A New Camera

I just got a new camera today.  So excited!  Here are some practice shots that I took this afternoon.  

{By the way, thanks, Dad, for all the advice and help today in picking out a camera!  I was lost without you!}

  

{My puppy, Titan}

{Flowers on the front porch}

 

{Cucumber flowers}

 

{Tomatoes}

 {Bean blossoms}

 

{Basil} 

 {Aloe Vera}

A Simple Gift to Make

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Want a frugal and simple gift to make?  How about a photo/recipe card holder? These are super easy to make and cost under two dollars.

All you need are these larger binder clips, ribbon, patterned paper, and UHU glue.

Cut a piece of scrapbook paper so that it can go around the outside of the binder clip (the black part).  I just measured the paper around it and marked off where I should cut.  I used a paper cutter to get a straight edge.

Next use the UHU glue to glue the paper to the clip.

Using a long piece of ribbon, wrap the ribbon up one side of the clip.  I start at the top and leave a little of one end loose (enough to tie a bow with) and then use the longer end to wrap the one side of the clip. This means you have to wrap the ribbon down the clip and then come back up with it so that it meets the other loose end.  Then you tie the loose ends into a bow.  Trim the ends so they aren't too long.

See?

I then take shorter pieces of ribbon of various coordinating colors and knot them on the other side. At the top of that pile of ribbon, you can take a brad and slip its back end in between the prongs of the clip. Then bend the brads ends so that it is secure.  It is probably hard to see in this picture.  You could also get jewelry wire and beads to decorate your clip. Just twist the wire about the prong and do "curls" with the wire (by curling it round a pencil).  Attach small beads to each end of the wire.

 You can then use your decorated binder clip to hold a recipe card or a picture!

Happy Crafting!

Happy Birthday to....

ME!

The first picture is of my 1st birthday.  The second is of me with Grandpa and the last is my favorite picture of my dad and I.

Our Weekend Trip- Talkeetna and Denali

This past weekend we went to Talkeetna, a small town south of Fairbanks, to take a jet boat tour through Mahay's Riverboat Service. We took a 2 hour jet boat excursion on the Susitna, Chulitna, and Talkeetna rivers. Notice all the "na's" at the end of the names of the rivers. "Na" means river in the Athabaskan language (the Indians of interior Alaska). During the jet boat tour we went ashore and our guide talked about the Natives of the area and their lifestyle. Just to explain a few of the pictures...the big mountain is Denali (or Mt. McKinley). Denali means "Great One" in the Athabaskan tongue. Alaskans tend to use "Denali" instead of Mt. McKinley. The row of three mountains are Mt. Foraker, Mt. Hunter and Denali in that order. You will notice that while on land our guide was carrying a shotgun. There is always a danger of meeting a bear so she carried it for our protection. Fortunately, we didn't see one! You will also see a tree with an eagle's nest. This nest is about 7 feet in diameter! There is also a picture of Titan...this was his first official camping trip with us...he was a great traveler!

What to do when you don't have the kids: Part 2

Years ago when the kids were younger (I know this is hard to believe!) I was normally caught up on my albums. As the kids got older I got farther behind. I also started stamping when a friend from church introduced me to it. That definitely didn't help my scrapbooking either! I was dividing my time between scrapbooking and stamping. Eventually I was stamping more than anything else. I think there was more motivation because I was able to sell some of my cards. But I truly want to stay current with my scrapbooks. It was one of my goals this year to get caught up. By caught up I mean about six months behind the current date. As it stands now I am about 18 months behind in each album (I do an album for each boy and then one for Tim and I). This wouldn't be a big deal except the farther I get behind the more I lose my love of scrapbooking. Not because I don't love to scrapbook, but because I feel like I have to hurry to get the pages done so I am not so far behind. If I am caught up I just enjoy the process so much more. So since the boys are away doing activities this week I sat down today and did some scrapbooking. I have made it to 2008! I am so excited!!! Here are a few of the pages....

This last one doesn't have journaling on it yet....

More Burrowing Owl Photos

Earlier I had shared pictures of burrowing owls that my Dad had taken. Here are a few more...

Frog for lunch!

Mamma with the babies

Happy 4th of July!

Photos courtesy of Harlan Humphrey (Dad).

We have Titan!!!

We were able to get him a bit early...isn't he so cute?! He is calm and doesn't bark or whine which is making life easy. He is pretty good about not relieving himself in the house, but we have had about one accident. And the thing I was worried about the most, nighttime, hasn't been a problem. He sleeps in his kennel all night without ever getting up! He are some pictures of him yesterday...his first full day with us!

What's for Dinner?

If you are a burrowing owl, a mouse is a great entree.

But it might be hard to get him down. So throw back your head, close your eyes, and swallow hard! Photos by Harlan Humphrey (my dad!).

Catching Bugs....

Photos courtesy of Dad. Thanks, Dad!

Summer is here!

We are in the high 70's -low 80's! Definitely summer here! The picture above comes from my dad. I am assuming he took the photo in South Dakota. It is such a summery photo that I thought I would add it here.

Beautiful Birds

More photos from Dad....