...so sad

Our forest is on fire.....We have lived here for 28 years. We camp, hunt, fish, get firewood, and just relax and enjoy our forest. There is nothing like a Sunday drive in the cool, crisp air, breathing in that forest smell. It's so theraputic.I have been so scatterbrained since this started. I am SO upset about this fire. We were thinking about going camping over Memorial Day weekend, but, I was worried about the terrible winds we were having, and, how dry the forest already was. I kept thinking IF a fire started, which direction would you go?!? I called the Forest Service several days in a row, to see if there were any restrictions on the forest *it's no fun camping without a campfire*, and she told me each day that it was day-to-day & that you couldn't have any open flames from 10 AM to 8 PM. That really bothered me. They should have closed the forest for the time being...they've done it before. We are in such a bad, long drought that it's sad to see the forest in the condition that it is/was in....
We had company come to town, and didn't go camping after all. It was TERRIBLY windy all weekend...gusting up to 40+ MPH. Low and behold, the Wallow Fire was started in a remote wilderness. It's not public, but, I'm sure it's human-caused.
The eastern side of middle Arizona has the most awesome forest--Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest, with the highest peak at 11,000 feet. It is renowned for trophy Elk hunting, *celebrities such as George Strait hunt here* fishing, and camping. Phoenix and Tucson people come here to escape the heat, or play in the snow, in the winter. Families have come here camping for generations.
Today, Alpine and Nutrioso were evacuated. The evacuation point was 60 miles away, NOT here, in the dome.....that is scary! They say this fire has the potential to be bigger than the 2001 Rodeo Chediski fire! I can't even begin to fathom the scope of this! Nutrioso is only 16 miles from our home.
Who knows what tomorrow will bring. It's supposed to be windy, again.
Here's some random pictures I took Wednesday evening....This first one was my yard, Wednesday morning.....not fun breathing!

Windy, and you can't even see the mountains in the background...

 

  

I spent the day at the little house, until 9PM, working stuff for my punch class tomorrow.

I had a very hard time concentrating on what I was doing, and, I spent alot of time on the phone with people, as new developments came about with the fire information.

I almost felt like canceling the class, but, I think we need the distraction tomorrow.

I just hope I can pull it off without looking like a babbling idiot.

Thanks for your visit!

I ♥ Clothespins!

OH MY! Aren't these cards cute?

I cased these from the 2010-2011 Stampin' Up! Catalog.

I was 'gifted' these lil clothespins and knew I had to make this card!

Here are the insides...

I know I will be making more of these cuties!

 Thanks for your visit!

on my mind...

We woke up to 2 inches of snow here, this morning! I LOVED it!
It looked odd to see green coming through the snow, though! hehehe
It was cold in the house, and, I finally broke down and
built a fire in the woodstove at 11 a.m.
Then, I decided to try my hand at some homemade bread!
I think I've only ever made bread a few times.
Maybe once by hand, and I used to use my poor neglected bread maker, sometimes.
I had some whole wheat flour in the refrigerator, to keep it from going bad,
and thought I might use that.
I am SO proud of myself!
Maybe, this will be my supper! hehehe

mmmmmmm, butter and homemade prickly pear jelly......
wanna bite?
You, too, can join in on Rhonda Jean's 'ON MY MIND',

or just see what other gals around the world have ON THEIR MIND....
P.S. I got the recipe off of www.bettycrocker.com

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the girls...

These were one of the cards we made at the monthly workshop today!

I made the gals name their little angels! hehehe

We celebrated Rita's 80th birthday and had cupcakes, too!

I'll post the other 3 cards later on.

Don'cha just love Stampin' Up! punches??

****NOTE---I previously showed this card with the original video link---****

http://createwithdee.typepad.com/my-blog/2010/06/primative-angel-punch-art.html

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What I did last week.....

