Cabin in Mackinaw

Some people have been asking to see pictures of my husband's family (my husband and his two brothers now own the place) cabin in Mackinaw, Michigan. My brother-in-law Al has been spending the whole summer getting the place cleaned up and ready for the family reunion in August. The deck area is really the back of the house (and the family's favorite hang out spot) that looks out on to Lake Michigan. Looks like they mowed down (or had a herd of goats come in) all the wild grass and weeds that use to grow out back. Not sure Ruthie (my mother-in -law) would have liked that, she was a big nature fan but it does give you a clear view of the lake. If the grass is not cut back (it can get over 5 feet tall) there would be no beach area. Maybe Al is hoping those nasty geese will waddle up close enough for him to shoot for dinner.

CJ retreat

More photos from my CJ retreat - thanks Rocio. It was too funny when someone didn't have their camera handy, someone would always say " I got it covered". The sailing boat photo was taken at the South Beach Yacht Club in San Francisco before we left the dock. The group photo at the beach house was set up by the hard core scrapbookers in the group. They set up the location, the cameras and who would sit or stand. And, yes Ronda I'm still playing secret spy and left my sunglasses on. :) The picture turned out great!

CJ - Happy Mail

Toni from my CJ group gave all of us an assignment during our week long retreat. She pre-stamped some images and then ask us to make a card and mail it to the person she listed in the packet. Toni calls this "happy mail". We had to use one of the image and some of the bling she included plus there is a three week deadline to get it out in the mail. I decided to make two cards and get it done today, since I have to go to the post office to mail a snack package off to my son. One image is from Cat's Pajamas and super hero guy is Billy from Pink Cat Studio. Very simple cards that took less than ten minutes once I decided on what colors to use. I'm posting the cards now, because I know the person who will be getting them doesn't visit any of our blogs.

Happy Cat

Lucy aka Happy Cat. She had to give up her bedroom for a whole week and she was not happy about it. Every morning and at bedtime she would yowl at us to open her door so she could go to sleep on "her" bed. I had to clean up the room for one of my CJ buddies to use, so it was off limits to anything that could throw up a hair ball. When Patti arrived at my house and opened the bedroom door, Lucy and Purrcy were right there. Lucy was looking for a way to get under the covers and Purrcy inspected all the boxes. Right after Patti left for the airport, Lucy was on "her" bed in her favorite spot.

CJ Project - Beach Box

This was another project we did at the beach house. We were each given a wooden box (and a frame but I didn't finish that one) a box full of different paint and sea shells. It was interesting to see what everyone did with their box. I decide to use some of the glass tiles that I had for my washi paper project. Some of the tiles can't be used for jewelry because they still have pointy edges so I add them to the top of my box. Debbie had a bag full of old magazines and books, which I tore pages out of to mount to the back of my glass tiles. The sea glass is from one of my trips to Hawaii many years ago. There are several layers of paint on my box - none of which I can remember now. We started out using white glue to hold down the shells but had to switch to diamond glaze which worked out better once it dried.

CJ Sailing

Some photos (thank you Toni) from our sailing trip out on San Francisco By with my cousin-in-law Libbie Sheldon on her sail boar "while I can". It was on that really hot day we had last week so we didn't need our coats when we went out. For those of you who sail around here, that is a rare treat. The sky was so clear we had great views of the city. After the sail we all went out to dinner (ate way too much) walked around a bit to work off dinner then head out to our hotel. We got a little turned around so we took those really hilly streets (you know the ones - you can only see the hood of your car and not the road.) which was more like a amusement park ride!!! I'm waiting for the others to post the other adventures we had so I can link you directly to them.

Beach House

MJ has a beautiful beach house in Monterey Dunes. She was such a great hostess! MJ and her husband even made us dinner every night. Fritz wasn't at the beach house but he made us dinner ahead of time to take down with us. During the weekend we had all kinds of weather. One day it was super hot (even at the beach) then the next day it was thunder and lighting with some rain. On our last day there it was the usual overcast fog. It's was the perfect place for a crop.

CJ Retreat Review

WOW what a week I've had. My whole CJ (Circle Journal) group came out to California and we had a blast. Friday (during the heat wave) was a marathon of shopping day. We visited nine srcapbooking or rubber stamp stores - photo on the left is what I got. I picked up a lot of ribbon to use with my kimono cards. On Saturday we had a variety of classes which was a great mix of ideas and skill level - see top photo. We made a calendar that had a million parts (Rocio), learned how to gut a book, stitch the binding and turn it into a journal (Patti), take a clear plastic file folder and make a coupon holder (Patty) and three cards (Toni). I did my washi paper pendents which didn't need a lot of direction, so it was a pick up project when you had time. The best part of the whole week was finally getting to meet everyone in person. Some of us have known each other (via the internet) for four years but have never met in person. We had so much fin that we hope to do it again next year.

