April's Creative Corner

The Simple Things

2012-02-13T09:47:00.004-07:00

The simple things photo for this time is a "simple soother". I can't remember how many times it was necessary to help a baby by letting them chew on my clean finger.

I am enjoying everyone's wonderful posts. Thank you Rebecca for helping us look for the simple things in life.

Simple Things Sunday

2012-01-29T15:02:00.009-07:00

My The Simple Things picture for Rebecca Cooper's challenge for this week is our new kitchen sink faucet!!!

Who knew we could be so happy to have one that doesn't rock forward and backward each time you turn it on and off. No matter how many times we tried it my husband could not tighten it enough. Well, we discovered that the screws were stripped and we have made do for long enough . . . finally a new one . . . yipee!!!

I can't wait to see what you all picked for this week.

Sunday Scavenger Hunt

2012-01-22T17:51:00.018-07:00

The idea with this photography challenge is to take things during the week that describe five prompts. That is not always possible in our country. Weather can make it impossible to take pictures outside. So here is the best I can do this week.
Sunset:

Black and white:

Day in my life:

Four strings on a cello:

Colorful:

I can't get the below button to work so here is the link to this week's. page.

Next weeks challenge:
Smile (Saun's suggestion)
Stand Alone (Saun's suggestion)
Rusty or Something Old (Saun's suggestion)
Artificial (Terrie's suggestion)
Repeating Pattern (Terrie's suggestion)

Simple Things Sunday

2012-01-22T16:52:00.006-07:00

Music may not classify as a simple thing of life but it does make life enjoyable. I play a cello and so I was trying to capture my long time musical campanion in a photographic way. I took these photos after teaching my cello student this week. It is fun to see her progress and enjoy playing as much as I do. That is the simple part. The simple joy of making music!

This is my view.

This is your view.

The Simple Things Sunday

2012-01-15T15:56:00.006-07:00

Rebecca from Simple as That hosts a "The Simple Things" Sunday photo challenge. I decided to join today.

Our simple thing this week was Meat Loaf. How basic is that. However we tried something my husband saw on a food channel and baked it on a parchment paper on a tray so that the grease could run out. Such a simple idea but it makes a big difference. No more greasy meat loaf!!! Yeah, that should help lower Cholesterol.

You just mix up your meat loaf mix, any recipe. Then shape it on the parchment paper lined baking sheet or pan and bake at 350 F as usual. The grease is not contained by the loaf pan or muffin tin (for mini meat loafs). It can run away from the meat loaf. Transfer to a serving dish and enjoy! If you are wondering what the red stuff is I top my meat loaf with a mixture of ketsup, dried mustard powder and brown sugar about 15 minutes before it is done baking.

This was pretty lean meat but you can see the grease that was left on the paper. It also makes for very easy clean up . . . just throw the paper away, no more grease!

Art folder for kids

2011-12-26T10:48:00.007-07:00

I saw these cute little art cases on Ucreate. They were designed by Becky and had great instructions. I just had to make them for my grandchildren. They opened them Christmas morning and were able to use them at church. They were a great success.

Christmas Quilts

2011-12-26T10:22:00.008-07:00

We have been very busy here making quilts for the kids. I have learned how to quilt on a long arm machine so I actually quilted all of these myself. Grandma bound them by turning the minky to the front and stitching it with a fancy stitch. So here they are:
Brad's Grinch Christmas quilt. Brad loves the minky back, he is always cold.
Adina's quilt with yellow cabbage rose minky. She loved the yellow and green.
Scott's Celebrate Dr. Seuss quilt with red minky.

Merrick's Cars quilt for his bed. I have to make a small one for use in the living room still. Their house is always cold in the winter. Crazy Canadian winters, what can you say.
It has been a long but fun process. Victoria has done two quilts and has three more to quilt as well. We will post pictures of those later.

Photographic Challenge #47 - Clouds

2011-11-30T15:03:00.002-07:00

Melissa and Kristi have us exploring clouds this time. Their clouds are awesome.

I love to imagine shapes in the clouds but we have had some really dramatic storms this year. Their contrast has taken over the fluffy cloud dreaming.

Cake and cupcakes for Jessica Hamilton's wedding

2011-11-18T15:55:00.017-07:00

Today Jessica Hamilton's wedding and reception. I was asked to make the wedding cake for the top of Jessica's cupcake combo wedding cake. She wanted it to be kind of vintage or rustic.
It is a chocolate cake with two layers. One is a chocolate mousse filling and the other is a raspberry filling. It is coveres with a Swiss Meringue Buttercream with a touch of almond flavor. I know, it sounds like a bunch of flavors together but my taste testers, Dad and Grandma assure me that it is good. Angela Gardner and I decorated the cupcakes. She made cuts flowers out of fondant to match the colors of the flower on the cake.
The whole effect of the table and door behind the cake table are fun.

Here is what the rest of the hall looked like. It started with the quest table.
Area for gifts, cute bench with Mr and Mrs pillows.

Area for aquainting quests with the couple.
Backdrop for the Bridal Party.
Centerpieces are spay painted trees with scrapbooking circles that have been punched to slide on the branches. There are layered beans in the bottom of the jar. There is also a mini album of the couple and some ovations in another canning jar plus a candle.
Vintage wall of the couple's interests.
Fun quilt for their wedding.
Favor table of mini jars of jam, popcorn balls, and candy.

Display on top of the piano.
Food Table.
Bouquet on the food table.

Photography Challenge #46 - Texture

2011-11-14T19:20:00.010-07:00

This week's challenge is Texture. Check out Kristi and Melissa's take on testure. Their textures and angles of photography are fantastic!

I love texture pictures but one of the most unique and fast changing texture were these mushrooms that grew in our lawn this summer. They only lasted two days from small starts to dead black fungus. Sorry I still don't have photo editing capacity so I couldn't make this a better shot. For now I have to be satisfied with just interesting! Enjoy.

The above pictures shows the shape that they started in, just pushing up from the ground and the below pictures shows how the heads fanned out and then started to just descintegrate. It left a black mess. I'm not sure how to get rid of them.

For a different type of texture check out the picture of the cake texture that I made for Jessica's wedding in the next post.

The first quilts are bound and finished!

2011-11-02T20:55:00.000-06:00

Victoria is working on the binding.

It's done!

All bound, done and in use by Jameson.