My hubby is a pipe welder, working heavy industrial jobs. His job had ended, and luckily, he got a transfer....maybe, that's lucky....it's a job, but, it will be so H.O.T! He is now located about 35 North of Nogales, Arizona/MEXICO...some hot, rugged desert! And, it's in a scary area....too much drug trafficking/illegal alien smuggling... So, I went and helped him move the trailer. It was a 3 hour drive...

 Leaving Safford...

 Most of the snowbirds are gone now, so, the spaces are filled with the mine workers.

 We got a TREE!!!!! Maybe it will help a bit...

 A lil walk around the 75-space RV park...

 A heart-shaped prickly pear paddle...

 A desert oasis...

 My office...'don't look at the bird poop on my desk'...

 A vintage motorhome...I wish I could have visited with the lady that lives in that...Florida license plates.

A new desert friend, just outside my window...

Now, hubby is about 6 1/2 hours away from home, so, we won't see much of each other this summer...

I will try to get away, but, with the price of gas! UGH!

I did stay with him for 8 days, then, he drove me home, so he could have the Honda car and the Dodge pickup *for desert metal detecting*.

The clinker on this is that our hometown is about 30° cooler.....this usually happens every summer...

Today, it was 94 there, and 74 here at home...and, it's only mid-May!

I am linking this at FARM CHICKS PHOTO FRIDAY...check it out.

Thanks for your visit!

on my mind...

I just got the last of my projects finished up for my Stampin' Up workshop to be held tomorrow.

What a relief! I'm looking forward to four hours of visiting with 'the girls' --

we always have such a great time!

Now, starting Sunday, my time will occupied with yardwork...lots of yardwork!

LOL...tis the season!

You, too, can join in on Rhonda Jean's 'ON MY MIND',

or just see what other gals around the world have ON THEIR MIND....

Thanks for your visit!

WooHoo.....new Mini Catalog!

Thanks for your visit!

CLEARANCE RACK MOTHERLODE

WOOHOO!
No APRIL FOOL'S HERE!
Stampin' Up! just loaded a BUNCH of great items into the CLEARANCE RACK!
WOWZER!
 GRAB BAGS! DESIGNER SERIES PAPER! CARD STOCK! RIBBON!
OH MY!!! My credit card got a workout!
(Or maybe I can justify it for an early birthday present!?!)
GO TO MY WEBSITE AND SHOP!!!
These things usually go pretty fast!

Thanks for your visit!

Make your own Bakers Twine!

 http://thefrugalcrafter.wordpress.com/2011/04/19/make-your-own-bakers-twine/
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....A Gift For You...

This is the sketch we followed for the challenge.

This is my attempt at the HUMOROUS Card Challenge over at A LA CARD MONKEY.
Humorous? Maybe...hehehe, it cracks me up! LOL Go check out the other funnies!

I used this awesome stamp set:

In Wilderness #117040  $21.95

Beautiful sketches of the most noble of creatures grace this set. They are perfect subjects for greetings and gifts to family and friends with a passion for the wildness of nature. Or, use them to enrich scrapbook pages dedicated to recording the adventures of an outdoor vacation or camping trip. Available both in wood-mount and clear-mount.

Set Quantity: 4

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Happy Birthday to me!

I wonder, is it OK to make yourself a BIRTHDAY CAKE!?!

Hmmm, what kind???

I'll let ya know!

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CHALLENGE JACKPOT!

I have been trying to upload a picture of the HAUL Shirley and Terry, at A LA CARD MONKEY, are giving away for their first challenge AND if you follow them, too! Blogger won't let me post the picture, but, GO HERE!

It will knock your socks off!

Thanks for your visit!

A Challenge card...and was it ever a challenge! LOL

I participated in my second challenge! YAY! *not* My card just went horribly wrong!
I didn't have time to redo it, so, it is what it is.....

The pressure was on I tell ya.

I should have stopped BEFORE I used the color sprizter tool on the Confetti White cardstock.

It was 'ok' up til that point.

Shirley and Terry have started a new challenge blog:

A LA CARD MONKEY

Go here and sign up for the next one.

