Cheyenne Visit

Today we traveled 1 hour north to visit Cheyenne, WY. It was Frontier Days week and we saw most of the parade among the big crowd.There were horse,horses, and all sorts of vehicles along with floats,antique cars,historical re-enacters, and much more.After the parade, we walked to the Nelson Museum of the West. The items included there were wonderfully  displayed. Photos were permitted, a rare thing in museums. I really enjoyed seeing the bead work from the various Native American nations/tribes. There were handcrafted dolls including Inuit and blankets along with ivory carvings from walrus tusks. My mind was flooded with ideas for card making after seeing the beautiful blanket in the collection.As we walked down the street, l stopped to take photos of some of the  buildings. The brick work on the some of the old buildings looked fresh and it was hard to believe the designs were from the early 1800s.

Colorado Wild Flowers

Since I have been here, I have seen some very pretty flowers growing wild in the areas we have explored on walks and while on drives up to the nearby mountains. We are not located far from Estes Park, a town called the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park. The rock formations on the side of the road are breathtaking and wildflowers are hidden here and there among the rocks.My favorite flower I have seen so far is a Showy Milkweed. I investigated on line to find out it's name. I hope to visit  a paper crafting  store to see if they sell a stamp of it as it would be a great memento of our time here.

Birthday Card

I needed to make a birthday card for a special friend far away.I used the Marianne Design stamp Don and Daisy that I bought at the recent rubber stamping show out here in Loveland,Colorado. Sheree from Candilay Creations was so helpful when I shopped in her booth. She had just received the collection of stamps so I was lucky to find one at the show. It was stamped in Mementos Tuxedo Black ink and then water colored with Distress Inks. I like the results and hope she does too. The two sentiments ,stamped on torn  kraft papers were from ODBD from the Sewn with Love set. A special bow and the card is complete and off in the mail.

Weekend Fun

This past weekend ,my husband and I visited the French Nest Open Air Market in Ft. Collins,Colorado.It was fun and I saw so many ideas there for re-purposing vintage items. I bought some vintage trims at a booth for my card making. One crafter made memory books out of older Golden books. There were many jewelry booths. One made bracelets out of vintage silverware forks . The tines were curled and the handle wrapped around your arm . Very pretty but a bit out of my budget.Bob took a photo or two for me as  I had forgotten my camera.This booth had sweet berry baskets painted and lined for storage that caught my eye. The French Market is held once a month during the summer and I'm hoping we can visit it again next month before we return to Michigan.

Rubber Stamping show

 Over the weekend I was able to attend a stamping show right in Loveland. It was held at The Ranch. There were many companies and I even saw Paula Haillnan from Heritage Handcrafts. I took a class with her many years ago. She is closing her business so I was glad to be able to get a few more of her brass stencils to add to my collection. I tried out the new Sizzix  fold dies at the Stamp on It booth. and was able to buy a brand new Marianne  Design stamp at the Candilay Creations  booth.I did several make and takes at the various booths. At B&J Art Stamps, I completed this great southwest Christmas card front.Their stamps  were unique. In their make and take, we  embossed the image plus snow puff was added. I haven't used that technique in years. It reminded me to pull out the vintage stuff I already own to use when I get back home again.

Neighborhood Visitors

The other afternoon we had some visitors right across from the apartment. My husband came home from work, said grab your camera and follow me. I did as he asked and was surprised to see a group of elk standing on the grass across the 5 lane street out our front window. During rush hour,they negotiated the traffic and started to nibble on the trees in the grassy area there. We live 4 blocks from a nature park area,so I guess I wasn't too surprised that critters wander. They sat for a while and then got up nibbled the trees a bit more and crossed the street again to move on. The drivers stopped to let the group pass back across the street. Speaking to a neighbor also taking photos, it was a rare occurrence so we were lucky to witness their visit.There have been many forest fires nearby and most of the state is experiencing a drought as well.

Hello there

I am trying to blog once more. I am currently living in Loveland ,Colorado.My husband is on an extended working assignment here and I packed up and joined him for the summer.I am a paper crafter and packed what I could in my suitcase to continue to create with limited materials.I brought a small collection of Sizzix and Cuttlebug mini dies and my Sidekick.My Zig markers plus 10 Tim Holtz Distress markers and inks are my coloring options .I included 12 sets of cling stamps,a paper cutter,scissors ,and adhesives along with 4 packages of cardstock. The only punch I grabbed was a corner rounder. So  here I go.