Our first Quilting experience

2011-10-28T20:20:00.001-06:00

Ruthanne, Grandma Victoria and I went to Marg McCuloch's house to learn how to use "Lenny" her long arm quilting machine. She walked us through it and let myself and Victoria quilt one quilt each. I started with the little baby quilt for Jameson. Then it was Victoria's turn.
She is concentrating really hard. It's scary at first.
She is continuing the pattern . . .
Here is the pattern.
Removing the quilt.
Tada! It is all quilted.

This is the baby quilt all quilted. Now for the binding . . .

Photography Challenge #45 - Leaf

2011-10-26T14:19:00.006-06:00

I love the quote that Kristi chose for this challenge an autumn leaves. I believe that we can always find beauty in the things around us . . . maybe even garbage, that may be a stretch. Kristi and Melissa have done a fantastic job of their leaf pictures.
We don't have many beautiful leaves now There have been heavy winds and they tend to strip the trees of their leaves. This is what I was able to find at our Park by the Old Man River today. We rarely see reds since we are in the west where few true maple trees can grow. This was my favorite find.
This is the river. I love the reflected color in the river. Too bad the winds took a lot of it away.

Photographic Challenge #44 - Feet

2011-10-12T22:31:00.003-06:00

This fun challenge by Kristi and Melissa was about feet. Here is my view of feet of my grand daughter on a trampoline! I had to go to sports mode to catch these little feet in action. They are dirty with summer barefoot wandering! So fun! You should have seen the face . . . priceless.

Baby Quilt for Jameson

2011-10-10T09:44:00.003-06:00

We made another baby quilt top today. It will be for Jameson because it is much more of a boy's quilt than the first one. What do you think?

Phographic Challenge #43 - Doors

2011-09-12T21:41:00.008-06:00

This challenge is going to be so much fun!!! Kristi and Melissa want us to photograph doors this time. I love doors and have been collecting pictures . . . to bad you only want to see one. I'll have to choose carefully.
As usual I went in a totally different direction. I wish I could say that this door was meaningful to me but it just attracted my attention. I chose this door for the grace and beauty of it's older function. How many people have entered in this arched door and why? It is a door I saw in England, hense the mideval look. The iron work is awesome too.

Baby Quilt for a new baby

2011-09-11T16:03:00.005-06:00

Today Victoria and I made a quilt for Adina and Scott's new Baby! It went together really quickly. Adina laughed while Victoria and I fussed over just the right combinations to make it look good. It was fun!
The only problem is that Scott thinks it is too girly for a baby boy. It's the flowers he doesn't like so back to the drawing board. We'll save this one for some other time.

Merrick wanted to help cut the quilt blocks. :)

Photography Challenge #42 - Pink

2011-09-03T20:35:00.003-06:00

There are so many shades of pink! All are beautiful but I chose this one for Kristi and Melissa's Pink Challenge.

Photographic Challenge #41 - Polka Dots

2011-08-15T22:18:00.010-06:00

Polka dots are so fun. Thanks Kristie and Melissa for this week's challenge. I can't wait to see what you do next. Great pictures you two.
I had to dig into my archives to find some polka dots since my granddaughter doesn't live close. Here is my little polka dot girl.

I threw in this other photo just to make you all laugh at her sharing her chips. Enjoy!

Kristen Duke's "Say No To Auto" Revised

2011-08-13T21:35:00.004-06:00

I have really enjoyed the first edition of her e-book. It has helped me understand how the manual settings really work. I always wondered how to get the shadow of of people's faces. Lighting and settings are so important. This e-book really is a must have for those of us who are novices and trying to learn. I'm glad I got mine however I still need to practice. That's the fun of Photography . . . always learning, always experimenting. Check out Kristen's blog here.

Photographic challenge #40 - Whimsy

2011-08-10T12:31:00.003-06:00

Wow, congratulations on 40 challenges! Kristi and Melissa have challenged us again. Whimsy can have so many faces. Hmmm . . . Whimsy at our house was a water fight . . . pure fun was had by all!

I am . . . August's theme - 31 days Photo challenge

2011-08-09T12:26:00.003-06:00

I am has issues a challenge for the month of August. It is a photo challenge that you can follow and then submit to her website. It is now well into August and I couldn't remember where I had seen this challenge so I am putting it here for my tired old brain.

Day 1 - photo of yourself

Day 2 - photo of something you own in your favorite color

Day 3 - fun with chalk

Day 4 - morning photo
Day 5 - photo of a favorite nook/space in your home

Day 6 - photo of yourself working

Day 7 - photo out your kitchen window

Day 8 - What you wore today

Day 9 - photo of a shadow

Day 10 - photo of our shoes

Day 11 - a favorite activity

Day 12 - photo of your hands or family hands

Day 13 - something you have made

Day 14 - a favorite treat

Day 15 - something that makes you cry

Day 16 - photo with a friend

Day 17 - photo of your night

Day 18 - photo of a relative

Day 19 - a place you go often

Day 20 - your current love (spouse or significant other)

Day 21 - A photo using reflection (mirror/glass,etc)

Day 22 - getting ready for the day

Day 23 - photo of someone walking

Day 24 - an architectural feature in your home

Day 25 - something old

Day 26 - something new

Day 27 - something borrowed

Day 28 - something blue

Day 29 - photo of sunlight

Day 30 - black and white photo

Day 31 - rainbow of colors photo

The Simple Things Challenge

2011-07-31T21:21:00.008-06:00

The Simple Things is Rebecca Cooper's blog. There is a challenge every Sunday by Rebecca Cooper to share a photo of what you consider a simple thing that has brought you joy in the past week. She is a talented photographer, writer, etc. You name it she is creating and loving it.

There is nothing as simple as creating with rocks.

We went to Waterton National Park and all the toys in the world are not equal to the joy of discovering rocks and what you can do with them. You can admire the wet rocks, build with the flat ones and stand on the big ones. All are simple and more fun than toys.

Check out more beautiful simple things photos on Rebecca's website called The Simple Things She encourages us to capture memories and moments that make us happy.

One of my favorite quotes is:

"The best things in life
are not things at all"

~author unknown

Photographic Challenge #39 - Bloom

2011-07-29T13:26:00.001-06:00

Kristi and Melissa challenged us to do a "Bloom" picture. I have been amazed by the crops around our area. There are lots of yellow canola fields so I have been looking for the blue flax fields. Their blooms are really short so when you see one you had better have a camera with you. I only had my little one on me when I came across this field. I think you deserve to see the individual bloom but it was a windy day so ingnore the front two blooms. Have a happy day!