It'll be fun! I promise!

Thanks for your visit!

It's GREEN CHILE Time!

Mmmmmm, 30 lbs of goodness!

I make this twice a year, and today was #1.

This is from an old recipe from a franchise my mom and dad had, in Willcox, from 1972-1992, called EL TACO.

Anyone out there know of it??? It was a precursor to Taco Bell, but bad management from the higher ups killed it....so sad...

Can you believe when we opened in August of 1972, they had just had a price increase, and, tacos and bean burriots were up, from 19¢ to 22¢! I got paid $1.00 an hour and then, got bumped up to $1.25! My little brothers never let me forget that they only made $1!!!!! Good times! Good food. The only claim to fame I know of, is Hank Williams, Jr., came in and gave my dad his autograph for me. Willcox is just off 1-10 in SE Arizona. I stopped working, when I got married in August of 1975....seems like a lifetime ago...

Thanks for your visit!

Looks like candy!

This was one of the cards we made today, at our monthly card class. It was a hit!

I LOVE this card!

This was designed by Stampin' Up!

As a demonstrator for Stampin' Up, we have a wealth of information on the Demonstrator site.

There is Demo project sharing on the Stampin' Connection, as well as videos that Stampin' UP! produces for us. I LOVE the videos.

This was a card I made from watching one of those videos.

I have had this stamp set, AWASH WITH FLOWERS-page 99, since last April, I believe, and NEVER inked it up! I know I will be using this set more now. I love how easy it is to use. It's a 2-step stamp set, meaning you can stamp an outline image, then, come in with color on a solid, matching stamp.

You CANNOT make a mistake with this kind of fun stamping!

For this card, I just used the line image, then, used rich razzleberry in on a sponge dauber for the center part, then, used a sponge with pretty in pink for finish out the edges.

The dazzling diamonds just finishes off the whole thing!

It looks good enough to eat!

LOVE IT!

Awash With Flowers - Clear-Mount Stamp 120549 $27.95

Two-Step stamp your way to a basket-busting bouquet of beautiful blooms with our Awash with Flowers set. Soft shapes and subtle lines imitate the watercolor-like quality of a field abundant with graceful petals and delicate stems, giving your projects a light, lilting look of nature. Available both in wood-mount and clear-mount.

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...I am pretty much black and white...

...That's what my cousin in Albuquerque said, when she emailed me thanking me for the pretty pink birthday card I had sent her. So, when I designed this card, I had her in mind. {Hi, Pam!}I'm sending this to her, after my class on Saturday, the 2nd. hehehe
She'll LOVE it!
This is one of the cards I'm teaching the ladies to make. An introduction to the wonderful world of embossing!
I don't think the picture shows that the little girl is done in black embossing. There are also tiny rhinestones on either end of the sentiment.
I'm also going to show them how to use Stampin' Up!'s scallop border punch to make the black scalloping around the oval.
That is so easy!
I first cut a 3/4" x 11" strip of the basic black cardstock. Then, I used the scallop border punch for the whole length. Then, hold your bone folder and run your paper across it two times on both sides, to break down the papers fibers, so, it's easier to work with. Run red sticky strip tape around the back edge of the oval.
Now, take your scalloped piece and snip it, very carefully, under each scallop--on the flat side.
You will only need to snip up to about an 1/8" or so.
Play with your paper, before adhering it to the oval piece, by folding and forming the scallops a little at a time. Sorry I don't have a picture for you. But, once you do this, it will make sense and you will have a pretty scalloped border to use for either a circle or oval piece.
I'll show the other projects over the next few days.

You can order this stamp set, and any of the other products I used for this card on my website. Click the link at the top of the page. This stamp set is in the Occasions Mini, that is only good through April 30.
The sentiment is from NOTABLY ORNATE, from the big book, on page 125.
 I ♥ both of these sets!

Easter Blossoms 121905 Woodmount $25.95

122057 Clearmount $18.95

Thanks for your visit!