Clean, almost simple

I've been out of town again, another Special Ed. conference, this one in Billings, MT.  The conference was good, the food was great, the best part was spending time with family again.  My husband and his siblings (9 of them) are wonderful about spending time again, and we've become very good friends as well as family.  Doesn't that make us some of the luckiest people?  The real highlight of the conference for me, however, was the presentation of a "Yes I Can!" award to one of my students who is about to graduate.  This award is given to students who have accomplished many things in spite of having disabilities.  It was very exciting to watch her accept the award as a young woman ready to go out into the world. 

As much fun as it was, I'm hopeful that I can stay home from now until the end of school, which is May 25.  That would really be nice.  I've started my graduation cards, but am way behind on my cards for the CDAC challenge.  Here is my first card (I hate to admit that), for the challenge which ends tomorrow.  I have another started and would have finished it tonight except for more family dropping in on us.  No complaint, but there are only so many hours in the day.

This gorgeous image is from Wax Fruit Company and is printed on a digital paper background called Whisper.  The brown/gold mat is from a DCWV mat stack called "Once Upon a Time," which I've had for a long time.  I've been hoarding the paper - I love the touches of glitter on every page.  I started out to color the flower with my colored pencils, and probably will do so still, but the idea of letting the lines tell the story just took over.  The flower is so lovely that it really doesn't need anything else.  This card was a congratulations for the daughter of a friend who, after 9 years, just graduated from medical school.  How exciting for our small town to celebrate such a wonderful occasion. 

Hope to be back tomorrow with my next project.  And hope you are all enjoying lovely spring weather.

SiskiyouSue

Butterflies - Zzzz

Okay, I had to make one more Z card.  This is obviously a fold that I love.  I also love these butterfly stickers from Jolee.  They're so pretty.

The flower is from Prima, the flourish is by Recollections.
Here's one more shot so you can see the beautiful paper:

 

Its another Monday morning at school, with only five more after today (I only count the mornings that I have to get up, and since I'm already out of bed, this one doesn't count already...  gets the time over faster, lol.)  Our seniors graduate on May 19 and the rest are finished on May 25, so we're down to the wire.  This is the most difficult part of the year because most of my students are either chomping at the bit to get going, or suffering major "senioritis," since they have suddenly realized that the world as they know it isn't going to exist after graduation.  Often they get so far off that after four years of hard work they put their graduation in jeopardy for the last quarter.  I do a lot of pushing, prompting and reassuring that the world will be different but still okay and that they will survive it all.  It's always interesting.

Have a good day.  If you're living in the East where there is a big storm, hope you aren't hit too badly and aren't without power for long.  If you're in the West where the hot sun is shining (it was 78 here yesterday), please remember your sunscreen before you go out!

SiskiyouSue

Challenges I've entered this card into:
Card Caravan Challenge 17 - Spring
That Craft Place Challenge 9 - anything but a square or rectangle
Stampin' Sisters 136 - Pastels
Pile It On 17 - Sparkle and Shine
Come and Get It - Z Fold (the reason for this card!)
Make It Monday 86

Windy Friday

Hello again!  The wind is howling like crazy outside, sounds like we could be working into another spring storm, but we haven't heard that something bad is coming.  In fact, the weatherperson is predicting "nice weather" on Sunday and 80 degrees on Monday.  For northern Montana in April that's amazing.  I certainly hope the report is right this time! I'd like to finish cleaning out my flower beds.  For those of you who have yards full of iris and other beautiful things, my iris are about 2 inches tall right now.  They won't bloom for another month!

This has been a messy week here.  The inside walls are all down in my living room and there is dust knee deep (well, almost) everywhere.  I think I'll do what I can tomorrow then retreat to my craft room.  So glad it's upstairs away from all of this.  I can't wait for it to be done.  Unfortunately my husband and I will be away for several days next week (I'll attend a special education conference in Billings) so we won't make much progress for a while.

Card-making saves my sanity so I've been doing a lot of it lately.  Here is one of my latest.

  I've been playing around with digital backgrounds again and this is one layer with only the flower (from A Day for Daisies) and the ribbon on top of it.  The butterfly is part of the background, so except for the ribbon there are no embellishments.  I really like how it turned out, and it was perfect to send through the mail.    The background papers are from  the Friends Fur-Ever set at Lettering Delights.  I love the color combination in the main section.  You could put so many things with it

Have a great weekend!

