Sweetwater Designs

::: { Too Short

Its been about a year and a half between photos but I am amazed at the changes that have taken place. Today we scheduled hair appointments for the kids, school starts September 2nd and its tradition to start the new year off with a new look. 11" later Tayllar has achieved her look for this school year... she looks so much older, it is hard to believe the changes she has made.

::: { Before } :::

Her hair this morning was even longer than the before picture indicates.... 11" gone { still cannot believe it myself } and here is her 4th grade look.

::: { After } :::

::: Ruffled Edges :::

I love the ruffled edges on this Lilly... so { beautiful }. We are tackling mount washmore today, should be lots of fun. Laundry seems to be the one thing around the house I can never manage to keep under control. The kids are getting ready for a camping trip... so there is lots to wash and get ready to go. Camping... is without a doubt :::  not my thing ::: so I will be spending the weekend getting some much needed cleaning done, and hopefully some scrapbooking.

::: { All good work is done the way ants do things: Little by little. } :::
-  Lafcadio Hearn

::: A quick Hello :::

The last few days have been wildly crazy with lots and lots of stuff going on. We traveled to Lyman to see my grandma last week, visited a fabulous scrapbook store.. a fabric store... and a floral shop. It was so much fun.  I found some block letters :: { F A M I L Y that I hope to cover with decorative paper and display in my home, I am having trouble finding the right paper as of yet but I am sure I will find it. We { my mom, the kids, and I } are planning another trip on Tuesday. We are traveling to Vernal UT to visit my other grandma and my cousins for the day. We have jam packed a day trip with lots of fun ::: Dinosaur Museum, the Nursery { amazing flower varieties }, and of course every scrapbook store in town.... a quick lunch and an hour at the splash park and then we will be returning home.

The kids return back to school in just a few short weeks... I have a feeling September 2nd will be here before I know it. We have been trying to squeeze in a few fun activities everyday as we wrap up the last few weeks of summer. Tayllar will be going to an all girls :: End of Summer :: sleepover tonight, she is so excited... I am sure they will have lots of fun.

Hopefully I will get back into the stamping over the weekend and most definitely toward the end of next week as things unwind a bit. I have been organizing everything to get ready for some ::: { Power Scrapbooking... I purchased a Cricut Expressions and a ton of new cartridges... some new cuttlebug goodies and I cannot wait to show you all the fabulous paper I have found in my traveling. As for the yard... the last few days have been a friendly reminder of how suddenly things can cool down... today feels like Fall is creeping around the corner.

::: { Happy Boo to You } :::

I woke up yesterday feel horribly under the weather... so I immediately started the cold medicine regimen. For anyone who knows me well this is a sign that I will be staying away from stamps... I cannot cut a piece of paper to save my life when I am not feeling well, its almost like the creative side shuts down completely. However... despite it all I decided to make yet another spider card. It took me much longer than it normally would have to make it, but I am more than pleased with the results. { Are you tired of spider cards yet? } Oh I certainly hope not... I have had more fun with these little spiders, I cannot wait to share the rest of the spider projects for my Halloween Home Decor. Just need to wait for a few seasonal items to become available first. Of all the spider cards, this is definitely taking the top favorite spot.

:: { Supplies } ::

Stamps: Booglie Eyes, Batty for You, Web Wishes

Ink: Pumpkin Pie, Jet Black Stazon

Cardstock: Basic Black, Whisper White, Pumpkin Pie, DCWV pattern paper

Other: Marvy Uchida Scalloped / Circle, Scalloped Circle SU, 1 3/8",  1 1/4", 1/4" Circles SU, Black Brads Vintage SU, Spotted Ribbon May Arts, Orange Ribbon misc.

::: { A Soft Yellow } :::

The lilies in our yard just keep getting better and better. We purchased a variety of bulbs last year trying to { cheaply } increase the colors and variety that we had. We did purchase a few from the nursery but 95% of what we have is from the one variety pack.... and not just any variety pack... one we picked up at our local hardware store on clearance at the end of the season. And they sat the garage until the middle of the next summer... some were skeptical as to weather or not they were any good but we planted them anyway. The varieties and colors have been nothing short of amazing } :::

::: { The love of gardening is a seed once sown that never dies } ::: - Gertrude Jekyll

:: { Art Gallery } ::

Now you can view all the crazy creations I have made over the last year or two in my new Art Gallery. I had a hard time leaving so much behind on the old blog, now this site finally feels like home. I will be editing all the photos to include a materials list, but given there are nearly 100 images in the album, it may take me a while to get caught up.