Apron for Akina

2011-07-27T19:26:00.000-06:00

I finally finished this apron for Akina's birthday. Sorry, Akina, that it took me so long to design and make. Hope you enjoy it.

Photographic Challenge #38 - Water

2011-07-13T20:21:00.008-06:00

This is a fun challenge!!! Kristi and Melissa are offering us a water challenge this week! There are lots of things that can be done with this challenge. I had hoped to be able to do some fun things but it didn't rain unless it was night time and thundering and lightning, there are no kids here and I haven't had a car. So my favorite water picture comes from a trip where I could see the rain making ripples on the water. It makes such a fun pattern. It is just a dark, cloudy, rainy day in the forest.

We just got a new car so we went for a drive and I finally got my water picture for the week. It is the slew where my husband grew up on the farm.

There is a funny story that goes with this slew. Mike's two older brothers built a raft then they place him and his older sister on the raft, they were both wearing gumboots. They then pushed them out into the slew. The raft wasn't very good and started to sink when they were in the middle of the slew. The two little kid's gumboots filled up so they sank with the raft. They had to be fished out of the slew by the laughing older brothers, mischevious soles that they were. My husband must have been 5 or 6 at the time. Memories!

Printable Coloring pages

2011-07-12T19:31:00.002-06:00

I just found this blog called Love and Lollipops that had a post about making coloring books for our kids. Georgia has some links to free printable coloring pages. Check out her post here.

Photographic challenge #37 - Imagine

2011-07-02T13:01:00.003-06:00

This week's whole prompt, from Kristi and Melissa, is "We are what we Imagine ourselves to be". I sometimes over think things but this is certainly a challenge. There are so many ways to imagine. Kids are the best at it. We seem to loose that as we grow up, its a shame.
My entry represents a little girls imagination. She has tea parties with her grandparents over skype. I tried to get her to call me so I could show you how it is done but they were getting ready for a "stay-cation". (A "stay-cation" is were you have a vacation by staying at home. Her dad's family does this quite often. All of his brothers and sisters and their families get together at their parents house, which for two of them is just across the road. They plan activities for the kids and adults and do fun things over a long weekend. It's fun!) Imagination or what? That's even more about imagination than my photo. Enjoy!

Summer Colors Week - Red

2011-07-01T08:53:00.002-06:00

The last day of Summer Colors Week is Red. This was the red I could find today.This looks a little more pink than red but it really is red. I can't correct the color, no photoshop :( Or we could go with the picture below . . . preparing for July 4th.

Summer Colours Week hosted by Poppytalk

2011-06-29T19:57:00.008-06:00

Today's Summer Colours Week features blue.

Blue scarfs on a summer sidewalk sale in Melrose, Scotland.

My eye is drawn to the sky in this picture. The beautiful blue with the exciting cloud drama keeps it focused on the blue.

Summer Colours Week - Rainbow

2011-06-28T20:33:00.004-06:00

Its day four of the Summer Colours Week and they are featuring rainbows. I still know know how to add to their site so I am doing this just for fun. I hope someone is enjoying it.

A prairie double rainbow.

Summer Colours Week - Pink Cloud Sunset

2011-06-28T19:00:00.014-06:00

Wow, toninght when we were coming home, facing the east, we saw these beautiful clouds. I just had to take a picture. They were stunning against the darkening night.
I didn't know about Summer Colours Week until Wednesday so I am back dating these color photos. I can't add them to flickr until tomorrow. Something about resetting my account.

Pink Cloud Sunset

Summer Colours Week - hosted by Poppytalk - Yellow

2011-06-27T19:37:00.001-06:00

Melissa's blog talks about a challenge she found hosted by Poppytalk called Summer Colours Week. I'm not sure how it works but go to the first day and get the schedule and instructions! That will help. Monday's color is yellow.

Frayed Rosette Headband Tutorial

2011-06-26T03:15:00.005-06:00

There is a cute headband Tutorial over at Ucreate by Alicia from Budget Beautiful DIY. Check it out!

Photographic Challenge #36 - Out of Focus

2011-06-18T13:04:00.000-06:00

Our challenge this week from Melissa and Kristi was to take a picture out of focus. I have never purposely taken a picture totally out of focus so this was a challenge. I finally figured it out . . . :)

Dreaming of Daisies

It was fun. Thanks for the challenge and for helping us stretch our abilities!

What I've Been Up To Lately

2011-06-10T21:54:00.005-06:00

So Mom wanted me to show her the quilt I have been working on and here it is!! Along with an apron that I made for a friend. The damask is the front side and the black is the back side. Enjoy!!

Photography Challenge #35 - Lines

2011-06-06T22:05:00.011-06:00

This weeks challenge from Kristi and Melissa was about lines. When I was looking for a place to take a picture all I wanted to find was something that expressed, "Wow! look at those lines." I couldn't find it in my area so I remembered a photo I took last summer that really inspired me that way. Look at the detail in the drawings and how it goes with the structure.

Lines can be structural as well as decorative. They can express function, movement or in this case, belief. Lines guide our lives just as a fence says this is a boundary or the lines on a road tell us what is expected. The lines in architecture tell us other aspects of our lives. They can be there simply to admire, inspire or direct us to a higher purpose. Lines can tell such intriguing stories.

Thanks for helping us stretch and think with these challenges.

(Salisbury Cathedral, Salisbury, UK)

Photography Challenge #34 - Toys

2011-05-18T19:41:00.004-06:00

Melissa and Kristi set the Photography Challenge of toys for us this time. When I think of toys I think of children. We are empty nesters so my biggest child has these kind of toys. Anyone familiar with this breed?When I look at this picture I am struck by how boring it all looks with just black and all, however they are the portal to a world of color, information, relationships and activity!
I couldn't stand such a colorless post so here is one of five cars at my house for my grandson to play with. He loves his Mustang GT.
I still don't have a photo editor so I did the best I could. Outdoor photos work better for me right now. Sorry, I am just happy to try right now and participate with you all.

The Five Senses!!!

2011-05-17T15:55:00.005-06:00

Pantone Color of the year for 2011 press release:

I attended a webinar on Color today. It was a sensory adventure!!! Pantone put on a webinar about the 2012 Color Palletes for home and interiors. The brights are definitely coming . . .
These are the color of the year for the past few years.

