moon

Last night's full moon...covered with clouds.

a chipboard anniversary!

Well…tomorrow is the 15^th anniversary of my wedding to my beloved husband! It's been an adventure. Due to the trials of this past 6 months financially [van, house, other], we will be having a quiet anniversary. That's needed, that's desired. We will play with the Cub Scouts [it's Den Night] and then we'll go home and sup on something simple and easy. The day will be romantic none-the-less…you don't have to spend to have a romantic time.

Out of curiosity I looked to see what the significance of 15 is to the rest of the world. While learning that the Fifteenth anniversary gift was Crystal, I became amused to find that for the 17^th anniversary my husband can give me CHIPBOARD! Won't he be excited about that!

Playful's Plaything

Playful spent most of this weekend leaping out from under the table and landing on the Charli dog. Charli is 16, blind, deaf...and not amused! Charli sighs, rolls her eyes and looks at me as if I have something to do with it! Playful is having a ball. The dog is her favorite toy!

Big Shot rocks!

Mommie tried running her Cuttlebug Embossing folder through the BigShot with CHIPBOARD! It worked!! I can't wait to get my own emboss folder and play with it. I loved the way it embossed cardstock and just had to know if it would do the chipboard. Yay, yay, yay. Maybe she'll send us a picture to post!!!
This is my new favorite toy!

Working on my Header...

Well...I've decided I want a picturesque header...I've been working on it. It's ok. I want it better. I will work on it more later when I can have some more helpful software. Right now I'm battling my computer to get *something*.

I like the picture. I like the text font [Cocaine Sans @ 1001freefonts.com].

perhaps I'll get the bugs worked out soon!

On Rain Clouds…

On rain clouds…

June

abundant rain

wild jungles in my yard

giant sunflowers provide shade

puddles bring pleasure to boy

promise of fresh vegetables from the garden

June

abundant repairs

van, dryer, water heater,

ceiling fan, television, shower, floor

raining under the house too

husband needing stitches

June

abundant thanks

family is healthy for the most part

the ceiling no longer leaks

all IS repairable—and just *things*

family and friends are a great comfort.

Happy Summer Solstice!

from Religious Tolerance.org site:

The Summer Solstice is also known as: Alban Heflin, Alben Heruin, All-couples day, Feast of Epona, Feast of St. John the Baptist, Feill-Sheathain, Gathering Day, Johannistag, Litha, Midsummer, Sonnwend, Thing-Tide, Vestalia, etc.
Overview
People around the world have observed spiritual and religious seasonal days of celebration during the month of June. Most have been religious holy days which are linked in some way to the summer solstice. On this day, typically JUN-21, the daytime hours are at a maximum in the Northern hemisphere, and night time is at a minimum. It is officially the first day of summer. It is also referred to as Midsummer because it is roughly the middle of the growing season throughout much of Europe.
"Solstice" is derived from two Latin words: "sol" meaning sun, and "sistere," to cause to stand still. This is because, as the summer solstice approaches, the noonday sun rises higher and higher in the sky on each successive day. On the day of the solstice, it rises an imperceptible amount, compared to the day before. In this sense, it "stands still."
(In the southern hemisphere, the summer solstice is celebrated in December, also when the night time is at a minimum and the daytime is at a maximum. We will assume that the reader lives in the Northern hemisphere for the rest of this essay.)
How people view solstice celebrations:
People view other religions in various ways, and thus treat the celebrations of other faiths differently:
For some people, religious diversity is a positive factor. They enjoy the variety of June celebrations, because it is evidence of wide range of of beliefs within our common humanity. They respect both their own religious traditions and those of other faiths for their ability to inspire people to lead more ethical lives.
Others reject the importance of all celebrations other than the holy day(s) recognized by their own religion. Some even reject their religion's traditional holy days if they are convinced that they have Pagan origins. This is a common occurrence with Easter and Christmas.
Some view other religions as being inspired, controlled, or even led by Satan. Thus the solstice celebrations of other religions are rejected because they are viewed as Satanic in origin.
Why does the summer solstice happen?
The seasons of the year are caused by the 23.5º tilt of the earth's axis. Because the earth is rotating like a top or gyroscope, the North Pole points in a fixed direction continuously -- towards a point in space near the North Star. But the earth is also revolving around the sun. During half of the year, the southern hemisphere is more exposed to the sun than is the northern hemisphere. During the rest of the year, the reverse is true. At noontime in the Northern Hemisphere the sun appears high in the sky during summertime, and low during winter. The time of the year when the sun reaches its maximum elevation occurs on the summer solstice -- the day with the greatest number of daylight hours. It typically occurs on, or within a day or two of, JUN-21 -- the first day of summer. The lowest elevation occurs about DEC-21 and is the winter solstice -- the first day of winter, when the night time hours reach their maximum.





Solstice at Stonehenge

Solstice at Astrological Musings

She Sleeps…

Most kitties when they are found face in the bowl are eating but not our newest family member. Last night I looked up from playing with my darling child long enough to notice that the kitten had fallen asleep in her food bowl—evidence that my son has been doing his job of playing with his kitten to wear her out so she will be ready for bed!

Fun with my new BigShot!

This page was done with my new BigShot from Sizzix/Ellison. I embossed punched out CM stars by gluing them onto a piece of paper and then putting the Outdoor denim cardstock on top of it and using the embossing platform with a cutting pad and embossing rubber & pad. VERY VERY fun. The night before I had out of curiosity embossed this and that to see if it would do what all they claim the Wizard does. It's awesome…embossed fibers/ribbons, templates, chipboard, punchies/diecuts…probably would have embossed the cat too if she would have sat still!

Then…I cut my new BIGZ die that came with the machine for the tag. I used the technique demonstrated at convention where you smudge on ink and them spritz it with water and dry the spots. Then I stamped with CTMH's new white pigment ink and the June Stamp of the Month. It turned out really cool.

Other things…circle punches and collage stamp coloring are typical watercolor techniques with watercolor pencils and shading. Glitter of course! All papers, inks and embellishments are CTMH except the yarn—bought on clearance at Hobby Lobby.

Hope you enjoy!