SiskiyouSue

Challenges I'm entering:
Crafty Ribbons Challenge
 Craft Us Crazy
Prairie Fairy Fridays
 Clearly i stamp
 Crafts for Eternity

Z-Fold #2

Here is my second Z-Fold card.  I love the glitz, which is hard to see in the picture.  The brown paisley paper is kraft embossed with gold and very, very beautiful.  Wish I had bought more than one piece...  It'll be a while before I can get back to town, but if they still have it at Joann's I'll be stocking up next time.  I've left this card blank inside so that it can be used for whatever comes along later on, birthday, anniversary, etc.

I just realized that the row of pearls on the left almost looks like spiral binding in the picture.  Too funny!

Thanks for looking tonight.  Hope you've had a great day!

SiskiyouSue

Z Folds

I've had so much fun today, making some Z-fold cards.  I think that these and the Gate-Folds are my favorites, so many interesting areas to decorate.  This is my Mother's Day card.  Yes, I'm early.  Can't help it.  I start planning and then I just have to get it done!  I'm a little bit obsessive that way.  Anyway, I think my mom will like it, that's what counts (or is it the fun I have in creating it?), lol.

The colors on my card are dark and light purple and orchid, all Core'dinations Gemstone.  Love that cardstock!  Over those is a wonderful white on white with touches of silver from Joann's Fabrics and Crafts.  The stickers are Jolee's which are always fun to use, and the flourish and double row of pearls on the orchid cardstock are Recollections.

Thanks for visiting me!  And have fun with your creations...  It's good for your soul!

SiskiyouSue

It's all about the Bears!

This card was really fun to work on.  The entire background, the ribbon, and the image (Bugaboo's Cloud Bear) were all layered digitally.  After printing them, I colored the bear and added the dots and flower.  It was made for a belated birthday, but it would have made a great baby card, don't you think?

The pink flower is felt and came from Creative Memories.  Wish I had more, it's really nice.

We have begun renovation of our living room.  The walls are almost 60 years old, and back in the 70's were covered with wood paneling.  The paneling was glued on, so in order to remove it, we have to remove the wallboard under it also.  This is what we found on the first wall, which is where my father-in-law added the living room on to the house, the original 80 or 90 year old wood siding.  Kind of interesting.  Can't wait to get it finished and see how good it looks.  After this it will be a BIG improvement!

Happy Spring!  We're on the last day of our Easter Break, and tomorrow is the first day of the countdown to the last day of school.  Hope my seniors can hang in there!  Oh, good news.  I just got word today that one of my seniors will receive the YES, I CAN! award at the state Council for Exceptional Children conference in Billings in 3 weeks.  I am so excited for her.  What a great ending to her high school career!

Have a nice week!
SiskiyouSue

Challenges I am entering this card into:
CDAC Progressive Challenge #15
Digital Tuesday Challenge
Sassy Cheryl's Challenge
Incy Wincy Designs
Make It Monday 

Easter/Spring

Hello.  It has been gorgeous here for two days, in Great Falls yesterday it got up to about 70! That's amazing for the last day in March.  It is windy again today, and probably 20 degrees cooler, but that is still above our normal.  Wow!  I can even see green in our lawn, though there are no signs of green in my flower beds yet.  I'm really jealous of those of you who have blooming things.

Anyway, here is my Easter and Spring entry.  The digi stamp is the creation of Shelly's Images, a gift for those participating in CDACPC freebie challenge.  I had a good time with it, but didn't have enough time to do what I had hoped.  Still, I'm pretty satisfied with it.  The paper is from a DCWV Premium Stack, called The Green Stack.  I really like this paper.  The sentiment is my own, and the eggs are puffy stickers.  Hope you like it. 

I am entering this card in the following challenges: 
CDA Progressive Freebie Challenges
That Craft Place Challenge
Paper Sundaes
Creative Inspirations
Come and Get It
Addicted to Stamps Challenge

Thanks for looking!  Happy Easter and Happy Spring!
SiskiyouSue

Hello again from sunny (NOT) Montana.  We have about half an inch of snow on the ground again, another spring storm.  Our senior class planned to take their senior trip (in my day called a "sneak day") last Thursday.  They headed north into Canada to spend the day at the mall in Edmonton, about an 8 hour trip (each way).  The storm was so bad that they only made it a couple of hours before they had to turn around because of the icy roads.  Talk about a bunch of unhappy kids!  Hope the school board will let them try again.

Meanwhile, I've been having lots of fun making cards.  Here are a few...

