Sketch-abilities DT Entry

Holly Hooven has started a new sketch site called Sketch-abilities. She is having a DT call, and just extended it until the end of the month. I love this first sketch, as it is something WAY outside my normal way of thinking. Here it is:


Here's my take on the sketch. Embraced some white space and used a grocery bag for kraft paper.

First two DreamGirls layouts

So my friend, Dolores, and her friend, Debbie, started a new challenge blog called DreamGirls. These are my first two layouts from their site! Thanks for the inspiration, Girls!

The first challenge was to use the word dream, plus scallops and paint on a layout. The paint is a bit difficult to see here; it's white, and makes a frame and mat for the photo. I'm into recycling lately, so I also put a piece of lemon bag on there!


The second one was to use a reality TV show for the title, felt, and stamping. I stamped the buttefly on vellum, and stamped the frame.

Thai New Year

Yesterday we had quite a fun and new experience, Thai New Year. Our good friend, Sroison, is Thai, and she invited us to the celebration at her in-laws' house. We arrived late, as the kids had a birthday party to attend beforehand. (Fun party, BTW. Lots of great animal crafts. My good friend, Katrina, is a rockstar of a Mom!)Anyway, upon our arrival, the minivan was doused with buckets of water, and we were greeted by a bunch of kids with water hoses and squirt guns, as well! This is a Thai tradition (of which we were unaware.) We had been told to bring a change of clothes, but I had no idea it would be like that! The kids were too scared to get out of the van, so I had to call in on my mobile phone to negotiate. Jack eventually joined in the fun. I think Charli would have, too, if we had arrived earlier. What a fun time! Additionally, the hostess, Ayre, prepared an amazing Thai feast. We were so lucky to be invited!

I tell you what, though. If we're invited back next year, we'll come prepared with loaded squirt guns and tarps for our arrival! LOL! I didn't get any photos, but use your wildest imagination, and you're probably dead-on!

Santa Barbara Pics with Humpback Whales

We just returned about an hour ago from our weekend in Santa Barbara. Of course, I could not wait to post pics and videos from our amazing trip! Though the weather wasn't as warm as it usually is when we go (we usually go Memorial Day or early October,) we enjoyed ourselves just as much, if not more! In fact, I would say it was our most memorable Santa Barbara trip yet! We did our usual buggy ride, and this year, they had these cool, new buggies which were much easier to use! We went for about an 8-mile loop. Aren't we cute?


And, of course, a Santa Barbara trip at our favorite little boutique hotal isn't the same without some pool and jacuzzi time. They kept the pool almost as warm as the jacuzzi!



Of course, you really want to read (and see!) about our Whale Watching expedition, right? Well, look how happy we were!

And why shouldn't we be happy? After all, we got to see real, live, wild humpback whales! Apparently we were lucky, as they were a bit "early" this year. Otherwise, we would have been looking for grey whales. We did spot one... they are travelling this time of year (not feeding,) so we didn't get to see much of it. But the highlight was the six, yes SIX humpback whales we saw! We saw two different groups of three. They were obviously different groups because of their tale coloration. We also were lucky enough to see a rare site, a basking shark. This creature was very curious about us and came RIGHT up to the boat! Here are a few pics and videos of these spectacular encounters!

One more layout

Totally multitasked with this one. It is my layout for Art and Design class at The School of Scrap. I did double duty and used the Be Somebody song from Music Class for inspiration. And it doesn't stop there. I used it for a white space layout with a homemade embellishment and one color at ScrapLove, AND I used Dolores' Doodle Challenge from March over at Treasured Scrapbooking for inspiration. I really have fun using my noodle to multitask challenges!