Trails and SNAILS

Stampin' Addicts Bon Voyage Blog Hop

2009-06-12T22:52:00.015-07:00

Welcome to Port of Call #25 on Stampin' Addicts 2009 Bon Voyage Blog Hop! Here we explore Stampin' Up! Frames with a Flourish (whole set pictured below).

This is one of my all time favorite items to make, you can put treats or small gifts in it. Very easy to do with a hobby blade. a scoring tool, and some SNAIL to stick everything together.
Recipe: Frames with a Flourish stamp set, Pale Plum cardstock, Perfect Plum Classic Ink, Small flat Cellophane bag, scoring tool and SNAIL adhesive, Hobby Blade.

This is a door hanger that I made for my little baby, we painted her room Certainly Celery and Pretty in Pink. I made this to match. It has "awake" on one side, and "alseep" on the other. A quick flip will let everyone in the house know if they need to be quiet.

Recipe: Frames with a Flourish stamp set, Pretty in Pink and Whisper White cardstock, Certainly Celery and Pretty in Pink Classic Ink, Certainly Celery and Pretty in Pink Grosgrain Ribbon, Pretties Kit (silk flower, half pearl, crystal beads), Stampin' Pastels, Aqua Painter, SNAIL adhesive, Wild West Alphabet stamp set (current set).

This is a fun little box to hide things or give things. The hole was cut with a Hobby Blade and a small piece of Small Flat Cellophane Bag was adhered to the inside to give a little glimpse of what's inside. Recipe: Frames with a Flourish stamp set, Pumpkin Pie textured cardstock, Black Grosgrain ribbon, piercing tool, Vintage Brads (black), Hobby Blade, scoring and cutting tool, SNAIL adhesive, Small Flat Cellophane Bag.

Friend to Friend Swap

2009-04-28T21:00:00.010-07:00

Here are a few items I made for a "Friend to Friend" swap. We had assignments to make certain things for a pre-chosen friend and then at the end of the time, we put it all in a box and mailed it off. These were for the holiday card and an altered item.

Cards I Made

2009-03-07T18:52:00.007-07:00

I had some friends over today for some stampin' and to check out the Sale-a-bration stamp sets. We made two cards today, a St. Patrick's Day card complete with green beer from the Cheers to You set, and the other uses the new Trendy Trees set. I just love the look of the glittery leaves.

Riding in Warmer Weather II

2009-02-28T17:25:00.004-07:00

A friend and I went riding farther south last Sunday. It was around 70 degrees and perfect. We missed the trail we wanted to ride due to a misinterpreted sign, so we will just have to go back.

Riding in Warmer Weather

2009-02-10T16:48:00.005-07:00

On January 18th, I went down near Phoenix to ride with some friends. We rode through the desert and up into the hills. At the top of a small climb, there was a spring with a water trough for the horses and a little barbecue. We had lunch there and headed back down to the trucks. It was so great to get out with some good friends and ride where it's warm. We did see a rattlesnake because it was so warm. It trapped me on the other side of the trail and someone had to come rescue us.

Out of the Snow!

2008-12-28T14:06:00.003-07:00

The first picture is what our yard looked like while it was snowing for days. Now that the sun is out, it has melted down some and is pretty much solid ice. So much for riding here.

KH took me about an hour south yesterday to a really great trailhead. I was so glad to get out of the snow and into the dirt. We had a heck of time getting Shawnee out of his house, we had to unscrew some stuff off of a whole swinging panel to get him out, but he was glad to get out too. This trailhead goes over a ridge and joins up with a trail that runs alongside a creek. There were 4 other trails that you could get to off of this one. I was able to do 5 miles in our time frame. I can't wait to do some more of this, but there were a lot of people yesterday so I would hate to see it during "good weather".

Fall Colors

2008-10-24T11:41:00.007-07:00

On October 16th, I cancelled my dentist appointment to go riding in the aspens. I figured I could go to the dentist any old day and that I didn't have too much longer to get up the mountain and see the leaves. It was windy and cold at the parking lot for the trailhead, but as we went into the trees it was really nice. A little smoky that day because they were doing a control burn and it was blowing around the mountain. The trail goes through pines and then a little unmarked trail comes off to the right. As it progresses, it goes through this totally amazing aspen grove. The trees almost create a tunnel that the trail goes in for quite a while. The trees were still green at the bottom and slowly turned to golden as I went along. I only saw the one tree with red leaves and was surprised to see that one. It's a rocky trail, my horse got a little cut on one hoof, but it healed up nicely and didn't cause him any problems.

