Sunshine in January

The northwest has a bad reputation.  You have probably heard it.  Something to do with rain and constantly.  Well lets just say it is not true.  It is sort of like saying it is cold in Minnesota all the time, where I have seen my fair share of triple digit temperatures while growing up in that state.  Or saying that Texas is always hot.  Did you know it is something like 6 degrees in Amarillo, Texas today?  Brrr!  I believe these are stereotypes and we all must concede they are not true.

This is January in western Washington...honestly.

Monday it was so cloudy it felt as if the sun did not rise.

Tuesday...well Tuesday was just about perfection with the sunshine and the high in the low 50s.

 The Olympic Mountains and Bainbridge Island

Mt. Rainier

Today it is partly sunny and the same is expected tomorrow.  It does rain here, hence all the green, just not every day and for that I am very glad. 





Winter Rainbow

Today is was the typical northwest winter day.  Some sun, some wind, some clouds and some rain.  The rain brought out a small but bright rainbow over the water for a bit.

Winter Wedding Card

Some friends were just recently married and it is time to send along my congratulations.  They had a winter themed wedding and I wanted my card to follow along those lines while still feeling like a wedding card.  I have to admit I am a sucker for wedding gowns, tuxedos and those beautiful flowers and so I love making cards for weddings, bridal showers and the like.

The 365 Blog was the inspiration again for this card.  Two of the most recent challenges honestly.  The first being make your own flower and the second  to make a card using a base made from anything other than cardstock. 

So here is what I came up with...

The shimmer on all the layers is difficult to capture with the camera but it is there in person and oh so pretty!  I used Sheer Shimmer Mist from Tsukineko in Sparkle and Frost on this card.  The card base is acrylic.  The embossed paper was white cardstock that I ran under the faucet, crumpled and then put in a cuttlebug embossing folder.  When the cardstock was dry I inked a bit of distress ink on it and sprayed with the mist.  The flower is created from 3 scallop circle punches layered on top of one and another.

Here you can see the flower better as well as the shimmer on the paper from the mist.  Love those mists and with these you can get refills that are much less expensive than the original bottles.  The originals where around $8.00 for the two color set and each mister holds just under half an ounce.  The refills run between $9.00 and $11.00 for two ounces.  A much better price and if you order them from Amazon, and are a prime member, you get them shipped for free. :)

The 365 Blog challenges have really kept me creating the last few days.  Here is that link again should you want to check them out... http://365cards.blogspot.com

Mt. Baker and an Aqua Winter Card

The sun has been shining on the northwest the last couple of days and it has been stunning!  Just absolutely beautiful!

 Here is Mt. Baker in all its glory during the sun filled day.  It is about 120 miles away across the straits from here.  Makes for a pretty view.

 And a view that only gets better as the pale pinks of sunset begin.


I had the need to make a card today that really did not call for a sentiment on the front.  There will be a note on the inside.  This time of year is all about Christmas however this card is not about the holiday so I really did not want to use any of those colors yet I wanted the card to be festive.  I got my inspiration from 365 Cards challenge to use blue-green on your card.  There is lots of it on this card.  The cardstock is aqua, the velvet ribbon is aqua and the pattern paper also has aqua in it.  I really like how the colors work together and I do not believe I would have pulled it together this way without the challenge.  So yay for that!

 The snowflakes are a favorite embellishment of mine that I found a couple of years ago at my local discount store in the sewing section even though they are not a button.  I add a flat back crystal to the center for just a little extra sparkle.  As you can see they have great dimension.

In this picture it is easier to see the crystal added to the center. 

The 365 Blog has a different card challenge each day.  Be sure to stop by there to get some inspiration. 

Link:  http://365cards.blogspot.com

Christmas Cards - Take 2

Here are a few more Christmas cards I have completed. This year for some reason it has been more fun and I have had less "scrapper's block" while creating. Maybe because I did not put any pressure on myself. I just began with the purpose of having fun and that...gasp...translated into stress-free fun?!?! It has worked out so well I plan to use this system again next year at the holidays! ;)

Christmas Cards - Take 1

It is that time of the year where we sing carols, bake yummy cookies (while getting to not feel bad at all for eating them) and we mail greetings to friends and family. Christmas cards are just about to go in the mail  here and I thought I would share some of them. 

Rushing

There is a blog over on Tumblr that I follow and read each day.  Some days it makes me smile, some days tear up or still yet on others laugh.  This was posted a few days ago and I cannot help myself but share it.  This made me laugh because it is so very true.  I am a lover of Christmas yet I do enjoy the holiday that is all about family and friends (and all that really good food!).  I dislike that we humans rush it and seem to focus on the the hurry to Christmas and really the wrong aspects of Christmas.  We are not rushing to enjoy family.  We are not even rushing to remember the reason for the holiday in the first place, the birth of Christ.  Instead we rush to buy more and more.  So this seems to fit how I feel with a big dose of humor. 

Busy Scrapdesk

Although I have been busy I have managed to find a few minutes here and there over the past couple of weeks to work at my scrapdesk.  Here is what I have been working on.

Musical Morning

I have been busy, busy lately and music is something that makes the work go quicker as well as easier.  I saw Matthew Mayfield live in Birmingham last February and became an instant fan.  He has a new video for one of my favorite songs, Fire Escape.  He has also done a wonderful thing and made some of his music free in honor of it.  You can download Now Your Free his newest CD at the following link, http://www.mediafire.com/?648cs3qr899s643


 

Matthew covered this song when I saw him live and in my very humblest of fan opinions it was better than original.  I like the original however I LOVE his voice with the lyrics and wish I had an MP3 copy I could listen to anywhere. 

Lovely Northwest Evening

Summer arrived late and with fall looming for most of the country our weather has just gotten perfect.  Warm days in the mid to low 70s filled with sunshine.  The Olympic Peninsula is the place to be right now.

This evening the sunset was simply lovely so much color lighting the sky.

I was also able to capture so of the lights as the sun has set as the water is so calm and there are no clouds or marine layer on the water this evening.

This is one of the Holland America ships bound for Alaska.  At night they seem to sparkle as they go by and tonight with the calm water just made the reflections even better.

The large tankers in the harbor keep things bright as well.

On the clear nights like tonight the lights of Victoria are a highlight of the view too.