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SNAP: A Day in Chicago

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Tracy and I took the train into Chicago last week to see the current exhibition, “Van Gogh’s Bedrooms,” at The Art Institute. Van Gogh painted three variations of his bedroom in his yellow house in Arles, and this may be the first time they’ve been hung together. It’s certainly the first time a museum has created a exhibition focusing on them, and it was fascinating. I learned a lot about his life from the exhibition as well as enjoying the paintings. I was surprised that taking photographs was allowed. The first photo in the collage is the first known self-portrait Van Gogh painted. The second one is actually a digital projection of the three bedroom paintings which zoom in and out showing the differences between the three paintings. 

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After a delicious lunch at The Gage, we strolled up Michigan Avenue. I loved the yellow sight-seeing boat that was taking off down the river as we walked across the bridge. A friend told us about Eataly, so we stopped to check it out. It’s a wonderland of Italian eateries and food shops. I took quite a few photos, but my favorite was this display of cookbooks. I wished we weren’t so full from lunch, because the gelato looked delicious. Michigan Avenue is lined with exclusive shops and department stores, but we didn’t do any shopping. We walked almost to the end of the avenue, and although we were just short of getting our 10,000 steps for the day, decided to take the bus back to the train station. In less than half an hour, we were back in Evanston. Now that we know how easy it is to get in and out of the city, we’ll be planning more excursions when we come to visit Sarah and Adam.

Less is More: White Space That’s Not White

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It’s good to be home, despite the 4 inches of snow we got as a welcome home gift from Mother Nature. This week’s challenge at Less is More is an interesting one. One of their designers questioned whether or not my dotted backgrounds for the last week’s challenge constituted “white space,” and she was probably correct. This week the challenge asks for colored “white space,” and I have a birthday card that fits the bill.

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The cardstock is from Simon Says and the patterned paper from an old MME’s paper pack, “Go Fly a Kite.” I used Papertrey Ink’s “Sentiment Splits” die to create the curved bottom of the top layer, and the candle and sentiment both come from Papertrey’s “Wishes Come True.” I added a bit of Glossy Accents to enhance the flame of the candle.

I spent most of the first day home unpacking and organizing, and sadly, I think there’s still at least one more day for the organizing piece. I took some projects to Chicago to work on, and got a good start, but have more to do. Hope your week is a productive and happy one!

Polka Dots: Round Two

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I have another card for the Less is More Challenge, “Polka Dots,” this week. It uses the same paper pack as the last card, but a different design.

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So, once again, a piece of Silver Luxe paper from Papertrey Ink, this time with a sentiment in silver, die cut from the Wet Paint series (the stamped sentiment as well.) I finished it off with three enamel dots from My Mind’s Eye. I love these card size paper packs which make for a quick, but lovely, card.

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This angle gives you a better view of the shimmer of the card stock and the die cut. 

SNAP: Easter

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Celebrating Easter in Chicago is always fun. Sarah’s church in Winnetka is lovely, and the service is always beautiful. Caleb’s Cherub Choir sang during the service, and the weather was good enough that the Easter egg hunt could be held outside. When we got home from lunch, Caleb got the first of eight clues (drawn by his talented father) for a scavenger hunt to find his Easter basket. He couldn’t wait to begin. I have lots of great photos which will eventually show up in my project life pages, but for now here’s a collection for Helena’s meme: SNAP.

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We’re spending today in the city. For all our trips to Chicago, we usually spend all our time on the North Shore. There’s an exhibit at the Art Institute I’m anxious to see, and I’m hoping to get to a few other sights as well. The weather is somewhat iffy, so we’ll see how it goes.

 

Less is More: Polka Dots

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This week’s challenge at Less is More is Polka Dots. I’m a huge fan; I just bought a cute hat in Florida and the initial draw was the black and white polka-dotted ribbon on the band. I’m also a fan of Papertrey Ink’s Silver Luxe patterned paper pack, which makes for a quick and easy card:

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A gold die cut of “Swoosh” and one stamp from the same set, a little heart from an old punch, and it’s done. It’s hard to see the silver from this angle, so here’s another look.

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Hope your Easter weekend was a good one! We got sunshine and warm temperatures for the egg hunt after church, but it turned cloudy and rainy around dinner time. I’ll be back with pics later this week.

 

Easter Crafting

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Before I had grandchildren, I don’t think I did much Easter crafting, but now it’s lots of fun. Two of these cute bunny boxes work for the current Card Concept Challenge, “Naturally Pink,” so I thought I’d post them a couple days early. All three of them are too young to be visiting my blog, so no surprise will be ruined.

