Reading Blogs

I bought my first sets of Copic Markers this week.  I thought about posting some pictures, but that is even over the top for me.  Copic Markers are alcohol ink markers.  Stampers love the because the colors are wonderful and the colors are blendable.  What that means is there is a learning curve and also the strong probability that since there are 340 some colors, you  will never never stop buying them.  Their popularity started with the manga and comic book artists, so when you see the intricate manga drawings you are seeing Copic colors.
By now you should be asking yourself, "What has this got to do with reading blogs?"  That answer is that, the modern way to learn about something is to find the people who have written about it.  When it comes to these markers there is a lot of stuff written.  There is also a lot of stuff on YouTube too, but that is another post.  I spent a good portion of yesterday reading and a part of today.  Now I am ready to go practice some more.  Maybe then I will write about how to do something with Copic Markers.  Nah, not too likely.

Engagement

We are happy to let everyone know that our son is engaged to be married to Theresa Turla-Bautista.  Theresa is from Jacksonville, Florida.  They have been dating since late last year.  Ray and I met her in December when we went down to visit Andrew.  She is a wonderful young woman and Andrew is lucky to have met her. 
The wedding will be in the next month or so.  Andrew is being medically retired by the Air Force and they will be coming back to Wichita.  There are a lot of changes going on in their lives.  We will be very glad to have them nearby.

Hail Storm

We had a hail storm here last evening.  It was small hail and didn't cause any damage that we can see.  There was a lot of it though and it went on for quite a while.  When the storm was over, it looked almost like it had snowed, if snowflakes were pea sized bits of ice.  There was almost no rain that came down with it either which is very different from most hail we get.  Wyatt went out to get some pieces to look at.  Papa had to go out and help too, so Wyatt wouldn't get hailed on.  What a good Papa!

Trip to Tulsa

We took Wyatt and Andrea to Tulsa for a long weekend.  Ray and I usually go somewhere between our birthdays but didin't get anything put together this year.  Two weeks ago, Wyatt announced " Grandma, I need a vacation."  That put Ray and I in mind of a waterpark weekend.  Great Wolf Lodge proved to be prohibitively expensive.  Thank goodness for the internet.  I searched and found the Radisson in Tulsa.  Their waterpark was smaller, but geared towards smaller children which is what we were wanted. 
We got there Saturday evening, and Wyatt and Andrea spent two hours in the water then.  I spent the time looking for a Walmart which didn't exist (really) inside the city limits of Tulsa. The next morning, we were back in the water for over three hours. Ray and I got wet to the knees, except when we were splashed. Andrea pitched a fit when we made them leave.  Promises to return meant nothing to her.  We went to Bass Pro Shop and ate lunch at Uncle Bucks.  We had a very good meal.  They have a HUGE salt water aquarium in the restaurant and it is fascinating to watch the fish swim while we were eating. Of course, being Bass Pro, there was an abundance of stuffed wildlife to look at too. After we got back to the hotel and we all took a nap, it was back to the pool for another couple of hours.  The kids thought it was great and Ray and I enjoyed ourselves immensely too.  I think it is interesting that Ray and I prefer less crowded locations, but the kids were almost lost the few times there weren't a lot of kids in the area with them.  The more crowded the better.
It was Marie Callenders for pot pie and key lime, apple pie and cheese cake.  I think we ate enough in one day to feed us normally for a week.  I am going to have to do a lot of running. 
We had a wonderful time.

Random Photos

 I have a cat.  Gabe really is Nicole's cat, but he doesn't like kids and didn't like her house at all, so he has remained with us.  I am always intrigued by the great animal photos other people take.  However, I rarely get a good shot.  I like this one though.  I was down in his face and he was not impressed.  I took the second picture of Andrea and Wyatt in a touching moment of sibling affection and Wyatt's expression makes me laugh.  The third picture is of Wyatt in a quieter moment.

Some things I did

 Scrapbook Garden is selling these wands now.  They are plastic tubes with a cap that you can decorate and fill with candy or anything else you want.  I did a couple at the store for samples and brought home two more to decorate with ribbons.  The first is for a baby gift topper.  I used dies from my Sizzix machine and alpha stickers embellished with Stickles.  The red is a magic wand.  I wanted pink ribbon for this for a princess theme, but all that Dollar Tree had at the time was red, so I did it this way.  The start is three die cuts glued together for dimension.This would be a good favor for a little girls party.

I made two more legal pad journals as well.  The top one used Basic Grey's Wander paper and the bottom one is made with Graphic 45's Communique.  They are so much fun to make and are great gifts for people.  I learned how to make these in a class I took several years ago when River City Rubber Stamp had a store here.  It was a very useful class indeed.

