of the girls I crop with at Paradise Scrapbook Boutique, have made several items.  I learned of Kathy from Paper Phenomenon  from them.  Kathy has great written tutorials, and you can also follow along with her via U-Stream videos.  I'm plugging along slowly, but I'm very happy with what I've done so far.  Check her out, her albums are amazing. 

  
You know how I love men's cards (NOT), well, I have 2 for August.  I do struggle with them.  The one above is for my new Son-In-Law.  He's pretty amazing and if you want to know anything about Chicago....ask him, he's the best tour guide.  Ok, so about his card.  He is a surveyor and he loves architecture.  That's what I was trying to capture .  This is truly a snippet card.  I'd gotten a new Martha punch around the page and decided to use some snippets to practice.  The punch worked very well on the suede paper.  I'm not as happy with the embossed pieces, but still you can see what is embossed.  It's always fun to use snippets and even more fun to see what others made using them.  Check out Di's blog to see what's happening on the playground.  Lots of great talent there. 

And last but not least.  Brenda's husband and I share the same birthday.  While she was working on her cards, I was working on her husband's birthday card.  Shhhhh, don't show it to him yet.... but here it is...

Jerry has become quite the photographer and he and a friend are about to hit the road for a photographic vacation.  It's great that people of our age are out and about and doing things we love.  The embellishment on this card is a little camera....pretty cute I think!

Wishing you all a very creative week.  I'm looking forward to Friday....Virginia, Cathy, Mary Jane, Leesa and I will be spending the day together...it doesn't get any better than that!

Hugs to all,
Mary
AKA:  Glitter Grammy

WOYWW - 163 and My Sydney

Hello from home....This will be a short post, I'm up to my ears in nursing my little Sydney and between trying to get her to eat, vet visits and potty breaks...I'm trying to get my August class together.  So....here it is, my desk.  I've completed the kits for one of the cards, and hope to get the second card done tomorrow.  Here it is: 

I'll post the photos of the cards later this week.  A reminder, the class day has changed to Wednesday.  This works better for both Karen and I.  I hope it works well for those taking class.  There will be a little something special for those who attend the class.  Call Karen to reserve.  Be sure to visit her blog too.  Lots of cool stuff there.  Check out all the desks over at Stamping Ground.  I'm sure there is a lot of activity going on there. 

I'm also working on a card for my new son-in-law and I purchased the directions for a soft spine album from Paper Phenomenon (box on the chair holds the goodies I'm collecting for this project)..  Google the site if you want to see more.  Sadly, I don't have her contact info right now, but I promise to share soon.  Her albums are amazing. 

Now on to what's going on with my little one....I came home to my husband telling me that I have a very sick little girl.  For those who don't know Sydney, she's my crafting buddy, ball chasing, Doxie.  To make a very long story short, Sydney had an accident at the groomers, from that she possibly had an allergic reaction to the meds the Vet gave her, and now she is fighting acute kidney failure.  What is most frustrating is we aren't sure what caused this and we aren't sure if it will be a one time incident or if it will reoccur.  She is such an angel and is quite the little fighter.  Today was a good day, and if we can get through the night with her able to keep her food and meds down, I think we just might have a good day tomorrow.  It's been one step forward and one back all week...we need a big jump forward.  Here's a photo of her during a much better time.

Doesn't she have the most sweet little face! 

I want to thank everyone who followed me during my visit to the mid-west.  Thanks too for all the great comments and the wonderful emails.  It's great to wake up and know that somewhere out there in the big world someone is enjoying what I'm doing.  I also love trotting around the world and visiting with each of you.  It was also wonderful to come home and open gifts from Dolores, Brenda and Di....Wonderful ATC cards and ohhhh those hearts, I can't wait to make something with them... but I'll probably more than likely be hoarding them for awhile. I will show a photo next time and also link to your blog. 

A note about why I love summer and especially summer in California....Here's why:  Here's my summer breakfast:

For the Weight Watcher gals, it's ONE point plus.....That's 1/2 cup Fage Greek Yogurt, with a bit of Truvia to sweeten it.  Yummy!  It's time I get my act back together and this is a good way to start!

Off I go, Sydney needs her night time meds and then it's off to bed for this ole gal.  Let's hope we get through tonight without any medical issues. 

Have a most wonderful week.  I'll see you next week and maybe I've have a finished project to share.
Hugs to all,
Mary AKA:  Glitter Grammy

Happy BD Brenda and Hello from the Twine Ball

Wow, It seems like forever since my last post....but it's actually not been all that long.  I have a thousand photos from this vacation and I'll post more later, but for now.....

Happy Birthday Brenda....

I'm headed back to California tomorrow.  Today we are celebrating my best buddy, Dee Dee, daughter's birthday.  She's shy about her age so shall I say, she is slightly over 21! 

I am so used to my craft room, and I will admit I am a tool-aholic, so, when I craft in other people's area I'm like a fish out of water.  For this card I used a new Cuttlebug Folder from the Paper Lace II collection.  (Did you think I could go on vacation without purchasing at least one new toy?)  Dee Dee has the Martha Heart border, which I used to punch the area for a sentiment, which I hand wrote.  I know what I'm getting Dee Dee for her birthday :-)  Making this card was fun.  Dee Dee was working on setting up her new Apple computer and I was crafting away in her new craft room.  She took her basement and built it into a fantastic family room, kitchenette, sewing room, exercise room, bathroom and last and most important....craft room.  She did it, with the exception of plumbing and electric, she built the walls, ceiling, etc....I am so proud of her.  What a gal!

Though this isn't my work desk, it's the desk where this card was born....so, I'm going to head on over to Julia's blog, Stamping Ground and post my space for this Wednesday.  If you've got a little time, hop on over to see what the others are doing.  And if you're really feeling like you need to stop and play, head on over to visit Di at Pixie's Crafty Workshop.  I'll see you there.