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When I saw the cute projects done by the design team at Papertrey Ink for this set, “Bunny Basket,” released in February, I couldn’t resist. I die cut the bunny from felt, used some Black Enamel Accents for the eyes, a Copic marker for some pink cheeks, and pom-poms from Michaels for the tails.

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The sentiment is also from “Bunny Basket” stamped on a “Double-ended Banner” die. The patterned paper for the Easter eggs came from the Simon Says March kit from Carta Bella (“Spring.) The “grass” was cut with Martha Stewart Fringe Scissors from Simply Chartreuse paper. Everything was layered on a Spring Rain circle cut with Simon Says “Stitched Circles.” It all got put on a pillow box made with the Papertrey Ink die from Lovely Lady (a great new pink paper) and tied with ribbons from my stash. Inside I put some chocolate eggs and some cash. Two of the grandchildren are definitely old enough to appreciate a little spending money.

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Two pink boxes for the little girls, and a yellow one from another new Papertrey color, “Bright Buttercup,” for Caleb. 

Not very springlike here today. There’s a strong wind blowing, and snow flurries are in the forecast. Later this week, temperatures in the 60’s are forecast. Typical western New York spring weather.

SNAP: The Lions of Longbeach

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Helena’s meme, SNAP, causes me to be on the lookout for opportunities to make photographic connections. Here’s this week’s edition, and you can find others right here.

There was a small shopping plaza a little over a mile from our condo on Longboat Key, and I walked down there several times to mail letters, make dinner reservations, and pick up a few items. I was interested that the home owners along this stretch of the highway seem to favor lions as decorative elements. I had a collection of five to choose from for SNAP, but ended up using only three so that I could include one that stands outside The Ringling Museum in Sarasota. He was just too beautiful to be left out. (#1 in the collage)

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It occurs to me (a few days late) that some of these are items for one of the alternatives for the Winter Scavenger Hunt (an animal statue). I didn’t worry about finding the alternates once I found all 21 items on the list.

We got home Sunday night after a long, 12 hour drive. That wasn’t the original intent, but Saturday night when we realized it was just 12 hours we decided to go for it. The weather was great, and there wasn’t a lot of traffic. No snow anywhere to be seen, so that was a blessing! It’s chilly here, but no complaints. Last year there were still several feet of snow in our yard when we got back. This year the daffodils are peeking up through the soil. Big improvement!

 

Five in Five: Myakka River State Park

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Sunday we met Tracy’s high school friend and her husband for a boat tour and walk in the Myakka River State Park, about an hour from where we are staying in Florida. The photo opportunities on the boat were not frequent enough to get five in five minutes, but afterwards we walked out to an observation deck next to the weir and I was able to capture 5 in 5.

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The first photo shows an inlet to the fresh water lake (behind me) where there were a variety of birds congregated.

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This is a wood stork, not as sharp as I would have like.

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A white egret in the air, and a blue heron on the shore.

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I’m not sure what kind of snake this is, but he was having a feast with the hundreds of minnows swimming along the shore.

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This was taken when I turned around toward the lake which is filled with alligators. I took several photos of the alligators sunning on the shores of the lake, but this photo might be my favorite.

I’m linking up to Sandie’s Five in Five for March with thanks for hosting another great photography meme.

Happy Birthday, Tracy!

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It’s St. Patrick’s Day, but more importantly in this house, it’s Tracy’s birthday! It’s the second year we’ve celebrated in Florida, and it’s been a really lovely day. It started out foggy.

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But by 10:30 it had cleared up.

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The resort where we’re staying had a party in his honor. (Well, actually in honor of St. Patrick, but it works out the same.)

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We actually celebrated with dinner last night at The Waterfront on Santa Maria Island. We celebrated there last year, and the food and service were outstanding. Fortunately, nothing had changed. 

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Tonight some of us are eating left-overs, and Tracy is picking out a couple of items and a dessert from Harry’s Deli up the road. We had dinner at Harry’s Restaurant the first night we were here, and it was also excellent. I made Tracy’s birthday card before we came, using Papertrey Ink’s “Uncorked” stamps and dies, as well as a few MME’s enamel dots.

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And a closer look.

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I forgot to take a photo of the inside, but the sentiment is as good as the one on the front:   “Love is like wine. You know it’s good when it gets better with time.” Perfectly true.

One more day in paradise, and then we’re headed back to the cold and snow. Hopefully, not too much snow, but the forecast calls for snow showers in both North Carolina and Virginia!