C.J. in town

After months of planning, my CJ (Circle Journal) group is finally coming to California! I've known some of the women in the group for over 4 years but have never met in person since we live in different states. We have done so many CJ together, we know a lot about each other and shared many thing via emails. It will be great to meet in person! We have a whirlwind of things planned. Today we will be heading up to San Francisco to go sailing (photo opt of the city from the water) then see the some of the local sights. Then on Friday we will visit ALL the scrapbook and rubber stamp stores in the Bay Area - yes, I mean we will visit all of them in one day. I glad I'm not one of the drivers. :) After that we will end up in Monterey at a beautiful beach house to have a marathon of classes. Most of us are art teachers or design team members so everyone is doing a class. From the itinerary of classes listed - it's going to be awesome. I won't be posting anything on my blog until the end of next week when I get back from my CJ retreat.

Evan's Graduation

Just got back from Seattle and my daughter's graduation from UW (University of Washington) It was one of those unusual days for Seattle. We all thought it was going to rain (see photo before the ceremony started) but the sun came out and cooked everyone on our side of the stadium. Last year it rained through the whole thing and the kids got soaked. If you look at the photo of the kids walking in, Evan is in front of the yellow umbrella next to the girl in the gold jacket. Both girls are her roommates and they wanted to make sure we could spot them. The kids were baking down there and there were a lot of sunburned necks. We had a nice barbecue at the house and I finally got to meet all the other parents.

She did it!

Our little cupcake is graduating!!! I don't know who is happier, our daughter who will be graduating this Saturday from the University of Washington or her Dad - NO MORE OUT OF STATE TUITION! Yes, he is doing the happy dance now! We are flying up to Seattle to help her celebrate along with all her roommates and their families. More pictures when I get back.

It's that time of year again - invasion of the zucchini plants!

One of the great things about living in the Bay Area is our long growing season for vegetables. Our zucchini plants (yes, we always plant too many) are going gang busters. I got a great cold soup recipe (more of a loose guideline) from a card making friend on what to do with that zucchini you missed picking the day before and when you find it in the morning, it grew to the size of a large leg over night. You will never find this size at the grocery store. :)
1 or 2 extra large zucchini - chopped up
1 large yellow onion - chopped up
2-3 cloves of garlic - mashed up
1 small can tomato paste
1 Tablespoon Cumin or Curry powder
salt and pepper
pinch of red pepper flakes
Bay leaf and whatever else looks good in your spice cabinet. Simmer all of the above in chicken stock until zucchini and onion are soft. Puree everything in a blender then chill. Adjust seasoning before serving

New Class - Washi Paper Under Glass

This is a new class I will be doing in July and my project for my visiting Circle Journal group coming out next week. You will make a two pendents and a set of four magnets. I was so excited when everything arrived on my door step on the same day. They are very addicting, I didn't want to stop. It's also a good way to use up all those washi paper scraps!

"I can't respond to any emails today something crashed on my computer and the mouse is missing."

I thought this was too funny and the kitten looks just like Mr. Purrcy when he was little.

Kitty Play Pen

Mr. Purrcy can't pass a box without checking it out. This is what I call his "kitty play pen". Everyone morning when I open the door to my studio, Purrcy will look for an open box. I usually have one since I use these plastic boxes to carry all my class supplies to the store when I teach. I throw a mouse in there for him and he will bat it around and finally toss it out. After that he runs around the studio chasing whatever paper scraps he can find then will settle down for one of his many cat naps.

Zindorf California Workshop Stamps.

Here are the stamp sets that Michelle Zindorf will be using in August. The stamp sets are by Innovative Stamp Creations and are included in your workshop fee.

Zindorf Workshop Udate

I know everyone is excited to see the samples that Michelle will be doing for her workshop out here is California but I'm going to make you wait a little longer. :) One hint is that Michelle will be using 14 different ink colors in workshop!!! The focus will be more on the techniques that Michelle is famous for.
All the materials will be supplied for the workshop. Part of the workshop fee will include lunch or dinner, rubber stamp pad (MZ favorite) Speedball brayer, Signo white gel pen, two stamp sets from Innovative Stamp Creations and a carrying case to take everything home. MZ will also be bringing out samples of her work that we all have seen on her great tutorials and blog.