And Now, Without Further Delay.....From Cawker City, Kansas USA, I bring you......

We did it, we arrived at 7:30 in the morning, the sun was shining down on this tiny little town.  Dee Dee and I were like two small children, (only walking not running) to see the long awaited, much anticipated, World's Largest Ball of Sisal Twine. 

For all the joking that we'd done about getting this off my bucket list, this was a truly fantastic experience.  I'd seen photos of the ball of twine, so I knew how it would look, and the gazebo that surrounded it, but I had no idea what the little town would look like.  I didn't know what the trip from Madison to Cawker City would be and I never could have imagined the fun Dee Dee and I would have as we travelled there.  This entire trip was filled with tummy splitting laughs, a few tears but ones of joy and anticipation, a bit of drama and a ton of memories.  Thank you Dee Dee for being my life long friend, thank you Amy and Linn for sharing your most wonderful day and time in Chicago, thank you to Dan, Victor, Aaron, Rebecca, Lachlan and Bridget.  Thanks too to my Wisconsin and Illinois family for making us so welcome, and for sharing your lives with us. 

This is a photo of the main street in Cawker City, Kansas.  It reminds me of an old western town.  While we were looking at the ball of twine, a lady came running across the road carrying some twine.  She asked if we wanted to add twine to the ball.  Of course we did....so off we skipped with twine in hand and added our little piece to history....do I have a photo of the lady...of course not, in our excitement, we forgot to photograph her and her kindness....So thank you unknown lady!  Here's a link to Cawker City Kansas:  Here  I hope you take a minute to read about this quaint little town.

Are you ready for family photos? Not too many, though I could send you a zillion of them.....(hint).

 I have got to say, Amy put a year into planning her wedding and she did an absolutely beautiful job, her attention to detail amazed all.  So here is a shot of the beautiful bride, her dashing husband and what a lovely mom.... {{{{giggle}}}}}

Here I am with the true loves of my life (Dan, Me, Aaron, Amy and Damon).  I am so very proud of each of them. 

There are so many photos of the wedding, the venue and the people.  I picked this one because it was such an unusual candle and flower center piece.  The flowers were placed into the vase upside down and held in place with a floating candle.  This photo does not do it justice, I'll look for another better one if anyone is interested.  Amy and Linn chose cupcakes rather than a cake and they were wonderful and beautifully displayed.  Everything was perfect!

I think what I will do in future posts is throw in a photo or two of my vacation...I hope you'll stop by to see them. 

Now this is for Sarn.... Margot and Harriet...meet Bucky.  I'm sure the girls will be delighted to see this stunning example of roosterhood (is that a word?  It is now!).... Bucky belongs to my niece and her family (I'll post more of them later).  Bucky has quite a harem, I think the ladies would be more than happy to share him.  I learned lots from Sarah about chickens, pecking order and their little personalities.  So, without delay....Here's Bucky!

I so enjoy Sarn's Sunday Roast and of course her Christmas Challenge and checking in to see what she's up to on a daily basis.  If you've got even the slightest desire to meet three charmers, check out Sarn's blog here.



I live in California and our gas prices are of late are  not going under $4.00 per gallon, now my son from Australia says he has no pity as their gas prices are much higher....but we just can't wrap our heads around the costs of fuel.  Here's what joyously met us at one of our stops in Iowa....

We were excited to see this price, especially since the motor home was getting 7 to 8 miles per gallon. 

I guess I should get moving.  Lots to do today, Birthday party for Brenda this evening, and play time with Dee Dee before I leave for California....See you in my craft room next week...

If you want to see more photos, friend me on Face Book...

Later....and hugs from Colorado!
Mary AKA:  Glitter Grammy

Happy Fourth Of July

I'm in Chicago and sending wishes for a Happy and Safe 4th of July.  See you all soon!

Having a great time....

Congrats to the bride and groom.  The event was a long way off and then....all of a sudden it was "The Day"  Congrats to Amy and Linn.  The day was perfect.  Rain was a threat, but that morning Bridget, our 6 year old prayed to God and the Angels and guess what....No Rain!  Thanks to everyone who snapped the photos of the day....the professional photos will arrive shortly.....I can't wait. 

My babies.....(L to R)  Dan, Me, Aaron, Amy and Damon. 

My Grandsons

My Granddaughter

See, We're all crafting. Bridget was making paper puppies, Dee Dee and I were folding and tying bows.  Busy, Busy........

Amy covered these letters with bits of map pages.  Their theme was travel and the letters were perfect.  I'll show more later. 

My buddy Dee Dee and Me, along with Amy's buddy and maid of honor, Melina.  Dee Dee and I have been friends since pre-school (our kids were in pre-school together). 

Sunday, we gave the bride and groom a break....we went to the Sears Tower, also known as Willis Tower.  So, here we are....103 stories up, standing in a glass structure that hangs out over the edge of the building.  You can see forever both up, down and out.....While in the tower, my daughter text messaged me telling me a big storm was coming our way.  We looked and saw it heading our way, but thought how fun it would be to see the storm coming in......

And then a message came over the loud speaker.  "Shelter In Place"..... since this is tornado and high wind land....and as the building began to sway..... We wondered if our visit to the Sears Tower was such a good idea. 

This is what we saw as we waited for the storm to pass.  Finally, we were able to get into a service elevator and head for the ground floor.....We certainly got our monies worth on this trip to the Sears Tower....

I'll post more later.  The RV park we are staying in has very slow WIFI....and it's taking forever to load photos and upload.......I'm spoiled at home.....

Have a great 4th of July....I hope to post more later. 

Hugs to all,

Mary AKA:  Glitter Grammy