 

 

SNAP: The Rodeo

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When we come to Florida in March, we always try to find something to do about halfway between where we’re staying and where my mother-in-law spends the winter. This year we decided on Arcadia, FL, where the All-Florida Rodeo was being held. It drew cowboys from all over the country and as far as Manitoba in Canada. Although it couldn’t quite compare to the Calgary Stampede, it was lots of fun and the competition was very good.

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There was cattle roping, bronco riding, entertainment by a very talented clown, and barrel racing (the only event for women). These photos are a testament to our great seats and the power of the iPhone camera. I took my “big” camera to the rodeo only to discover that the battery was nearly dead, and I’d left the spare battery at home. I was delighted to get these photos with my phone.

I’m linking up, as always, with Helena and off to see what other collections have been curated this week.

A Nautical Birthday Card

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While we’re enjoying the beach, I thought it would be a good time to share a nautical card I sent a friend for his birthday. He’s the owner of a large boatyard in the Chesapeake Bay, so nautical works for him any time. I purchased this WPlus9 set several years ago, since Tracy is, at heart, a sailor. But after we sold our boat, it never seemed quite appropriate. 

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The little notebook I keep with all the details of what I used is home, so I’m not positive exactly what products I used. I started with a Pure Poppy card, and added a piece of patterned paper from one of my many 6X6 paper pads, and then added the die cuts and stamps from WPlus9 and Simon Says. The stamp set by WPluse9is no longer available, but the dies, “Nautical Notions”, are.

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I used a piece of glitter paper from a pack from Michaels to die cut the anchor. It was perfect, and a Simon Says “Stitched Circle” for the background. The sentiment is from a Papertrey Ink set, and the twine from a vintage twine holder I picked up at a shop about a year ago.

One week down, and one week to go at the beach. I’ve managed to finish two books, and am now enjoying two issues of Uppercase, a Canadian magazine Melissa recommended awhile ago. It’s subtitle is “for the creative and the curious.” I’ve already got a long list of ideas in “Notes” on my iPhone from just the first issue, and am very impressed with the breath and depth of the articles. Long walks on the beach, some time at the pool, and lots of reading time equals a pretty perfect vacation!

(The new banner is a photo of the first sunset we saw from our patio a week ago. I won’t be able to keep it up for long, but the snowy scene from the previous banner just seemed wrong.)

A Bit of Green for Two March Birthdays

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My brother-in-law and my niece’s husband both celebrate March birthdays, so the Simon Says Challenge this week for a “bit of green” fit the bill perfectly. 

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I started with PTI’s Enclosed Star die and stamp, cutting twice, once in green (Simply Chartreuse) and once in black and piecing them together. A few black enamel dots finished it off. Pretty quick and easy.

For the next card, I switched out the patterned paper (from the same pack).

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Here’s a closer look:

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And the  a peek at the inside:

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Linking up to Simon Say’s Wednesday Challenge.

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SNAP: Blue

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We arrived on Longboat Key on Sunday. It’s been sunny and warm every day—exactly why we come in March when the temperatures are still chilly and there’s still snow on the ground at home. There are lots of pretty colors here, but blue seems to be predominant.

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Upper left: the view from our condo window. I love to sit in the chair by this window and read.

Upper right: one of the umbrellas at the pool.

Lower left: a row of chairs at the pool.

Lower right: the steps into the pool.

So far, it’s been an ideal vacation:  a little sun, lots of steps (I’m aiming for an average of 10,000 a day), lots of reading (have finished When Breath Becomes Air—highly recommended, and am enjoying My Brilliant Friend), and good meals and conversation with our friends. We’re here with another couple from our church (our daughters were baptized on the same day), and last night we met two other couples from church who are vacationing here as well for dinner and viewing the sunset. I’m linking up with Helena and off to check out the rest of the SNAP photos for this week.

 

Travel Journal

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A year ago, I splurged on a Midori Travel Journal. My first venture out with it was to the Canadian Rockies, and now that I’ve posted the Project Life pages for that trip, I thought I’d share the travel journal.

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The cover is leather, and gets more worn-looking (and lovely) over time. I bought the pen clip and uses some stickers to put my initials on the front. They’ve held up very well, but can be easily replaced if they start to get ragged looking. One of the things I like the most about the Midori are all the choices you have for inserts. I’ve always been a big fan of graph paper so that’s what I chose. I also had a watercolor paper booklet behind it, but I’ve not gotten to the point where I’m sketching while traveling often enough to make good use of it.

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I used an old camera charm from my stash for the title page. I wasn’t sure if it would interfere with writing in the journal, but it didn’t. I put a dash after the July date, but filled up enough of the first book, that I started a new book for 2016.