Photo challenge #33 - The 5 Senses

2011-05-04T23:08:00.005-06:00

Another great "2 photographers 1 inspiration" photo challenge that made me think a lot. Kristi and Melissa have such beautiful photos that I am a little hesitant to put mine up. I definitely need to learn more about set up and lighting. Awesome job you two.

I chose taste. I thought a lot about this one. I even staged a photo but it didn't work so well. As you can see set up went totally out the window because this was very much a "quick! catch the moment" kind of photo. We were making cookies when my son started laughing and saying, "Look Mom, he's eating all your dough." And there you have it.
Thanks ladies for helping us stretch.

Photo Challenge #32 - The Beauty of Spring

2011-04-19T20:30:00.013-06:00

We have a new 2 photographers 1 inspiration challenge. I can't wait to see what everyone does with this one. Thanks Kristi and Melissa. I love daffodils and coloring easter eggs too! Welcome to spring.

Patience is what it takes in our country to find the beauty of spring. Apparently I need more patience . . . but there is beauty in what the snow and then fog can do to the trees and grass as they try to move into the spring that refuses to arrive.Spring???? Does anyone see buds on those branches yet? I think I see some.
And the grass is starting to turn green. Spring must be coming soon . . .
Sorry you all, there are more beautiful parts of spring out there but we haven't got there yet. So in order to bring spring to my home I had to do it artificially. I redid my fridge calendar with some bright scrapbook papers and played with my quilt fabrics. Happy Spring everyone (and Easter too).
Now this feels more like spring!

Fun Spring Crafts

2011-04-18T20:45:00.000-06:00

I just saw a cute way of making tissue paper blossoms check out Sew.Craf.Create.'s tutorial here.

Also these fun neck tie eggs are very ingenious. Now if I can just find the tutorial again!!! This isn't the one I saw but the instructions are the same see Erika Jean. The original idea may have come from Martha Stewart. I finally found it!!! Try Our Best Bites for a great tutorial.

Shag Pillow

2011-04-15T08:54:00.004-06:00

Have you ever wondered how they made this pillow? Well, Ucreate featured this today. It is so easy to do and so cute. There is a tutorial for this pillow at Vanessa and Company. Check it out.
She uses jersey for the shag. Would it work with other fabrics?

Photo Challenge #31 - Colorful

2011-04-06T22:22:00.003-06:00

This has been such a fun photo challenge so thank you Melissa and Kristi for doing your 2 photographs 1 inspiration posts. I am in a very cold and dreary world so I really welcome this challenge to represent Colorful. I am with Melissa on this one. We just wish spring would bring the natural color back to our world so instead we just have to create it.

Color is every where. In fact, I enjoy it in so many places that it is too hard to choose just one photo as you will see. It can be in man made things, nature, architecture and culture. I love quilt shops simply because of the immersion in color that I can enjoy. I am like a kid in a candy store. I don't have to buy anything I just have to enjoy the visual stimuli.

Apron Making with Grandma

2011-03-29T22:27:00.003-06:00

Grandma taught us how to make aprons. We cut them out today but we needed more time to actually sew them so we left that for another day.Victoria was the first to cut hers out and start sewing.
Adina and I just got them cut out. . . . so on to another day. Victoria has more pictures of that tuesday on her blog here.
Victoria and I finished ours about a week later.

. . . and then she thought it would be great to make one for Merrick.
Voila . . . a cars apron for Merrick.

Here are the aprons we have finished so far: Victoria's is on the left, my apron is in the middle and the one for Merrick is on the right.

On the right in this picture is one that Grandma made from my same material.

Birthdays and Anniversaries

2011-03-24T14:22:00.000-06:00

Today we celebrated birthdays at the office with this delicious Orange Buttercream Chocolate cake with Chocolate Mousse filling. Make your mouth water? Wish you were here.Happy Birthday and Anniversary to you all.

Photo Challenge #30 - Simplicity

2011-03-23T11:00:00.006-06:00

Melissa and Kristi have another Photo Challenge today entitled simplicity.
My mind went a different direction at first but I was thinking of Japan and how the disasters there have brought us all to what is really important such as family, food and shelter. I didn't know how I could show what I was thinking. However that would equal the word Simplify, not simplicity.
So I did a mind shift and here is my take on Simplicity.
What can be more simple than a food product that creates it's own packaging.

Kristi, you are in our thoughts and prayers!

Snow today!

2011-03-22T13:40:00.004-06:00

This is what we woke up to this morning. And I thought it was spring . . .hahaha, joke's on me.

1st Cricut cuts

2011-03-19T15:33:00.003-06:00

Today I tried the cricut for the first time!
It works so we are up and ready to cut other projects. Happy Spring!

Relief donations for Japan

2011-03-16T15:16:00.010-06:00

Cheri from I Am Momma - Hear Me Roar is creating a pattern as an incentive for those who want to donate to help Japan and help with the relief effort. I found this link on U create today. She has named this bag Tohoku in honor of the Japanese people.
If you donate $8 or more she will send you the pattern for this cute bag and the tutorial. Check out her blog post here. You really need to read what she says.

Our hearts, prayers and thoughts go out to the people of Japan at such a hard time. Thanks Cheri for this great idea. It makes me wonder if there is something more any of us can do.

Fondant Cake Decorating Class

2011-03-15T21:04:00.000-06:00

If you want a piece of this cake you will have to fight Mike for it. It was the demo cake for the class I taught for the Young Women on Tuesday night. It has a Chocolate Mouse filling with an Orange Buttercream frosting.First I showed the girls how to cut their cake into layers and put in the filling. Then we did a thin coat of icing to keep the crumbs under control. Then they got to be creative with the fondant and decorating.

We even tried fondant bows.

They were all very creative.

Making fabric flowers with Grandma

2011-03-11T19:16:00.002-07:00

Grandma and I decided to make fabric flowers while we waited for the BYU-New Mexico game to start. First I taught her how to make these flowers. The one on the left is out of chiffon and the one on the right is out of lining material. Next I showed her how to make the flowers that Natalie and I made for the sisters.
They were fun and simple. We even had fun burning the edges and making them more finished looking.
I had a special request by a local photographer for two small flowers on head bands. We had showed her the necklace that you made Natalie. I made two of these flowers for the photographer to use as bows for a pair of preemie twins when she takes their pictures. Grandma helped me know the right length to make the headbands.
We used a cabbage patch doll to try to guess the size of the head. . . remember those girls? I hope it works!
Anyone remember who had the green eyed doll?
Next Grandma taught me how to make a Kanzashi flower. My first attempt. They are unfinished. We need to find something to use for a center.
Then we watched the game and Jimmer Fredette's historic 52 points in one game! Go BYU!