The first card, colored with pencils, is made with the ballerinas from A Day For Daisies.  I think I'll use them a lot.  The actual card is made with 2-sided paper and the front is cut in a scallop so that the ballerinas overlap the inside paper.  It has a simple sentiment inside.

The second card, also colored with pencils, is less than the best... I really wish I had made it less square.  There is way too much blank space on the left side.  All in all I'd have to say that I need to try this again, because I am not satisfied with it this way.

This last card is a one layer digital I made for my hubby's birthday.  I arranged 3 digital papers, a digital sentiment (just with it had been a .png, not a .jpeg) and the Bugaboo cowboy the way I wanted them.  After printing, I colored the cowboy with markers, added twine for his lariat and three tiny copper brads.  For his 65th birthday I think it made a good statement!

Hope this finds you enjoying better weather and enjoying life.  Happy SPRING to everyone and thanks for looking.

SiskiyouSue

 Hello, hope you are enjoying lovely weather, not too hot, not too rainy.  Looks like most of the country is one or the other!  I am very late in posting this card, and I'm not very happy with the color, or lack of it in the picture.  This card was made for the CDAC freebies challenge #13, but I may be too late in getting it posted, sorry to say.

Both the girl and the flower were among the freebies provided for the challenge.  I think they look very "spring-y" together, and in person the pinks and greens are very pretty.  The three papers are Bazzill Basics Brights (5x7n pack), Deja Views "Little Ones," and a Martha Stewart mat pad.  They all make me think of Spring!

I have been away for a week, attending a special education conference in Seattle, which means that I spent most of another week getting ready to go, lesson plans and so forth at work.  I hope to be back to normal starting tomorrow, since things seem to be pretty much okay again.

Thanks for looking!
SiskiyouSue

Passing the Torch

Hello again.  I've really been getting a lot done lately.  Wish I could be this productive all the time!  This is a digi from A Day for Daisies that was another freebie for the CDAC Challenge #12.  Honestly, this is so much fun!  I love seeing what everyone does with the digis that are provided.  There is so much variety and so much talent out there!  It's overwhelming.  So here's my take on the challenge:

I am very pleased with the coloring.  I had in mind that crisp fabric that is somewhat irridescent but wanted to capture it in colored pencil without stickles or other embellishments to give it that sheen.  I really like the way it moves from one color to the next and back.  Anyway, I had a LOT of fun with this card.  I just happened to have the flourish and green roses in my stash, how perfect! 

I am also entering this card in the challenge at Always Crafting.

Have a great day!
SiskiyouSue

Hello again.  I'm really excited about the card I'm showing off today.  I don't do flowery very often, so that was the first challenge here.  It's a gatefold that I cut on my Silhouette, intended to be a standard center fold, but I turned and folded it so that it would open as a surprise onto a center panel.

This is an anniversary card that I made after the first lesson in a class called Silhouette 101 from My Creative Classroom.  This was the first time that I typed out my caption, changed the size and font and then welded it.  I did make a shadow but decided not to use it. 

This beautiful paper is from a DCWV 12x12 stack that I picked up at Ross Dress for Less for about five dollars.  You really can't lose at that price. 

Now, when i gave this card to my friends yesterday, I told them that the outside was for her, but the inside was for him... 

Stella and Gus are from Bugaboo and the sentiment came with them.  When you've been married as long as we all have a sense of humor about marriage is mandatory.  The pretty paper here is a free digi from Create with TLC.  I actually printed Stella, Gus, and the sentiment right on the paper, then colored them.  First time I've done it right this, but I think I'll be doing it again.  It really makes a difference in the bulkiness and weight of the card.  Much easier to mail this way...

I'm sorry my pictures are blurry.  Can't decide whether it's the camera or the photographer (me).  I really do not see well, so I'm betting on me!

Have a great day,
SiskiyouSue

What Little Boys Are Made Of

I have a card for you today using a digi provided by Fred She Said for the CDAC Progressive Challenges.  If you haven't checked them out, you should.  Easy to join and participate in, and the digis are fantastic.  This is the first of the cards I have made for this round of the challenge, will post the second in a couple of days.

Isn't he darling?  Who could resist a smile like that!  I used colored pencils to color him. The kite is a wooden pre-painted shape from Michael's.  The designer paper is a scrap from my stash, I'm sorry I don't remember who it's from.  The slider (strung on a waste piece of cardstock) was part of a great package I received for Christmas, all sorts of embellishments from the dollar store!  That was probably the most fun of the gifts I received at Christmas.