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The first couple of pages were devoted to the itinerary. Since we had to book our hotels way in advance, the itinerary didn’t change much.

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One of the things I love about this journal is I finally committed to putting in some memorabilia along with a recap of our day. I also bought an Instax Smartphone printer. I was wishing for one so I could include photos in the journal, and Matt kindly gave me a gift certificate to Amazon for my birthday which made it affordable. Here I combined a business card as well as a photo from the Three Sisters cafe.

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Here I added another photo, and cut out the portion of the trail guide for our hike around the three lakes at Many Glacier.

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Thanks to Melissa, we knew to get ice cream at Cows in Banff. I didn’t take a photo so I drew a sketch instead. I added a piece of Washi tape to the bottom for a little color.

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Another sketch (of my backpack) for our longest day of hiking in Yoho National Park, and two of my favorite photos from the day.

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I included a portion of a business card from my favorite shop in Jasper. I bought several gifts there as well as a scarf and necklace for myself. The prices were amazingly low for such nice products. On the second page, I cut out a portion of the flyer about the Glacier Adventure tour.

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I wrote all the journaling for our trip from Jasper back to Calgary and totally forgot to add the bookmark from the Royal Alberta Museum in Edmonton, so I adhered it to the margin with some score-tape which worked out great.

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The other add-on I purchased was this zipper envelope which held some items I thought I might use as well as the business cards and other memorabilia that ended up in the journal.

This year we don’t have any “big” trips planned, but there are trips to Florida and Chicago for sure, and several other weekend trips this summer. I think just one of the graph books will be enough to cover the year, but another advantage of the Midori is I can always add another books. I love that the format is small enough to fit in either a purse or my tote bag, and I find it pretty easy to sit down each night and get the day’s events recorded.

Project Life: July 2015 (Part 3)

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As usual, we did a lot of advance planning before we took off on this trip. Somehow we totally missed the write-up of Sunshine Meadows in our guide books. Luckily, I picked up a brochure at the ranger’s desk in Banff that proclaimed Sunshine Meadows as the #1 Hike in Canada. We would put it at #2 for a hike, and our afternoon there would be rated #3 after the Plain of Six Glaciers and our day in Yoho National Park.

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To reach Sunshine Meadows, you must take a bus up to the ski lodge. We figured that once you were up there, it would be a pleasant stroll through the meadows. Not so much. It was pleasant, but it was no stroll! There were several steep inclines, and the hike around the three lakes was much more extensive than we expected. Not only are the views stunning, but the wildflowers were amazing. No photo came even close to capturing how beautiful it was. I cut a piece of the map apart and used it in the spread. The hike actually passes through parts of both Alberta and British Columbia.

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The photos on the left-hand side of the next page are of Moraine Lake, and on the right of the first hike we took as we drove up the Icefields Parkway from Lake Louise to Jasper.

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The journaling says that we aren’t typically “WOW” people, but that was the operative word as we drove the 145 miles from Lake Louise to Jasper.

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Our Glacier Adventure Tour was one of the most touristy things we did on the trip, but one of the most fun thanks to Ness, our amazing and hilarious driver.

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We spent four days in Jasper, one of them was actually the day of the Glacier Adventure since we drove back down the Icefields Parkway the next morning to catch the first tour.

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I’m not sure how we found our accommodations at Pyramid Lake, but it was a stunning setting about five miles out of town. The hike through the Valley of Five Lakes wasn’t on our list until a ranger at the Icefields Centre told us about it. We ended up hiking with a young couple from Edmonton, and had a really great morning despite the gloomy skies.

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Really, my only disappointment on the whole trip was not getting to see Maligne Lake. We drove out there twice, and it was foggy and rainy both times. The weather in Jasper was truly fickle. At one point, it was raining in front of us, but when you looked in the rear view mirror, it was sunny behind us! After hiking the Moose Lake trail in the rain the last day of our time in the parks, we gave up and decided to head west on Route 16. We knew we were headed east to Edmonton on our way back to Calgary so we thought we take a drive in the other direction. Little did we know that we’d end up in Robson National Park with a good view of the tallest mountain in Canada.

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I didn’t have enough photos of our day in Edmonton or the last day in Calgary before heading back to Chicago, so I ended July right here. By the time we left Chicago, we were into August, and those pages will have to wait until we get home from the current trip! I don’t think I’ll have anywhere near this many photos from a trip in the near future. It was an amazing three weeks. We hiked nearly 75 miles, and saw nearly everything we hoped to see, but we’d be happy to return if the opportunity presented itself.