Grandma's Teddy Bears on her new bedspread

2011-03-07T21:31:00.002-07:00

Grandma made these two cute little bears to match her new bedspread. They are darling.

"Lenni" - Marg McCullough's quilting machine

2011-03-07T00:21:00.006-07:00

Dorothy Hart invited us out to Marg McCullough to learn how to use the long arm quilting machine, they named "Lenni". Dorothy had done some practicing before we got there so we were able to see how they pin the quilt on, check on a sample edge and then go ahead and quilt. It was really interesting.Dorothy did a baseline for her pattern and has started adding the swirls and holly leaves on her Christmas runner.
You can kind of see the pattern on the back.
This is the finished product! It went quickly too!
We showed them my first quilt, the alien invasion quilt, and they suggested that we bring it back and quilt it on the machine. A little scary but we will see what happens.

Photo Challenge #29 - Blur

2011-03-04T00:08:00.002-07:00

We have another Photo Challenge from Melissa and Kristi and this week it's all about Blur.
I like this for blur because the background adds to her own motions.
This one spotlights the little cowboy!
Another study of blur while these two were watching the family photo shoot in Utah.
Original
Trying to lighten the flower.

I tried to darken the background.

Photo Challenge #28 - Black and White

2011-03-04T00:07:00.013-07:00

Melissa and Kristi have put up another Photo Challenge. The challenge for this one is Black and White.

I love the back lighting on Bela. I tried to clean up her face but I don't know.

I am a amateur who loves taking photos. However, I am trying to learn to do better and improve my editing skills better so any comments, tips and suggestions are welcomed! Thanks for stopping by.

Grandma's Aprons

2011-03-03T21:23:00.003-07:00

Grandma has been making aprons again. Check out these cute ones.

Letters Craft Day ready to go

2011-03-03T20:17:00.009-07:00

The rest of the letters are here! Decide what day you want to get together and we'll have another family craft day. If you can't remember check out Victoria's letters here and here.
Pick out your paper and bling or embellishments while you wait for us to decide on a time and day.If you are interested in some of these other things please comment and we will share our newly acquired knowledge as best we can!

Flower book that Grandma found

2011-03-03T15:03:00.009-07:00

Grandma has been creating again. She found this wonderful book about making fabric flowers inspired by the flowers from Japan's Geisha's called "Kanzashi in Bloom" by Diane Gilleland. So to use this fun idea she made a little bag from a place mat and added the flower from the book.

This is the Kanzashi flower in it's first version.

Below is the book front and back covers if you are interested in finding one to buy. There are a couple other flower styles as well and fun ideas of how to use them and adapt them to other projects. It reminds me of doing origami only with fabric. I love origami so it's a nice fit.

Akina says the Kanzashi means "Japanese hairpin or hair accessory" and gave us a link so we can see what some of them look like. She says they are usually made of hard plastic and worn with kimonos. There are some on the other pages in the link that look like softer flowers.

Fabric Flowers and Jewllery by Natalie and April

2011-03-01T17:38:00.002-07:00

Natalie taught me how to make some fabric flowers and we went crazy making fabric flowers. We made 40 of this particular type of flower for her 17th of March party. The ladies could choose whether they wanted them as a fridge magnet, a pin or a hair clip.
They are very simple so here is a little peek at how we made them.
And the finished flower.
Before that we had made several other styles and a necklace using beads and flowers.

This is a necklace made with the black flower.

This is a necklace with the white flower.

This is a belt that Natalie made to go with their Christmas dresses.

Bela's Quilt top is finished

2011-02-24T07:33:00.012-07:00

Natalie and I found this cute pattern called "Dolly Claire" by Karen DuMont of KariePatch Designs. She asked me to make it for Bela. So after having the pattern for a while Grandma and I decided to get it started. We started Bela's quilt by cutting all the flowers out. With a trip to Texas coming up I felt a little pressed to get it going!
Once I got to Texas I appliqued all the flowers.
Then came cutting and sewing to finish the rest of the quilt. I just love the pattern and the fabrics. They make me smile and think happy thoughts!!!
Natalie and I found pillows for $3 each so I am made a matching pillow for Bela's bed. Here it is.
I just followed the feel of the quilt top to design this pillow.
Now the question is what is the best way to quilt this? Any ideas? I love getting the tops done but I have no idea how to actually finish them.

Memory Quilts

2011-02-20T19:36:00.002-07:00

Natalie made these two memory quilts for Victoria. A while back we found this cute minkie quilt idea and I did a post about it. They originated at Joel and Laurie Dewberry's blog.

This one is for Peyton with it's cute original butterflies.
This one is for Seth with this cute monkey.

Quilt idea for Victoria

2011-02-16T15:21:00.007-07:00

Imagine this in your colors with circles of the feature fabrics and a border of the stripe. What do you think? Can you see it?
It could be a fun thing to do on the bumper pads too. Just a thought.

Natalie's creation featured in a quilt store.

2011-02-14T19:55:00.002-07:00

I was in a Jean's Fabric n' Friends Quilt Store with Natalie and look what she has done. She was asked by the owner, Jean, to make an example of a Kwik Sew child's dress pattern out of the fabric line below the little dress in the picture.
Natalie has designed and made lots of cute little skirts and dresses for Bela out of quilt fabric. I will get her to put up pictures so you can see her designs.

Kitchen reno at Natalie's

2011-02-11T22:21:00.004-07:00

Natalie was tired of her dark and dreary kitchen color. Problem: how to brighten it up? So she found a more cheerful fabric and we picked colors from there.
It isn't done yet but hopefully the will help make it look brighter and more cheerful.

Wait until you see the fun way she does the window treatments with the fabric on the chairs!

Grandma's little dolls

2011-02-11T21:37:00.003-07:00

Grandma made 14 little dolls for her great-grand daughters! These are more of the same as before.

Monday - Kerrville Quilt store

2011-02-07T20:08:00.007-07:00

Monday we went to the quilt store in Kerrville, Texas. I think the thing I like most about quilt stores isn't the quilting but the feast of color. I love color!!!

This was a nice strip quilt made of minkie!

