Dream Big Cre8tions

What a crazy, long, sad week it's been. After last Sunday's phone call, I knew the week was just going to go downhill, well, needless to say, it did.....I received a call from my sister on Monday morning, that my Dad had passed away at 4:30 am (CDT), for anyone interested here is the link to his obituary. http://www.marshallindependent.com/page/content.detail/id/529508/William--Bill--Jemming.html?nav=5016 This of course began a week of craziness in my life, first on the agenda, trying to find a reasonably priced ticket to Minnesota on short notice (good luck), I did find a not so reasonably priced ticket and made arrangements to be picked up in Minneapolis for the 2.5 hour drive to Milroy. I also needed to take care of everything at work, so I could take the week off and locate pictures for the picture board that needed to be put together before the funeral on Thursday. Tuesday was a very long day....waking up at 3:30 am is not my favorite thing to do and of course I couldn...

As I'm waiting for the Stickles to dry on this weeks Crop Chocolate challenge, I'm also waiting for a phone call from my sister saying my Dad passed away. She called me earlier this afternoon, saying the nursing home - hospice unit had called and they didn't expect him to last too much longer. While I've been expecting this for the past couple of months, it still makes me cry. I thought I had prepared myself for all possibilities, but I guess we never do. My Dad has been suffering from Alzheimer's for the past 5 or 6 years, and has spent the last 3 years in a nursing home, since it got to hard for my wonderful stepmother to care for him on her own. I've been thinking today, and remembering the good times (and maybe some not so good). I remember....... Fishing for bullheads at School Grove Lake, I really dislike fishing, but I learned how to cast my line well. Many years later when Dad and Mirt bought a house on a lake in Glenwood, we went fishing for sunnies ...

Where did July go? It's always a busy month for me, but this year it just flew by and August is here. It's funny, but my Grandma always said that years go faster as you grow older, I'm beginning to believe it's true.  I've been busy this weekend, between cleaning carpets and getting my hair done, I did manage to find some crafty time today. I really wanted to work on the recipe challenges from Crop Chocolate this weekend, so here are my contributions.  Blueberry Muffin Blue and Brown Cardstock or Patterned Paper Brads Something floral Letter Stickers *Mystery ingredient – go dig out your old funky edge scissors and try to use them* How did I do? For this card, I used the new Authentique - Journey and Splendid lines, as well as Paper Reverie - Brun Antique letters. I also made my first attempt at dryer sheet flowers, using Glimmer Mist (Bahama Blue, Trunk Bay and Sun Sisters) and Stickles (Lagoon, Mermaid and Yellow). The second recipe was Strawberry Shortcak...

So, I've been having kind of an "Oldies" Day today, and I'm not talking about my age! I've listened to old music - on vinyl - specifically The Alan Parson's Project - Turn of a Friendly Card. Watched old TV - Season 2 of the Bionic Woman on DVD and finished an older project......a page that I had started for a Bo Bunny challenge a few months ago, the journaling just needed to finished. So, I took care of that today. Here is the finished product. The challenge was to use a Bo Bunny line - here's one of my favorites "Flower Child" and use a French title, so I chose Amis Forever. I also worked on some cards for some challenges on Crop Chocolate. The first was for the weekly recipe challenge. This weeks recipe is courtesy of Jazzy a bit of black something chipboard 3 buttons a shade of blue some stitching (real or faux) Again, I'm having issues with the photos uploading.  I also created a card for the Focus Group Challenge on Cro...

The crop at Scrapbook Paradise yesterday was lots of fun, even though it was short. Unfortunately, there were only 7 ladies signed up, so instead of a 12 hour crop, we had an 8 hour crop during store hours. The store has a 10 person minimum for the 12 hour crop, which I don't disagree with, but needless to say, I didn't get as much done as I wanted to, but that's always the case. However, I did get some fun things done. First, I completed a trio of Birthday cards. I pieced both the landscape and the balloons, the first two are stitched, but I messed up the 3rd one and adhered it to the card before I remembered to stitch it, so the lines are drawn.  I also needed to add a little Smooch Ink around the first two cards to make the Happy Birthday pop.  The next task was another Birthday card for a friend of mine. I wanted it to say something like Old Guys Rule, but he would have taken offense, so I ended up with "Vintage Dude", Thanks for the suggestion Tawn! Th...

Wow, it sure has been a busy week, and I am so not ready to get back into the swing of work. With all of the side trips, I really haven't gotten a lot of crafting done, but I was able to complete a couple of items completed before all of the craziness began. First, an update on my travels, on Monday my friend Deb and I headed down (or up) to Yosemite National Park - Tuolumne Meadows. The high country of Yosemite is amazingly beautiful and peaceful. There are very few people, compared to the valley area and you really get a chance to enjoy the area. Deb and I at Olmstead Point Yes, there's still snow at 10,000 feet. Deb at the Tioga Pass Overlook On my birthday, (Tues) we headed to Truckee for a quick walk and lunch and then off to Squaw Valley.  Two Views of Squaw Valley Since Tuesday, I've been trying to get back into the day to day swing of things. I did get the chance to frame the X-Stitch for my friend I used Cadillac Pink Glimmer Mist to get the mat the...

So...I have a friend in town this week to help me celebrate my birthday, and we've been taking a few little trips. Yesterday, we visited the Marshall Gold Discovery Site State Historic Park in Coloma, CA (Sutter's Mill). While it was extremely hot, it was really interesting. Lots of old buildings, interesting information and rafters heading down the South Fork of the American River. Oliver and Deb - We're done playing in the river for now. It sure was cold, but it felt good. Rafters on the South Fork of the American River, looks like fun. From Coloma, it was back on the road, heading over to Truckee and Donner State Park. Even though I live so close, I had never visited. The Lake is beautiful.  There was a lot of construction around the Visitor Center area, so we were disappointed that we couldn't see much of the history, but the Pioneer Monument was available for viewing.  When the construction is complete I will have to head back up to Truckee to really ta...