Neat Freak

Awhile back, we were discussing our working spaces on Paper Traders and this is the photo I posted showing my craft room in the neatest state it has ever been in... I cleaned and organized for hours before bringing out the camera:


Several people wanted to see what my room looks like in the midst of a creative effort, so I took this picture tonight... if you look closely, you'll see a sneak peak of my Birdie Birdie chipboards:

(This is what my room looks like more often than not! That's why I have the fold-away screen tucked in the corner - so I can hide the mess if someone comes by =)

Wyoming Wildflowers and Landscape

I literally took several HUNDREDS of photos on our camping trip this past weekend. We went up into the Beartooth Mountains in northwestern Wyoming (and a bit of southwestern Montana). Not all of my photos came out great, but here are several that will hopefully give you an idea of all the beautiful stuff we saw...


This little chipmunk moved so fast, it was hard to catch him with my camera...

A portion of the panorama at the top of the Chief Joseph Scenic Bypass - you can see the switchbacks leading down to the valley below and, in the very far back on the right, the mountains where we camped...

Tiny little alpine flowers (Lupine?)...

Many of the flowers hadn't even started blooming yet - summer is slow coming in the highest mountain peaks...

Here's a busy little bumblebee, hard at work...

Some hardy little alpine flowers - seeming to grow right out of the rocks!

The flowers were everywhere - growing in even the most unlikely of places...

More little alpine flowers...

Indian Paintbrush...

Beartooth Lake...

A waterfall along Beartooth Creek - this is looking across a steep, wide canyon - that's a LOT of water!
Tiny little Forget-Me-Nots...

Even more alpine flowers...

Long Lake near "Top of the World"...

These are some of the smallest flowers I have ever seen...

An interesting snow melt...

In the distance, Pilot and Index peaks...

Hard to tell from this photo, but there is so much water coming down here that the creek has overflowed its banks and is pouring down the mountainside in a wide, foaming rush - that white in the background is not snow - it's water!

These pink (Wild Geraniums) and purple (I don't know what kind?) flowers were everywhere we looked...

Even the pine trees are blooming...

If you want a little perspective on this photo, check out the people standing on the bridge in the distance - the force of the water coming down here is phenomenal!

At the tippy-top of the Beartooths, looking down onto alpine lakes and glacial canyons - still a lot of snow up there for the middle of July...

These pink flowers are called Shooting Stars and they're my Dad's favorite! If you know how tiny Forget-Me-Nots are, then you'll realize that these rocket-like blossoms are only about an inch long...

There was a whole mountain meadow filled with these blooms...

A cute little visitor...

Cody Stampede Independence Day Parade

These are just a FRACTION of all that we saw in the parade on July 4th... enjoy!

Wyoming Wildlife

I was so excited because I got to see my bear! This is a photo my dad took... we only had a brief moment to get the shot as the park rangers were already on site and moving the traffic along as quickly as possible.

I also saw a moose (sorry no picture) and lots of other critters - deer, hawks, antelope, chipmunks, rock chucks, squirrels, etc. Unfortunately, there were lots of mosquitoes, too!

Mind your own beeswax

These are my beeswax collaged ATC's for an upcoming Paper Traders swap. This was a kind of challenging technique and we made quite a mess while working. We also discovered that some wax is much better than others so I recommend paying for the premium stuff... much easier to work with! These all incorporate real flowers, leaves, seed pods, etc. and the wax gave everything a vintage look.

Going wild in Wyoming

Well, not really crazy wild... but this afternoon we are heading into the wilds for a weekend of camping. I have been in Wyoming for the past week, visiting family. I've taken lots of photos while I'm here so I'll make a longer post with pictures when I get home next week. For now, I need to help get the trailer packed so we can head out! Hope I get to see a bear =)

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

I altered six of these postcards to represent what I love about the place that I live - SNOW! It's hard to tell from the photo, but I used fun flock over the tree, shrubs, and slope to give it a fuzzy, snowy effect. These are for a Paper Traders swap.