Home Again…Family Moments & Wish You Were Here!

 

                                  (an older card I made….home!)

Good morning, dear friends!

Oh, my!  I’m home at last!!!  Can’t tell you what a wonderful, family-filled three weeks it’s been…I’ve loved every single moment…but there’s something so beautiful about finally arriving home, isn’t there?!

I really missed my husband yesterday, as I drove 13+ hours …my two daughters who traveled with me aren’t drivers yet, so it was a bit of a L.O.N.G. day!

Just a couple of things to share with you today, no new cards to show…just finished 6 new cards for Splitcoast’s Dirty Dozen gallery that I posted EARLY (middle of the night) before I left my parents’ house…and I’ve got a couple of things in the works for Monday morning’s Crafty Secrets’ Design Team challenge, so more’s coming!

Wanted to show you what was waiting for me when I arrived home…

Our “Wish You Were Here!” postcard swap, hosted by the amazing Elizabeth of “Creative Breathing” had arrived while I was on vacation…fabulous vintage cards from across the country…and even Scotland jumped into the mix!

Elizabeth is so thoughtful…she included a wonderful packet of vintage California postcards for me, along with other sweet greeting card images from days gone by…

…and an adorable card she made for me…A Vintage Chic.  Thank-you Elizabeth, but your thoughtful touches, sweet gifts, and for hosting another fun swap!

I can’t wait to share with you some of my amazing finds from my trip…My Mom took me to one of her favorite haunts…an incredible little antique shop---literally jam-packed with the most amazing finds!  (Just had a request for the shop’s name…”Cat’s Cradle” on Center St. in old town Provo, Utah)

The owner is passionate about everything, and has a love for paper ephemera, as well…and had packages put together of wonderful assortments of images & things for fabulous prices!  Needless to say, I made a few visits to his shop, and came home with some beauties!  Can’t wait to scan them and share them with you!

Just wanted to leave you with a few photos from our second day of vacation.

We went for my parents’ 50th anniversary, as you may remember…I’ll share more about that later.  One of the best things about gathering EVERY single soul in our family together for a couple of days was the photo shoot we did one night…can’t wait for the photographer’s proofs!  Here’s just a couple that were shot with my little camera…

Just a few of my parents’ 16 grandsons…aren’t they handsome?  Just hamming it up against a beautiful stone wall…

All 6 of the granddaughters…3 of which are my daughters….all beautiful, wonderful girls…

…an in-between the shots moment of my parents with all 6 of us kids…one brother seems to have stepped out here…!

I love this shot of my husband Roger and our nephew, Spencer…

My Dad and me…

…and my dear, sweet Mom…thanks Mom & Dad for EVERYTHING!  Love and miss you!

Well, that’s all for today!  I’ll be back on Monday with something new…

 

Julie

LiveJournal Tags: Crafty Secrets,Creative Breathing,Travel Postcard Swap,Family Photos

Summer Fun and Vintage Beauties...

Good morning, everyone!

Still at my parents' house in Utah...still surrounded by oh, so many family members from around the country...still having a marvelous time!

...Still not having much time to visit you all, and I'm so sorry about that!  Will get back to normal when I get home, but I'll sure miss being here!

A few things to share with you today, then we're all off on another adventure!  I'll be more pictures than words today...but, as they say, a picture's worth a thousand words, right?!

So here we go!

First, a couple of cards I've sneakily made in a few stolen moments in my Mom's craft room...

I love this lacy card!  The sweet garden image is from Crafty Secrets' "Garden" Creative Scraps.  I used a Martha Stewart punch for the eyelet lace border, some pink buttons, pink grosgrain and black & white gingham ribbon, LOTS of platinum Stickles everywhere, and a smattering of Dazzling Diamonds on the image.

Next...

These images are also Crafty Secrets--the beautiful vintage lady is from their "Divine" image booklet, and the garden collage behind it is from their "Garden" Creative Scraps.  Some lovely chocolate satin ribbon from PTI, a luscious Prima flower, some beautiful crystal rhinestones from Moms' stash...