Little Bear Trail

2008-09-25T23:07:00.005-07:00

I went out on September 7th to do a challenging ride. I went by myself because I heard that it is a difficult trail and I didn't want to have to worry about anyone else. The trail winds up through the firs at first and then it crosses a ridge and turns into a narrow trail perched on the side of the mountain. Beautiful views if you can muster up the strength to take your eyes off the trail ahead of you and look out over the edge. Once you are at the top, it's a nice ride through the trees, back to the pond, and loops around to where I started. It rained for the last 3.5 miles-at least it didn't rain while I was perched on the side of the mountain. The total length was about 10 miles and the challenge of the trail was very invigorating. I can't say I'll do this often, maybe once a year, but it was just what I needed this particular weekend.

Sacred Anniversary Vacation

2008-09-25T21:50:00.007-07:00

KH and I went on our sacred anniversary vacation last week. We only had one tire blow, which is good for us, but we made it up with a HUGE oil leak from the truck. $$$ That has since been repaired $$$. We went to Four Corners, camped at the northern part of Lake Powell, and went to the Oregon coast and saw the Tillamook Cheese factory, Heceta Head Lighthouse, and the Umpqua Lighthouse.

Halloween Card Swap

2008-09-25T21:43:00.003-07:00

And finally, here is my Halloween card swap for the same group. We only had 7 of us in this one, I'm sure we'll get some great cards, but I would have loved it if there had been more signed up. I used the House of Haunts stamp set with the baby wipe technique. Unfortunately, the colors in the picture are kind of washed out. You can hardly see the Bashful Blue and Going Grey behind the house. I especially like that little owl in the tree.

Christmas Card Swap

2008-09-25T21:25:00.003-07:00

Here is the card I did for our online group's Christmas Card swap. This was the first time I participated in it. It is always a popular swap. I used the new Home for Christmas set from the Holiday 2008 Mini Catalog. A little bit of glitter and ribbon and I thought this turned out pretty good. :) Got to love those Mini Library Clips!

New Catalog Swap

2008-09-25T21:00:00.004-07:00

Here is the card I made for the New Catalog Swap for the online group that I am in. I used the new Eastern Blooms set and the new On Board scalloped square frames. Also, I used the Key Tag punch to make the little Chocolate Chip tags in the center. I had a lot of fun with this and the other ladies in the group did a great job too!

Riding Today

2008-08-31T15:42:00.008-07:00

I went riding today. I left the house about 12:20 and came home in the pouring rain around 2:20. The pictures show what it looked like when I left and what I rode into on the way home. I was soaked and freezing by the time I got home because I forgot to take my jacket with me.

Salamander

2008-08-31T15:32:00.002-07:00

So, last night we came home from the county fair around 10:30. When I got out of the truck I found this guy walking across the concrete in front of the garage. My husband and his best friend had put some salamanders (water dogs) in the horse troughs a few summers ago because they paid a bunch of money for them and didn't use them all when they went fishing. So over the last few years they have slowly disappeared. We did fish two or three dead ones out of the water trough, but there were a lot more that we just didn't see after a while. So after some research last night it turns out that the larval form of the Arizona Tiger Salamander is brown and has gills so it can live in the water. The adult form is dark with orange or yellow spots and has no gills because it doesn't live in the water anymore. I turned him out in my garden and he has since crawled off to do whatever salmanders do.

Convention Swaps

2008-08-18T10:49:00.012-07:00

Well, better late than never. Here are the pictures of the WOW swap and the Altoid Tin swap that I made for convention for an online group that I am a part of. I took a chance and strayed from my usual western theme for the card, but I think that everyone liked it. I used the Heartfelt Thanks stamp set with Orchid Opulence, Always Artichoke and Brushed Gold cardstocks, watercolor crayons, and gold embossing powder. Don't worry, I stuck with the western images for the Altoid Tin. I used the new Pacific Point from the 2008 In Colors and Creamy Caramel, and the Bronc Buster and Western stamp sets. The pearl is reminiscent of snaps on western shirts, and the rhinestone made me think of "Rhinestone Cowboy"... The square with the white star image is the piece that is left over after using the Photo Corners punch. The little 2x2 cards went inside and were Close to Cocoa and Bashful Blue.

P.S. Thanks to Sami for the photo of my Heartfelt Thanks card as I swapped all of them and forgot to take a picture. :)

Riding All Weekend

2008-08-10T20:41:00.005-07:00

We had a great weekend. Some friends were camping at the horse campground near our house and I went out all weekend and rode different trails with them. We got rained on everyday, but not enough to discourage us. The rain would move through and we would be out on the trail again.

Well, I've done it...

2008-08-04T18:58:00.003-07:00

...taken the plunge into the world of blogging. This blog will chronicle not only my favorite indoor activity-rubberstamping, but also my favorite outdoor activity-horseback riding. I am a Stampin' Up! Demonstrator and love making cards and little gifts. My horse is a Missouri Fox Trotter and we have been exploring a lot of trails, some relaxing and some technical. I hope to have equal time devoted to both stamping and riding. Thanks for looking.