From my Hubby

Jeff has been helping to work on our landscaping this year. He decided to double the size of our sitting area, by our little pond, so we could fit this table his parents handed down to us a few years ago. We still have to do the finishing touches but I love it. He also installed a new waterfall filter and larger pump in the pond.

I'm so thankful for all our rain. We have moved so many plants around I was afraid they would all die. Here's a few pics of all our gardens. We still need to get the mulch and I didn't get any annuals this year so it looks a little dull.

My largest garden. In the 5 yrs since I started this garden we have dug it up twice due to problems with the septic system. it always comes back bigger and better than before.

Over half of our plants were given to us by my family and Friends of my Mother's who needed to thin down their gardens. In fact I was given so many plants that a friend of mine has a garden close to the size of mine with plants I had no place to put.

Enjoy your day I have to bake cakes for a 3 tier Graduation cake, and some cupcakes, for my son's girlfriend Leigha's High School Graduation party on Sunday. Then the two of them leave for Boston on Tuesday to meet up with a friend of Leigha's that is moving to England with here two daughters. Leigha and Zak are going to stay there for two months to be nannies to the two little girls while the woman gets settled. The woman is hoping to get them to Euro Disney in France and also to Italy before they come home at the end of August just in time to start college. Talk about the chance of a life time. I wish I could have found a summer job like that when I was younger. Thanks for looking I promise its back to stamping now.

New SU Catties

Ok all my Chat & Stamp club members, I have your new SU Catties. They just arrived as I was getting ready to post to my blog. Look for an email letting you know when we will have a New Cattie party.
I plan on doing two new clubs:

• Stamping 101 - learning basic stamping techniques and how to use the tools.
• Picture This - Fun ways to scrap, display, and share your photos

Please Email me if you are interested in joining one of my clubs at Michelle.fairbrother@hotmail.com I hold all of my clubs at my house in Branchport NY.

The kids chore chart

Since I'm one of those awful Moms that make their kids do chores I made a chore chart to help them keep track of what chore they had for the day. Okay maybe I should say what chore Jeff, my husband, was going to make them do that day...lol they never listen to me. Jeff says I'm way too soft;)
Each kid has one main chore to do, that's the top row. A chore they my have to help me with on my bad pain days, that's in row two. The very bottom row is extra chores they may have to do or help with on the weekend.
The chores are held on by magnets and usually get moved by which ever child is being the bossiest that night. So yes you guessed it sometimes it was moved twice, the little brats. As life goes My oldest, Zak, when he got a job that ment he could just pay the younger ones to do his chore. I didn't care as long as the chore was done and nobody was fighting. Have a great day. I'm off to reorganize my stamps Out with the soon to be retired and making room for the new to make me inspired :)

scrap page #3

This is my 8x8 page. The Girl on the far right is the same Cassie that decorated the cake for her daddy in the other scrap page. I bought the Under the stars stamp set just for all of the camping photos I have of them camping in the Adirondacks.

Scrap page #2

My 12x12 page

This was a riot. One of the best things about getting behind on scrapping is reliving the day when you finally do get to the photos. She spent a couple of hours making this cake for her Daddy. Its hard to believe how long her hair is at just over 4yrs old. at this point we had already cut 15inches off her hair and donated it. I'm glade she like long hair because at 11 yrs old I would have to get her hair cut every week to keep it short. it grows sooo fast.

I'm on the road to stampin again

I'm back! Medication trial # 2 was horrible. Sleeping was almost impossible or maybe it was staying awake that was hard...not sure. How ever you look at it I was doing one or the other off and on night and day. The swelling in my hands has decreased enough to see my knuckles and I no longer feel like I have clubs for hands. I can even almost text on my cell and hitting only one key at a time, most of the time. Any way I never thought to share my Scrapbook pages I did for my Artisan Award entry. I'm not much of a scrapbooker but I was happy with them.


My Parents over fifty years of marriage.

Distressed Flower

Stamps: Embrace Life

Paper: Basic Black, Kiwi Kiss, Tangerine Tango, Whisper White

Inks: Basic Black, Kiwi Kiss, Tangerine Tango & a Black Stampin' Write marker

Accessories: Pretties Kit half pearl, Lg Oval and Wide oval punches, Bone Folder

Technique: Paper Distressing

This is Club card #3. To make the flower I used the bone folder to distress a 21/2 x 21/2" piece of Tangerine Tango CS until it was very soft and the CS was starting to separate. Then I stamped the flower and cut it out. Glued it to the White CS then gently pulled up the edges around the petals until they curled up slightly. I wish I could take credit for this idea but once again due to my bad med reaction I cased this card too. Thanks Monika your idea was awesome. I tried to leave a comment on her site but for some reason I wasn't able to. So when you check out her site, http://www.stampnmad.typepad.com/, please tell her I said Thank You.

