Author: stampcatwg

Nothin' crafty going on today…just another day at work. A Friday. And me, with a serious, big time, Olympics hangover. I have stayed up until midnight every night this week. This would be fine, except that I have to wake up at 5:15am and go to work and function like a grown up! (Did I mention I'm not a morning person? I think I did.) I am SO tired right now. Today was a sunny, rainy, windy, day all in one here in Northern California.

On my way home from work, while stuck in bumper to bumper traffic, I was treated with a beautiful rainbow the entire way. At one point it was even a double rainbow. And me, without my camera. Funny thing is, on the way out of the house this morning I almost grabbed my camera – because the sunrise yesterday morning was so gorgeous. But, then I thought, nah…it's gonna rain. That'll teach me to throw the camera in my purse!

However, I am always in close contact with my iphone. I took the following pictures while driving down the freeway. NOT recommended! But, hey, I was only going 20 mph. It was just too pretty to pass up!

Here's the other side. I did not find a pot o' gold. Or a leprechaun.

 
Earlier today I had received an email from my friend Amy in Pennsylvania. Her world looked like this today! Isn't it beautiful and peaceful? Such a difference from the photos above!

I absolutely adore this picture of her sweet kitty Ashley sitting in the window. Sets such a mood…

I often think how amazing technology is these days that you can take a picture 3000 miles away and instantly share it with someone. Or, how you can take a picture with your phone from your car and put it on your internet blog the same afternoon. No more waiting a week for the pictures to come back from the photo lab!

Talk amongst yourselves. Have a fantabulous weekend!

Yesterday I spent the day in my second home town…Berkeley. This is where I went to college and where I feel most at home, except for actual home! It's a crazy town full of life and learning and art and beautiful things. I want to share my little artsy day with you!

There are three must-go-to art stores all right near each other on 4th Street, just off University Avenue.

My first stop -Dick Blick Art – they have EVERY SINGLE color of Copic Marker….yeah baby…

Next stop – Paper Source – Heaven on earth for this paper lover…

Beautiful window displays with giant paper flowers:

OOOOOHHHHHHH….

AAAAAAHHHHHH….

You never know when you might need a Gnome soap-on-a rope…This is where you could get it! Handmade even! Hahaha.

Next stop is Scrapbook Territory. By far the best overall scrappin' and craftin' place in the entire bay area:

Owner, and fellow Cal alum, Diane, with store dog #1 Wilbur:

This place is HUGE…and always has the latest and greatest stuff. Good thing I live far away so my shopping is curtailed somewhat.

Awesome ribbon selection:  

Here are some gorgeous tree blossoms I found along my way:

And here is the part where I show you the most amazing, breathtaking, spectacular, gorgeous view of San Francisco that you have from the hill above the football stadium…

But not on this day! Just some good old fashioned FOG!

My day ended with dinner with my sweet friend Patty. A perfect day. It's Friday again, and my week off from work flew by in what seemed like a nano second. I did sleep in every day and generally was crafty and lazy. Tonight is stamping with friends and tomorrow is a Rubber Stamp Convention. Enjoy your weekend everyone!  

One of the places the DH and I went on our honeymoon was Lake Placid, New York. We stayed two nights in this beautiful hotel called the Mirror Lake Inn. It was amazing! The town of Lake Placid is tiny – with just one main street. The famous hockey arena is at the end of the street. I cannot imagine how this town fit all the Olympic athletes and spectators. The town of Lake Placid sits at the rim of Mirror Lake… Lake Placid is actually about 10 minutes away! Go figure?

We were able to have a tour of the Olympic areas and to watch some ski jumping action. Since we have been home watching the Winter Olympics, I decided to get out our honeymoon pictures and have a look. the pictures are not great and they were taken with this strange thing called film! Anyone remember that? The pics are from early October 2001. Hope you enjoy!

The entrance to the facilities:

One of the ski jumps:  

One of our Olympians practicing:

Practicing:

Perfect Landing! You can see there's no snow so they practice jumping into a swimming pool. The water is kept moving so they don't hurt themselves hitting a solid mass. Very cool indeed.

We were able to take the chairlift up to the top. The view was absolutely spectacular:

This last shot is for the ladies! This is the official medal podium used in the 1980 Olympics. Seems a lot less fancy than nowadays. This is the guy that we watched jumping. He came over and talked to us about his experiences.

 
 Wouldn't it be awesome to go to the Olympics one day in person?

This blog has nothing to do with photography, or cards, or yummy treats. Sigh. Today all I can think of is that I have next week off from work. I'm just trying to make it through the day until the whistle blows and I can slide right down that dinosaur's tail to get in the car and go home (old enough to remember the Flintstones??).