The things a grandparent does

Nicole is sick today, so the grandchildren have been here all morning.  I referee arguments, make food, respond to various demands and today did an Ironman jigsaw puzzle.  Puzzle doing is primarily the hobby for Papa and Wyatt.  However, this is a new puzzle and Wyatt wanted to see it.  That required my help.  We started out together.  Somewhere along the line though, he wandered off to color and now is playing who knows what with his sister.  I did puzzle because of the hold a puzzle has on you once you start one.  You have to finish it.  So I did.  I don't care for Ironman, a nice garden scene would have been better.  But I guess I take what I am given.

Birthday Dinner

Today is Ray's birthday.  We invited over family for dinner.  I made corned beef and cabbage in honor of St. Patrick's Day.  It was excellent if I do say so myself.  We all had a good time eating and visiting.  When it came time to blow out the candles Ray had a lot of help.  Right now he and the kids are downstairs watching TV.  When I get done here I have to go unload the dishwasher again. I am so happy I don't have to do dishes by hand. Another great day.

Hero Arts Vintage Cards

We will be making these stamped cards on April 30th at Scrapbook Garden.  The new concept for this class is stamping on patterned paper.  I really like it and to be honest, I had not thought about doing this type of stamping myself.  The other concept about this class is that the cards do  not have to be complicated to look good.  This is a class that we may actually get everything done on time.



The results of a productive weekend

 I took some time this weekend to do a couple of layouts for myself.  What turned out to be more fun than I expected was that I took the same photos and created two layouts.  One is for Wyatt's album and one is for Andrea's.  I used Basic Grey's Jovial paper and embellishments on the "Santa?" layout, but the others are random pieces I had left from other projects.  I know there is a piece of Graphic 45 and Echo Park used.  I really did start out with the goal of using up some of my stash and did have some success.
I got the idea for "Christmas Pageant" from a sketch in the December 2010 Scrapbooks Etc,  The others took embellishment ideas from a couple of layouts in the December 2010 Creating Keepsakes.  Embellishments are the punch I need to add to my usually simple layouts, so I am working on that.

It is Friday

No photos today, I just wanted to write something.
The kids came over so Nicole could go to work.  Andrea refused to get dressed this morning.  Not even to get her diaper changed.  So she was exactly the way she was when she left here last night.  Unpleasant to say the least.  I had one of those momentary flashes of insight and offered the chance to take a bath.  Andrea said "No!" as she proceeded to strip off her pajamas and head for the bathroom.  This is one of those instances of "What I do, not what I say."  Now it is 45 minutes later and she is still in the tub .  Wyatt needs to leave for pre-school in half an hour, so I am getting up from here every little bit to ask her if she is finished.  So far, the answer is no and she means no.
Our good weather has gone away.  There was talk of snow,but I think that only further north will be blessed with that.  Fine with me.  I am tired of snow, rain is preferred this time of year.
That probably will fix my urge to type.  I have to make so many corrections.  I am a terrible typist.  But I dislike it less now with the computer and spell check. The old days with a regular typewriter and correct type were awful.  I am digressing here, but younger people don't realize how wonderful it is that your word processing program will check your spelling and grammar for you.  It isn't always right, but it is right more often than I was when I had to use a typewriter.

Easter Cards



It is amazing, but we are already thinking about Easter at Scrapbook Garden.  I was given the chance again to create the cards from this class which will be April 16th..  One of the sketches came from the current Paper Crafts magazine, the Easter Fun template came from 2007 Card maker Magazine card.  I used Reminiscence Easter paper for the cards and a couple of new Easter Stamp sets.  I like being able combine more stamping with paper pieced cards.  That is what most people do in daily life.  I love the bright colors with this set as well.

 

Licking the Beaters

I finished this page yesterday evening.  I used Basic Grey's Hopscotch paper which came in the February 2011 Page of the Month kit.  I also adapted the design of the sample page by Kelly Goree which is something I rarely do. I scrap lift, but not as closely as I did with this page.  However, I would like to move my style away from the really simple pages I would do normally.  I like the different lines and shapes.  I figure that if I do it enough, it will feel more natural.
I took these pictures of Andrea in November.  I was making cupcakes for Wednesday Night Dinner at church.  She was "helping" me, so when I finished making the icing, I offered her a beater.  I LOVE the beaters, I have since I was a child.  I found out that it is a natural thing.  Andrea didn't have to be shown what to do, she just started licking all the good stuff off.  It didn't matter that some of it ended up all over her face.