CARD COLOR CHALLENGE!

If any of you followed along last April 2010 - April 2011, you know that my friend, Tami, and I had the challenge to send one another a handmade card every week for a year. We did it! It was the most fun!! Anyway, she told me the next challenge was my choice. Sooooo, I'm thinking about doing something with colors and/or embellishments. I will post the details as soon as I get them worked out. But instead of just asking Tami to participate, I'm inviting all of you!! That's right! Anyone who reads this blog will be able to participate. Check back soon for the details!!!

New Cards!!

Yes, Card People, I am still making cards. As you can see, this being my third post of the evening, I'm a little behind!!! Anywho, I give you a congratulations on the baby girl card, a Harley-themed wedding card, and an "anniversary" card for a special friend. (More about the Harley card and the anniversary card in a minute.)

The "April 5th" card is an anniversary card, of sorts. In late March 2010, my friend Tami asked if I'd be up for a card making challenge. The challenge? Send one handmade card a week to one another for one year. That's 52 cards. I mailed my first card on April 5, 2010. To commemorate the passing of a very creative year, I created an "anniversary" card. If you've got a card making friend, I strongly advise you to take on this challenge!! It was sooooo much fun!! We tried all different techniques and even sent the ugly ones and the "this is not the card I had pictured in my head" ones. Try it!! I'd be willing to do it again, if anyone is interested! Just remember, it's a serious committment!!!!

This weekend, my friend Cassie and her new husband, threw themselves a wedding reception with a bit of a Harley theme. They are going on a Harley Honeymoon is a couple of weeks, heading east on their motorcycle. While packing the "Long Distance Ride Survival Kit" gift that I put together for them, my gift bag ripped. No worries, I thought, I'll just pick up another black or orange bag at Walmart. Except that Walmart didn't have either. Not happy with a wrapped box or another colored bag, I headed back to the fabric department. What are the chances of me finding some kind of Harley/motorcycle fabric here, I wondered. Just then the fabric dept. gal rounded the corner with some bolts to put away with THE PERFECT fabric on the top of her stack!! YOWZA!!! Did this do the trick, or what!? I sewed it up, added a drawstring, and stuffed it with all the goodies. I know it's going to be late, but I think it's worth it!

Pulling Out My Hair!!!

One of these days I will have to sit down and figure out why my post NEVER looks all neat and tidy once it's published!!!! It's perfect on the "compose" screen! AAAUUUUGGGGHHHH!!!!!

Is This Too Much?

On Easter Sunday, I met my fabulous friend, Tami, in Iowa City for our jaunt to Des Moines. We were going for the Kids First conferest. We stayed at the wonderful Embassy Suites on the River. We are two very intelligent, well prepared, organized women. Most of the time. Luggage? Check. Handouts for presentation? Check. Clothes for two nights and two days? Check. Silent auction goodies? Check. Snacks and adult beverages? Check. Address and phone number of the hotel? No. GPS? No. Oops. After a few trips around the same 4 blocks and 2 sets of screwed up directions, we found the hotel. All hotel rooms should be suites. What a way to relax! We took up EVERY available surface with our stuff. Here's a picture of our "stuff". Yep, this is what we brought!

The hotel, Embassy Suites on the River, was fabulous. Once we found it, that is. After a few trips around the same four blocks and two sets of incorrect directions, we found it. All hotel rooms should be suites. We unpacked and moved right in! We opted for dinner in the hotel Sunday night, then spent the evening catching up and playing "drag 'n' brag". (In case you've never played, it's where I show you my cool stuff and you show me yours. :-p)

The conference was well attended and it's always good to meet new people and catch up with old friends. The breakout sessions had something to offer everyone.

For our next adventure, we had our friend Linda join us. Destination? Trader Joe's. This trip was much like the one leading to our hotel. Only this time it was almost dark. And pouring rain. I won't even tell you how long it took us to get there. A couple more sets of incorrect directions didn't help matters any. It was worth the trip. Dinner at Mimi's Cafe, on the other hand, was not.

I mentioned that Tami and I both had contributions to the silent auction. The action brought $479 for the youth services division of the Iowa Library Assn. Woo-hoo!! There were only about a dozen items, but they really brought in the bids. A super THANK YOU to the other people who made contributions and to those who posted the bids. Here's what I took. They were so fun to create and didn't cost much at all! (I added a jar of honey to the Pooh basket.) I took a "Bowl of Sunshine", a box of "Monkey Business", "Pooh and Friends" box, and a wreath made with book-page flowers.

The Florida Trip

Stacy and I recently returned from a vacation/business trip. (Stacy had to be in Orlando, FL by Thursday for a trade show on Friday and Saturday.) Our adventure by car took us through Missouri, Arkansas, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, and Florida. We had driven to Georgia to see my sister in Atlanta before. The last full week of February found temperatures in the south in the mid-70's to low-80's. Perfect. Our route was (more or less) based on the locations of Harley Davidson dealerships. Southaven, MS was one of our favorites. The people there were super friendly and the dealership was huge! Across the parking lot was an awesome bar/grill called The Fillin' Station. We went over for a drink after we finished at the dealership, then ended up there for supper. I found it interesting that the lunch and supper menus were different. I had my first taste of Gumbo there -- it was AWESOME!! This place had so much character! And it was huge, too, both inside and out. You can see that they sport a pretty spiffy upper deck for music and other special events.

While taking a scenic route through downtown Mobile, AL, we noticed a few buildings with some pretty cool architecture. I would love to go back some day and find out what was in some of those buildings or tour them. We also noticed that they were getting ready for some sort of event. Road barracades were set up in parking areas and a few carnival-type (sno-cones, funnel cake, etc.) kiosks were set up in parking lots. We learned later that day that they were getting ready for Mardi Gras!! (We made it through just in time!! What a mess that would have been to get lost in!) Apparently, Mobile is the original home for Mardi Gras. Who knew?!

We overnighted in Pensicola, FL. The next destination was Daytona. We spent about a day and a half in Daytona. It was a week before the start of Bike Week, but the areas we saw were getting ready! I think our first stop was Bruce Rossmeyer's Destination Daytona. I have a lot to write about from this stop, so I'm going to break it down into smaller posts. Stay tuned!

Shameful...............

Have I really been neglecting my blog ----- again? The truth is, I've had so much to write about that the layout was giving me enough mental anguish to put it (posting) on hold. But enough! I needed a new background, too. If you read my blog, you'll just have to get used to the mix of crafting posts and motorcycle posts. I considered having 2 blogs, but, as I've just said, I can't manage the one I have!! So anywho, if you're here because you're interested in my motorcycle tidbits, welcome and please feel free to skip over the crafty posts. I know the thought of glue and paper makes some wrinkle their nose in disgust. If you're here because you're interested in my crafty posts, welcome and please feel free to skip over the motorcycle posts. I know the thought of riding on the back of a motorcycle makes some of you roll your eyes and shake your head in disgust. So there. That's sounds a bit like a disclaimer, and I guess it really is. At any rate, why-ever you're here, please leave me a post and tell me what you think about any of my posts. Thank you kindly.

Valentine's

I only got a few valentine's done this year. Bummer. I need to make my holiday cards 6 months in advance! I used a couple of Paper Crafts magazines for inspiration. The straw card is my own creation -- imagine that!! (Front and inside greeting shown) I used dotted swiss mini file folders from Dollar Tree for the LOVE and BE MINE cards.