...Dazzling Diamonds, of course, and a bit more platinum Stickles.  Can't get enough of those little items!

And now for a bit of what I've been doing here...

First, my VERY favorite place to eat when I'm in the Salt Lake area...

The Red Iguana....ahhhh...what can I say?!  A fabulously quirky restaurant on the outside...tons of Mexican kitschiness on the inside...

Here's Mom with the menu...I always think I'm going to order something new when I return there (sadly, only once a year!)...but it ALWAYS comes down to this simply amazing dish...

Enchiladas Poblanas!  They make the most amazing sauce--I can't describe it!  I've duplicated it the best that I can, but...cheese enchiladas, the sauce, sour cream, avacados....simple and divine!

This place has been featured on "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives", which tells you something!

Another favorite stop when I'm here...Gardner Village...

Gorgeous shops, gorgeous surroundings...

...a beautiful day!

And last of all....cupshakes!  Just a milkshake with a cupcake (and frosting!) added to the mix...Fantastically fantastic!!!

Here's my sister-in-law, Malinda, my college daughter, Chelsea, my sister, Becky, and my sister-in-law, Karen....I warned them I'd be posting this photo, so they thought they'd pose in  retro-ish happy housewife ways...thanks, girls!


Family time is magic time...hope you're all busy making magic memories with your families...

Well, that's it for this addition of my summer vacation...I'll be back soon with something new!

Red, White & Blue!

Good afternoon, my friends!

WOW!  I can't believe it's been over a week since I posted!  Still visiting my parents, and as I'm sure you all know, when you're surrounded by family, time is definitely not your own!  (And I wouldn't have it any other way!)

I have managed, in the last few days, to steal away a bit of time and make a few red, white & blue-themed cards which I have to share with you today...

First, for this week's Crafty Secrets' challenge over at Splitcoast....to use red, white and blue, but NOT make it Fourth of July-ish....tricky, right?!  Here's my take on it...

I love this beautiful image from Crafty Secrets' new and improved (printed on BOTH sides!) "Garden" Creative Scraps...beautiful strawberries...perfect! 

Lots of pretty creamy lace, grosgrain & slim satiny ribbon, my favorite vintage mother-of-pearl buttons (I had to bring a bagful with me from home!)...

...Platinum Stickles, lots of Dazzling Diamonds...nice and sparkly...

Next, just a fun summertime card...

One of my favorite images from Crafty Secrets' "Summertime" Images & Journal Notes booklet...If I could have a bathing suit like this, I'd be out in the water MUCH more often!

Some pretty crocheted lace, nice fat rick-rack trim, and some fabulous sea shells...

...more Dazzling Diamonds to sparkle up the water and a bit on her umbrella, and surrounded by platinum Stickles.  I just printed up the "Bathing Beauty" on the computer...

And lastly, a little something for the Fourth of July...

This fun bunch of images comes from Crafty Secret's "Seasonal" Images & Journal Notes booklet...the three vintage images are quite small, and just seemed perfect to fit inside that wonderful journalling space...

Lace, some beautiful red Martha Stewart seam binding, my vintage buttons again...

...I cut out some cardstock to mimic the shape of the journalling image, and covered it with Glossy Accents and some fabulous bright blue vintage German glitter glass I just found at a wonderful antique shop here near my parent's house....found some real treasures I'll share with you later!  Also, some silver German glass glitter from the same shop--nice and chunky! 

Surrounded it all with some silver Stickles, just to clean up the edges...some Dazzling Diamonds on the sparkly parts of the little images...and that's about it!

I'll have some family time to share with you all when I get home in a couple of weeks, when I can edit things properly (it's hard on someone else's computer!) 

We're having a marvellous time with my family...lots of cousins for the kids to play with, warm & beautiful weather in the Rocky Mountains....just perfect!

Hope you're all having a most wonderful summer day, and I'll see you soon with something new!