2011-02-03T10:35:00.005-07:00

Wow, I just discovered that MCP Actions is co-hosting a contest to win a camera bag from Kelly Moore. These bags are awesome! I have always used a purse as a camera bag because I didn't want to look like I was carrying a camera bag and be a target. However, I have always worried about the lack of pading. I also prefer a handle that can be messanger style. Now Kelly has designed some that look great. Check it out!!! Just click here to find the contest info. And click on Kelly Moore to see the bags.

Creativity Boot Camp

2011-02-01T14:52:00.006-07:00

Today I am sitting in my chair after January's attempt to become more physically fit. My New Year's resolution was to work out 5 days a week on my level of ability. At the end of January I was in bad shape as I had pulled a muscle in my abdomen that 3 days latter flared up into a very painful problem. It seems that the muscle was bleeding inside. Now you may think I was working out very hard but that is not the case. It is just so strange!!! Well my resolutions will have to take a break or change all together.

I just discovered a Creativity Boot Camp. It sounds like a lot of fun. I can't even back track to where I found it to let you know but the link will give you all the information anyway. Enjoy if you decide to try it. My Physical Boot Camp just found a new vent.

Grandma's cute little dolls! She is so creative.

2011-01-29T13:25:00.010-07:00

Grandma has been busy making the cutest dolls. Take a look . . . the pattern is called something like Cute Annie.

Doesn't this little girl just make you smile? She is so cute!!!

Grandma painted socks and shoes on the doll that was in the above photo. She put Mary Jane shoes on the cute little blond to finish her off.

This is a great way to use up bits of left over fabric!

Photo Challenge #27 - Around Town

2011-01-28T14:26:00.017-07:00

Melissa and Kristi have been issuing Photo Challenges for the past 27 weeks. This week is entitled Around Town. When I thought about this I wished we had been able to take a photo of the cow that was running away from the vet and her owner down main street because she didn't want the shot. She moved too fast for us to do that one but it would have been fun. All I could think of was that the most important spot in town for our family has always been Grandma's house. However, my husband didn't think that was a good idea because why would anyone think that was a great photo and it would only be memorable to our kids!

So I have been on the search for something more memorable.

The crisp snow also gives us some fun shadows and crystals. Actually my first visit to our town was in a snow storm so this is appropriate for the impressions that it left on one cold observer. I love the gorgeous drifting effect of snow in the peaceful sunshine after the storm and wind.

We live in a small farming town. I did find something unique but the picture isn't very good.
My husband, his mother and many people from town have worked at this sugar factory. It's smoke stack on stormy days helps us see which way the wind is blowing and what kind of air is up there. Sometimes the smoke will blow straight sideways instead of straight up. Today is clear and sunny after some snow days so there isn't much to see in the smoke but the factory is visible from everywhere since we live on the flat prairies.
We do have fantastic skys. This is a night sky at dusk showing an almost full moon tothe east. The shades of the sky were beautiful as the sun was going down. The colors ranged from the deep blue through purple to the top blue. They just don't show that well here.

Photo Challenge #26 - White

2011-01-21T16:01:00.005-07:00

I have been having problems downloading the pictures from my camera. I originally took this for the texture challenge but it also works for the White challenge so take your pick.

More Letters

2011-01-11T20:29:00.008-07:00

Victoria has been at it again. Look at the beautiful letters she made for her nursery.This one is for Peyton.
When I take off the flash you can see the enbelishments better.
This one is more boyish for Seth, so no bling.
We have the letters and are ready to make some more anytime you all. Just let us know.

Mame's Countdown Blocks

2010-11-23T14:48:00.005-07:00

Marilynne, Allyson and the girls made Countdown blocks on the weekend. These are Mame's blocks. I'd like to know where she got the cute paper. Leave a comment if you know.

She did some really cute cards. You can see them by looking here.

Flower Yourself by Eliza

2010-11-21T20:26:00.022-07:00

Yesterday I went to a show at Eliza's house. She is the creative designer of Flower Yourself. Be sure to visit her etsy shop by the same name.
This was Eliza's first show but she had been making flowers for a while. She just whipped up this cute sign just for the show and hung it on her wall. You can tell how creative she is. I was very impressed by the quality of her goods and designs.
There was quite an assortment to choose from. She had made necklaces, head bands, pins, and flower clips on this table.
This is a close up of the head bands. Notice they are on gold or silver head bands to match the tones of the flowers. The paper tag is just her label.
On this table she has baby hair bands and other hair bands more suited for young girls. The hat with a flower was the door prize.
The pins or flower clips can be used to hold scarves in place or . . .
dress up a t-shirt or . . .
adorn a cute bag. There are all kinds of options and uses for her flower creations.
She had two panels of flower pins or clips.
I took two of this one to show the yellow flower that we bought.
The second panel was also full of a variety of flower styles and colors.
She has even created these cute cards to display her items on.
You can't miss the cute bouquet of flowers.
All in all she is a very talented and special lady. We love you Eliza!

Victoria's Letter Project

2010-11-16T13:26:00.005-07:00

Check out the pretty "K" Victoria made when she was with Natalie. They got the Letters at Hobby Lobby, put paper on them and then but stick on bling as embelishments.
Victoria is going to Texas this Saturday so if anyone wants letters please leave a comment below stating how many and which letter.

Cricut Tags for Ward Supper

2010-11-13T14:25:00.011-07:00

Our ward supper featured different canning as the centerpieces. Mame was able to cut the tags for me on her Circut. The activities Committee leader loved how they dressed up the jars.

Thanks Mame for all your help!!!
The different sized of tags were very useful!!!
Too bad the table clothes weren't in autumn colors . . . oh well, it was a last minute assignment, what can you do?

Nov 11th Family Craft Day - Countdown Blocks

2010-11-11T19:50:00.002-07:00

Welcome to our first ever family Craft Day! We got together at Ruthanne's house to make "Countdown to Christmas Blocks". The day started at 6am for Mame and Candice who used the Cricut to cut out the words and numbers. Mame and Candice made up packs for each set of blocks we were going to do. 0-5 for one block and 0, 1, 2, 6, 7, 8 for the other block. Be sure that you put the six/nine on non-directional and non writing paper so you can turn it upside down for the 9.
Even Bentley was helping Mame cut tags out for me on the Cricut. At 1pm the rest of us came to paint the bases. We had purchased blocks already painted. Next we chose and cut our paper.
You will see how individual they all turned out!
It takes a while to cut it all out.
Still cutting . . .
Next came the "Hodge Podging" as Adina dubbed it. We Modge Podged on the papers and letters then gave it a final coat of "Hodge Podge."
Everyone is busy putting their personal touch on their blocks.
The Holst family made four sets from two sets of the same papers. That is how far the paper goes however you have to be creative with how you to the base.
Also, ****IMPORTANT**** To avoid tons of frustration. Change the plastic on the table after you are done painting. We had problems getting paint on the paper from the plastic table cloth while we were modge podging things on the blocks.
I think Mame's papers came from Stamp it Up. They were so cute!!! Great job Mame.
The Holsts used papers Ruthanne found at Scrapbookers Paradise.
Victoria found some papers at Michael's.
She kept Merrick busy with Mame's copic pen figures so Adina could do her craft.
Most of the papers were double sided so you could use a different pattern on all six sides of the block.
Allyson was able to drop in via skype so here are the girls showing her their blocks.