Hope you're enjoying a lovely day, and maybe even a hint of Spring?  I need to know that there is green out there slowly creeping our way!

SiskiyouSue

 I know, Valentine's Day is long over (well, a week long, anyway).  I didn't want to post these until they had arrived at their intended destinations.  I really had a great time making them, lots of fun!  The card above is made with Valentine's Subway Art instead of a sentiment, a look that I enjoy, and a free digi from Elizabeth O. Dulemba.  If you aren't familiar with her blog, you should check it out.  It's a great mix of things, always fun to read.  Every Tuesday she has a free coloring page which is where the chickens came from. 

I actually made two of these great "hogs and kisses" cards.  This was my second best, but I didn't take a pic. of the first before mailing it off.  Sorry, because I really thought it turned out best.    I cut it with Make the Cut and my Silhouette SD.

Which reminds me, I'm taking a class on how to use my Silhouette from My Creative Classroom, Silhouette 101.  If you are new to the Silhouette this would be a great place to begin.  Classes are videos that can be watched on your own schedule with pdf files to print out that go with the videos.  I like to save the pdf's for reference.  I just cannot remember everything at the same time.  Anyway, this particular class is taught by Jennifer Priest who does a very nice job and although she said that we wouldn't actually do any cutting after the first lesson, I was able to write out a caption and weld it, make a shadow and cut both yesterday.  I'll post that later on, because the card I made turned out very well, or at least I like it.

My husband just told me that it's snowing, a nice surprise.  We've had lovely weather, about 20 degrees above normal, but it is SO dry...  Can't help but worry about the summer.  I like long and hot, but I do not enjoy water rationing!  See, I'm never happy!

Have a great day!

Something Different Today

The virtual run will be on Saturday, February 11 at 9 a.m. MST.

Today I am deviating from my usual post to spread the word (I hope) about an event that is happening tomorrow.  Sherry Arnold, the woman for whom the event is being held, was a teacher in Sidney, Montana where I taught for several years back in the 80's.  I didn't know Sherry, but as a teacher and as an ex-resident of Sidney I can certainly feel for her and her family.  For those who are unaware of what has happened, in January Sherry went for a morning run as she usually did, and disappeared.  Sidney is right in the heart of the "Bakken" oil boom area.  When we lived the the area it was a wonderful place to live and raise children.  Now there are strangers everywhere (no, I do not have anything against strangers in general, just in large masses like this).  The oil companies have brought in workers from everywhere and have told them  not to bring their families because this boom won't last more than a few years.  Consequently every motel is full, every apartment is full and renting for $1000 or more (compared to $350 in 1984 for a 3 bedroom townhouse), and every bare spot of land is covered by what they euphemistically call "man camps."  That's nothing more than a collection of small trailers that house as many men as there are beds, and are set within 10 or 15 feet of each other to maximize the body count per acre.  I cannot imagine how anyone feels safe any more.  Last year, in Watford City, North Dakota (just 50 miles away from Sidney), there was ( and still may be) a man camp on the perimeter of the elementary school and park.  Yup, you can easily guess; a paroled pedophile was living in one of the trailers.  Now, I have nothing against that man earning a living, but to house him anywhere near a school is immoral and also unfair to him.  If he is trying to stay clean, the proximity to children cannot be anything less than a major temptation.  This is no way for anyone to exist, and the oil companies should be ashamed!  They feel no responsibility for the effect they have on people but are only interested in the profit they can take out of an area.

So, I'll quit ranting and I hope you will forgive me.  You can see that I feel strongly about this. I would invite you to read the following excerpt about the Saturday event, and if you can to stop and give some thought to all those who endure terrifying things, and for the families that are left behind.  Thank you for bearing with me.


The website for the run is:  Shut Up + Run

The virtual run will be on Saturday, February 11 at 9 a.m. MST.

• Mark your calendars
• Print out a running bib and pin it to your shirt
• Gather your friends, your running club members, your families
• If it’s wet where you are, “laminate” your bib with postage tape and punch holes in it
• If that time doesn’t work, go when you can
• GO. Run as far and as long as you want. Walk, hike, cycle, rollerblade if you don’t want to or can’t run.

My goal is to get the MOST love, momentum and energy moving in honor of Sherry. This run symbolizes the beginning if healing and honors a woman who was courageous, strong and loved by so many.
For those of us in the Denver/Boulder/Longmont area I will be organizing a group run at the Boulder Reservoir that morning. I hope we can get a huge clan together and make the earth MOVE!! Stay tuned.


 SiskiyouSue