::: { Art Gallery } :::

::: Coneflower :::

What a wonderful surprise after a day of rain. My garden has been neglected for the last week... I have had little or no desire to get out there and work, my plans today included some much needed yard work but I think I am coming down with a cold. I may have to put it off a few more days lol } :::

Garden Giggles } ::: I love walking around my garden... admiring the flowers and finding that one bloom that stands out from the rest... and thinking to myself { wow that is beautiful, when did I plant that? }

I am not sure where this coneflower came from... but I excited it has taken root in my garden.

::: { Cultivate the garden within } ::: -unknown

::: TCP Sketch Tuesday :::

Who doesn't love a fun sketch challenge? I love sketches, you start with a blueprint and you never know just where you will end up. In searching for some weekly sketch challenges I stumbled upon TCP Tuesday. Well, its obviously not Tuesday lol } ::: but maybe next week I will be on time.

For more details on this challenge, click here. So here is the sketch, ::: Fabulous ::: isn't it?

And here is my card, I turned the card from horizontal to vertical. While I continue to be a huge brad enthusiast... I simply ran out of room and had to omit them. I also may have gotten a :: little :: carried away with the layers.

::: { Spiders, Oh my Golly } :::

Stamps: All Holidays, Web Wishes, Batty For You

Cardstock: Pumpkin Pie, Basic Black, Whisper White, DCWV Pattern Paper

Ink: Jet Black Stazon, Pumpkin Pie

Other: White Gel Pen, Black Pen, Scalloped Punch SU, Marvy Uchida Square / Scalloped Square, Scalloped Circle SU, 1 3/8 " and 1 1/4" Circle Punches SU, Word Window Punch SU, Spotted Ribbon May Arts, Orange Ribbon misc

::: Lil Spiders :::

I got out of the bed this morning, unable to sleep in any longer... and decided to start stamping first thing. I had been checking out many of the challenges on Splitcoaststampers and decided to try another Featured Stamper challenge, FS # 77. Check out the challenge here.

It is funny how things, even half asleep come to you. What started as a challenge... developed into one card.. and then two... and now I have this vision of an entire set of Halloween decor to create for my home.

So this card... becomes ::: { From our Web to Yours } :::

and this card..... becomes ::: { Lil Spiders } :::

::: { Supplies } :::

Stamps: Web Wishes, Booglie Eyes

Cardstock: Whisper White, Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie, Designer Paper DCWV

Ink: Jet Black Stazon

Other: Ribbon May Arts and misc ribbon, Silver Brads, 1/4" Circle Punch, 1 1/4" and 1 3/8 " Circle Punch, White Gel Pen, Scalloped Punch

::: Riverside Nursery :::

   

There are two stores I love to visit most in this world.... the scrapbook store and ::: { garden shops. I took a leisurely drive to our local nursery the other day after visiting a few scrapbook stores and wanted to the fabulous sprays of colors I encountered along the way. I didn't just happen to find myself at the nursery because I intended to shop... in our area there is very little left this time of year that isn't fall blooming... mums and such. I went on a mission to find what they are planting in the shade zones, my mom a local master gardener is always reminding me that our sun intensity makes our  ::full shade:: zones more of a partial shade. Like many things she has said over the years... this just doesn't seem to stick.

::: { There is always music amongst the trees in the garden, but our hearts must be very quiet to hear it } ::: -unknown

So here are some of the things I found under the trees at Riverside Nursery... When you enter the nursery one of the first scenes you come across is a pond and small water fall. This was one of the first spots I wanted to inspect as there is a tree and other barriers that filter the light leaving these plants with the same amount of light my shade zones receive. I found several varieties that I expected to see like the hostas but I also noticed that they had a few geranium varieties, phlox and some coneflower varieties.

Being a true :: Flybaby :: I am always thinking about clutter... and yard clutter is just one thing I have a hard time with. While I know that several selected pieces can add a very soothing touch to the yard I never know quite where to start. At Riverside they have a ton of fabulous pieces sprinkled throughout their flowerbeds and displays... some truly ornamental and some more functional.

My last fabulous share.... a beautifully planted container. This is one thing our nursery is known for... their greenhouse is wonderfully decorated with a variety of planters. While this is not something I am currently into due to the cost of replacing annuals year after year, its still an eye treat every time I visit.