Have a great day everyone! I'm off to run to town and when I come back I hope to catch up on some stamping Challenges I missed. When I do I'll post them. Happy Stamping!

Birthday Train

Stamp set: Choo Choo, On Your Birthday, & Right on Track wheel

Paper: Brilliant blue, Real red, Yo Yo Yellow, & Going Grey

Inks: Brilliant blue, Real Red, Yo Yo yellow,Chocolate Chip wheel cartridge, Green Galore, & Bashful Blue

Accessories: Dimensionals, Hobby Blade, & Boho Blossoms Punch

Here is club card #2. Even though it looks like a grey sky its not the sky is sponged blue. The dimensionals caused a shadow when I scanned the card. I have to say my sister Annette was about to shoot me with all the cutting they had to do this month:) Sorry Annette but since this was the last club until Sept you will be fine :P I love this card it's just such a fun looking card, thanks to rgardengloves on SCS for the idea, I'm sure my nephew will love it for his 2nd B-day.

Fun Grad card

Stamp set: Just Beachy, Starring You, On Your Birthday & Lazy Days wheel

Paper: Bashful Blue, Pumpkin Pie, Naturals White

Inks: Basic Black, Pumpkin Pie, Versa mark, & Yo Yo Yellow, Only Orange, Creamy Caramel Marker

Accessories: Black EP, Aqua Pen

This is the 1st of the 3 projects that I did for my club this month. I had planned on doing a Flip Flop card but my hands and brain must not have liked the idea because I just couldn't pull it together, so I just did the Flop with no Flip;) I cased the card idea from Amanda Coughin at http://www.stampvamps.com/, thanks my club loved it! Please remember you are welcome to CASE my club cards as long as you give some credit to me and in this case some credit to Amanda also because the front of my card looks so much like hers. Thanks and Happy Stamping!

I'm still here

Sorry I haven't posted, but due to some new medication my hands have been too swollen to do anything. I'm off that med and before I start the next trial med I hope to get a few cards done to post later today. Thanks for being patient.
A little back ground in case you are interested why the meds. I had carpel tunnel surgery done on both hands about 4 yrs ago. The Dr. fixed that problem BUT after my left hand was done I woke up from surgery with pain, nothing unusual or worse that the right hand was, and the pain never went away :( They have yet to diagnose what is causing it. I had an MRI done and they did find some deterioration in my neck. I just got done with a 2yr court battle with comp to include my neck. So any way I just started seeing another new Dr (this is like the 5th Dr I have been sent too) for pain management. Anyway that basically means that once again I have to retry all the different meds so HE can see how I react to them. UGH I tried to tell him that I don't do well on most of them and they cause me lots of problems. Its is ALL in my records, but no he has to see for himself and try a new combinations. So what everrr its not them that has to put up with all the side affects, which by the way I don't react well to pain killers that's part of the problem. Ok deep breath ....thanks for reading my vent. I'm off to clean up from my club last night and do some stamping to post later. Have a great day

Heartfelt - Good Bye :(

Stamp set: Heartfelt Thanks

Paper: Elegant Eggplant, Baja Breeze, Pacific Point, Kiwi Kiss, whisper White

Inks: black, kiwi Kiss, Elegant Eggplant

Accessories: Eyelet punch, key tag punch, Aqua pen

Technique: Watercolor

This is my first card made for a Demo challenge from SCS. I wasn't to sure about the colors they said to use But WOW I love it. I can't wait for the next one. This is going to be my swap at the 1st Friday get together with my up line and some of her other down line girls. We have a great time and always enjoy the pot luck lunch YUM! If you are interested in Becoming a SU Demo please contact me. I would love to help you get started and join us at our 1st Friday meetings. I'm part of a great team that supports and encourages each other nomatter what our goal is!

SU Retirerment Lists Order online through my web site

Click on any of these to see the Specials
SU Retired List 2009
Decor Elements 2009
Last chance sale-> Get stuff while you can! It won't last long!

Host a Workshop, Get Extra Rewards
During the month of June:

host a $250-$399.99 workshop and get $20 in additional hostess dollars

or

host a $400 workshop, and get an additional $40 in hostess dollars!

Gold Canyon June Specials

To order some of these awesome Candles and cleaning supplies visit my Husband Jeff's web site