LeiLani came a little later so you can see the original blocks that we were covering. We just painted the base 2x4s to match. Notice that Kristen's base top fits. I think that is because they made four sets from 2 sets of paper.
I think this is Kristen set of blocks. Look at the star by the number one! Fun placement Kristen.
Adina is doing her first craft ever. She did a great job!!!
Voila her final product. Adina shared the same papers with Grandma.
This is Grandma's set. You can get two sets with 3 pieces of paper but you will see that the final top of the block is a little too narrow for the top.
This is the one I made for Natalie from the BoBunny papers from Scrapbookers Paradise.

LeiLani finished her base top with the ends of the strips that were cut off. Very clever adaptation!
To finish off we decided to sign the bottom of everyone's project! Thanks for the fun idea and great day girls!!!

Countdown to Christmas

2010-11-08T11:28:00.008-07:00

Victoria and I made these in our Super Saturday. She made one for Halloween but she put it away already. What do you think? Do you want any? We are having a family Craft Day on Nov 11th to make a bunch.

It takes three different paper designs to do the blocks and base unless you want them to be the same?

I found these at Scrapbookers Paradise. First set front. These are from left to right: Jolly stripe, Christmas Argyle and Holly Berry by Echo Park Paper Co.

First set reverse side. Most of these are double sided. You can do any combination of the six papers.

Second set is by Creative Imaginations featuring Iron Orchid Designs. Front side

There are two exposures so you can see the color. I'm not sure which one is truer. First is with light on and the second is with natural light.

Second set back side.

Third set front is by BoBunny and is called Noel Stripe, Noel Traditions and Noel Rejoice.

Third set backs.

This is another idea. You purchase the round mini tins from Michaels. The Favor Tin Kit includes 30 tins and 30 round printable labels. Instead the circles on this paper work perfectly. Put these on the lid or in the back and use as an Advent calendar with candies or whatever in them. They about 2" in diameter and are food safe. Sorry no picture. Mame, Allyson and Ruthanne are using a frame and putting tin it it, putting magnets on the back and using that for their Advent Calendars.

These are the papers that Victoria used on her Countdown to Halloween blocks.

The sky is the limit, you can even countdown to Valentines!

Sandra's Shirt quilt

2010-11-03T23:11:00.001-06:00

Sandra made a quilt of Chuck's shirts. He kept wearing the same ones over and over so one day she took them and made this quilt. Look at the numbers: 1. is a piece of Grandpa Saunders' shirt and 2. is a shirt that Chuck wore when each of their first three kids was delivered . . . funny but a great memory.

Sandra's Quilt Fabric Sale

2010-11-03T14:33:00.013-06:00

Grandma Saunders and I went to Calgary today to see Sandra's fabric sale. This is what I bought which is just a drop in a bucket compared to Grandma . . . she has so many projects and so much material . . . but she will have fun with it!

Blue and tourquoise kit.

Pink and brown Eiffel Tower.

Fall colors.

Stripes and cars.

Cars for Merrick, I'm not sure how to use them but I know he will love it.

1/2 yards and fat quarters

3 fat bright quarters

This pattern is cute but takes a lot of material.

Cute brown and pink pattern.

I just thought this was a fun pattern with it's little flowers.

Super Saturday Projects

2010-10-23T23:24:00.000-06:00

Victoria and I made these in our Super Saturday. She made one for Halloween and I will add to this post when I can get a picture of it. What do you think? Do you want any? We are having a family Craft Day on Nov 11th to make a bunch.

Some of them made fridge magnets from glass beads and clothespins with scrapbook paper.
Or worked on other vinyl projects like Family Home Evening or Family Chore Boards . . .
. . . and blocks that say Home and Love.
. . . and Beaded watchbands.
Laura Jensen Taught us how to make potato and cheese Perogies and then we ate them, cabbage rolls and Apple Crisp for lunch. Here she is teaching us how to shape them.

Perogies served with sourkraut and sausage.

Perogies served with bacon and onions.

Apple Crisp with ice cream and a drizzle of Carmel sauce. Ummmm good.

Grandma is making cut Bags!

2010-10-01T19:45:00.011-06:00

Grandma has made a few of these Amy Butler bags that she has given away.

Now she is working on this pattern from Me and My Sister Designs called Juliet.

She is enjoying making these individualized as she uses up some of her many notions and materials. This one is Adina's.

This one has all the ladies oohing.

Ok Natalie, here is Grandma's design question. She originally used this Michael Miller floral with the yellow sash but felt it was too busy.

She wondered if it would be better with a black and white dot band where the pink pokadot is?

This is what she settled on but wondered what you thought?

Japanese Paper Tape

2010-10-01T18:54:00.006-06:00

Little Birdie Secrets has a post about Japanese Paper Tape available in Japan and she found a US vendor at Ginko Papers. This is the first have heard of it but it sounds interesting. It is used in scrapbooking and is kind of like masking tape but doesn't lift your paper if you are careful, supposedly. I've never used it but check out the post on Little Birdie Secrets.

Little Birdie Secrets has a post about Japanese Paper Tape available in Japan and at Ginko Papers. This is the first have heard of it but it sounds interesting. It is used in scrapbooking.

Photo Challenge # - Touches of Fall

2010-09-30T23:15:00.008-06:00

When I think of fall I always think of leaves and pumpkins, especially ones that kids love to see. Life through the lens and Savoring the Details have a photographic challenge this week about "What autumn means to me." Check out their wonderful photos. I suppose we are supposed to be taking current pictures so this was what caught my eye this week. It is the road leading to Lost Lake . . . fitting for the area.

However, when I think of autumn there are better colors elsewhere, like back east where the reds are more plentiful.