I have been sick for two weeks and generally disagreeable and not fun. The thought of a week off from trying to put on makeup at 5:30 in the morning and then get on the freeway and have people tailgate me at 80 mph before I'm even coherent is just about enough to make me faint from joy!

In the photo below…I am the one of the far left…and I'm really not exaggerating. Just ask my hubs. He'll tell ya the truth.

 
I am going to try to regroup, reorganize, restore, rejuvenate and relax for a week. Hopefully I will return to my normal cheery self. I hope to blog some cool things and get crafty. I hope to read at least part of the ginormous stack of books piled next to the bed. But what I really want…is to sleep in!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend!

I haven’t been feeling that great (just a cold) and have temporarily lost my crafty mojo, so I wasn’t sure what today's bloggy blog entry would be about. But then it hit me: take a moment to write and reflect on old friends and good times. Sometimes life sends you a nice surprise…thanks to the interwebs. A couple of weeks ago I was so happy to hear from my college bff Amy. Unfortunately, we haven’t been in touch for (too) many years. But, now we have been emailing back and forth and it just seems natural to talk to her. It has been so fun to get to know her again and learn about her life. She is super smart and is a college professor on the east coast. I love it.Here is a pic of me and Amy at our sorority initiation in <ahem> 1984. Yikes, yes, kids I was really 19 years old once…A long, long, long time ago. Aren’t we adorable? I think so.

Mz. Amy doesn’t know that I saved the totally awesome, rad, bitchin’ clipboard she made me all those years ago and still admire it! She is quite crafty, don’t ya think?

I am so delighted that we are back in touch. Isn’t it nice to have friends who knew us when? These crazy girls went through a lot together. I am having some flashbacks right now that involve champagne…hmmmm.

Do you have any old friends that would love to hear from you? Make a card! Send a letter! Let me know what happens…I know you would make someone’s day.

I’m so glad you found me again, Amy! Thank you. Smile.

Roses #1 and #2. To make the pink one, I covered the rose pieces in white pigment ink first and then went back over it with two colors of pink pigment ink. Then I sprayed it with glitter mist to give it a sheen. The red one was made exactly according to Tim Holtz's directions with pearl-x and misters.

I made three roses in all. The white/silver one was made by covering the grunge paper with eggshell color acrylic paint – about three coats on each side. The antique silver glitter was (generously) applied as the final step after the rose was assembled.

I'm not sure what I will do with the roses, now that they are done! I was thinking they would make very nice package adornments. I was also thinking of making one or all of them into pins to put on a hat or a cool jean jacket. The possibilities are endless.  
  
I would love to hear what you think of my project. Also, let me know if you've tried this and how yours turned out! Happy crafting! 

You can find the fantastic and detailed instructions here on the Tim Holtz Blog: http://timholtz.typepad.com/my_weblog/2009/12/12-tags-of-christmasday-12.html

So it's the end of the old year and time for a new one…Fresh snow always makes me think of a new beginning.  2009 was not my most favorite year ever. It was a hard one…but it looks like we're gonna get through it! Just in the nick of time.  

On Christmas day the DH and I drove up to Lake Tahoe to see the snow.  We are lucky enough to only live about an hour away and a drive seemed like the right idea for the day. As you can see from the photos, it was bright and clear out.

We drove up Highway 80 and then around the top of the Lake and back down through South Shore and home on Highway 50. It was about a 5 hour trip all in all. It felt so rejuvenating to see the pristine surroundings and it was a good opportunity for us to talk and catch up on life. You get a better perspective when God's work is placed before you like this.

My wish for everyone is that 2010 is a great year! I hope that you are healthy and happy and surrounded by people who love you. I hope to meet new friends and cherish dear old friends as we begin anew and start fresh.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Okay…so here goes. I’m taking the plunge…

For several years I have read and enjoyed the blogs of funny, smart and creative people. I must admit I’ve been a bit intimidated about doing my own blog. More and more, though, friends are asking if I have a blog, and kindly prodding me forward. So…here it is. I’m starting a blog! A Blog Called Wanda.

My intent is to have a place to share stories of everyday life and my love for creating artwork of all kinds. I am truly blessed to have a good life, a great husband, and wonderful friends. Lest I forget, I am mom to the most handsome cat ever…Buddy. I’m not sure where this will go, but I’m taking that first step. As you can see from the format, I haven’t quite mastered the art of creating my own blog design…but I’m working on that.

As I wrote earlier, I am a fan of many blogs. I laugh and cry at what people are writing and I get inspiration from what people are creating. My goal is to possibly inspire others and share information. I would also like to use the blog as a forum to sell some of my cards – we’ll see about that later too.

Don’t know how often I will blog, or what it will be about! Thanks for reading so far and I hope you find something you like here. I’m open to suggestions and feedback.