But my favorites are in the pumpkin patch!

Ruffle Me Up! T-shirt tutorial from Brassy Apple

2010-09-24T08:49:00.003-06:00

This is a cute t-shirt tutorial called Ruffle Me Up from Brassy Apple. It would be fun to try sometime. Thanks for the inspiration.

Photo Challenge # - Scrumptous Food

2010-09-18T23:13:00.009-06:00

For all those who love strawberries. I hope this fits in the category of delicious, mouthwatering photos of food. Kristi of Life through the lens had a photographic challenge to take photos of food. There are many more beautiful food photos than this but I thought I would try anyway. Sorry I am so late . . .family life causes delays sometimes.

For more food pictures check out the original blog on this cake and the frozen raspberry jam blog. Thanks, Kristi, for challenging us.

Minkie Camera Straps Covers by Natalie

2010-09-14T10:36:00.011-06:00

Natalie has put her designing skills to work once again. She has created these cute, soft and extremely comfortable Minkie Camera Strap Covers for SLR sized cameras. They fit either Canon or Nikon.

She made the one on my camera for me before I went to England and I am so glad she did. It kept my strap from chaffing on my neck and believe me I needed it. My camera was around my neck for such long hours and many days.
The following designs are available:

Teal/grey flowers

Filosofia Flowers

Devorppa Flowers

Cosmo paisley

Daisy flowers

Juliette Damask

Scrapbooking challenge

2010-09-13T21:33:00.004-06:00

Vicki of Scrap That Idea is having a scrapbook challenge. The challenge was to make a page using 6 elements from her mini kit Blue Moon and the page title had to be the name of a movie. So this is what I came up with using a picture Victoria took this summer.

Messenger Bag Tutorial

2010-09-07T23:04:00.004-06:00

Ucreate is featuring this cute Messenger Bag Tutorial from I Make Stuff. Check it out.

Photo Editing Experiment

2010-09-07T23:00:00.000-06:00

Victoria and I took pictures of Jorden and Candice on a very sunny day. The problem is that some need to be edited to correct either the exposuers or shadows. Here is one attempt but it looks funny. How do I fix it?
8061 original
8061 when I applied shadows/highlights
Something doesn't look right.

8290 original
8290a for adjusted

Vicki inspired me to Scrapbook again

2010-08-22T12:30:00.010-06:00

Wow, I can't believe that I won the Stars for Sara kit. Thank you Vicki. Vicki also encouraged me to post my pages. Big problem, I haven't made many layouts yet. I think I only have about 6 pages so I have to get to work . . .hahaha. It's a huge learning curve for me so here goes.

My latest page is from the Stars for Sara kit by Vicki.

My first page ever was made with Mel's Little Monster kit. Natalie and I had just made quilts from a Moda collection called "Alien Invasion". Mel had just created this cute kit when Natalie said I should scrapbook about the quilt. So here is my first attempt. Remember this Mel, it has been a journey since then for both of us. I have collected many kits over the past two years but I have not taken the time to scrap anything.

I have watched Mel and Vicki progress in their designing with awe! It has been so fun to follow your journey and also that of Sara and Stacey, also of Scrap That Idea. I really enjoy all of their work. Thanks ladies for being so awesome and inspiring us all to do better.

Crabapple Jelly 2010

2010-08-20T22:41:00.007-06:00

Victoria wanted to can some crabapple jelly but where would we get the crabapples. Well Pat Harding offered her crabapples to anyone who would come and pick them so we went. She also lent us her juicer. It is so much easier than the old method of boiling, straining and then waiting for it to drip through the cloth . . .what a mess. We picked and then put them right into the steamer and out came the juice. So wonderful.

Cake Decorating Class

2010-08-16T22:31:00.011-06:00

My daughter, Victoria, wanted to learn how to decorate cakes so we are taking a cake decorating class together. We have had the first lesson on tuesday but because of August birthdays we had to make a cake on friday, before the second class. Any way we tried it on our own, a learning experience. I have made many cakes but not by this method so we are learning new things. We baked a French Vanilla cake, froze it for a couple of hours. We iced it with a Buttercream Icing and fresh strawberries and drizzled it with milk chocolate. And voila! Now I guess we should scrap book about our cake class . . . but tomorrow is our second class so there is more to come.

Mmmm, mmmm, good!

Cute Baby Blankets with Minkie

2010-08-05T09:24:00.007-06:00

Ucreate featured these adorable baby quilts on tuesday from Joel & Laurie Dewberry. Have a look and check out the tutorial.

Raspberry Jam

2010-07-23T08:36:00.004-06:00

It's canning time and the raspberries are beautiful. We made freezer jam! Yummmmm

Adina and Victoria helped me make the freezer raspberry jam and were busy sorting raspberries so it would be tasty.

Next comes the actual jam making.

And then the bottling.

Wow, the finished product . . .

and our favorite little taster.

Lila Tueller and fun new quilt fabrics from Market

2010-07-22T07:55:00.004-06:00

Check out Lila's blog for some pictures of new collections in the quilt world. She also has a new line coming out.

Upholstery Charts from Pearl Street Interiors

2010-07-22T07:31:00.003-06:00

I saw this Upholstery chart link on Ucreate and decided to blog about it. My neice just reupholstered her chair and I was wondering how she figured out how much fabric and how to do it. She is doing an awesome job of decorating her house. So at Pearl Street Interiors you can find a chart or multiple charts and ideas of how to do reupholstering and other fun projects. Head on over for some fun ideas.

Lemon Tree Creations and Cutting Edge Stencils

2010-07-22T07:17:00.007-06:00

I was looking on Ucreate and saw this cool wall art from Lemon Tree Creations. I'm not one for putting things on my wall permanently so the wood wall hanging caught my eye. Cutting Edge Stencils has some beautiful stencils. Erin of Lemon Tree Creations created this wonderful piece with the "Birds on a Branch" stencil. I love the depth she achieved with the different colors. Be sure to check out her post for her explanation of how she did this.

Also one could use it on a canvass to create a cool piece of art. Erin used this on her wall but why not put it to another use.
This button doesn't work as a button but you can click on the above link.

Kristi has another give away

2010-05-21T10:31:00.004-06:00

Kristi's blog is awesome. Kristi combines quotes and photography to capture the awesome moments of life or the little things that we tend to take for granted. You can see some of her work at this flickr photostream. She has an Etsy shop for her photography. She is giving away two 8 x 10 prints through a feature at paislee press.