Ingenious Inkling

Sisters' Weekend 2012

My sister & I are off enjoying a weekend of shopping, eating and most of all laughing ... my time with her recharges my batteries in the best possible way.

One year (pre-GPS) we manged to get lost several times and somehow always ended-up on El Monte Street.  Since then it has become one of our battle cries to cheer each other up when we're having a bad day.  Yesterday, when we were in search of an Estate Sale, we turned the corner and saw El Monte ahead, and both burst out laughing ... so of course it required a picture ... with mustache masks.

El Monte!

Silly Faces Everywhere

When we take a family vacation, we always try to plan some sort of funny photo series that hopefully will make my sister laugh (prior silliness here).   This year we took along a package of googlie eyes and some glue dots to see how many places we could find silly faces.  

The first opportunity were these odd little square pillows we had at our hotel in Hannibal, Missouri.

This was the door at the Green Frog Coffee Company in Jackson, Tennessee.

The back of the caboose at the Casey Jones Village had a perfect face opportunity.

 

These beautiful daisies reminded me of a crazy Easter Bonnet.

 

When I opened the bathroom door at Sunburst Stained Glass, we discovered there were already eyeballs inside watching us and starting laughing.  The owner said that one of her employees had placed eyeballs everywhere for April Fools Day ... how fun.

We also found that some eyeballs were already attached to this poster hanging in St. Louis, so apparently we're not the only ones making silly faces.

So we had to add a few more eyeballs to another poster.

We'll never look at things the same again :)

Saturday PhotoHunt ... Scoop

This week's Saturday PhotoHunt theme is Scoop.

Is there anything cuter than two scoops of strawberry ice cream from the Country Store at a table that was just their size ... I think not.

Tennessee Adventure

We enjoyed a fun day exploring Tennessee with family.  We had lunch in Jackson, Tennessee as they were preparing for their annual Strawberry Festival.  Lunch included strawberry lemonade and some delicious strawberry cupcakes.

Jewelry Display Frame

When I saw this jewelry frame, I knew I wanted to make one for my dressing area the next time Dad came to visit.  I found a vintage frame at a local thrift store.

Dad & I removed the glass & photo from the frame, using the cardboard backing as a template to cut our 1/4" 23 Gauge Galvanized Hardware Cloth (we found a 5 foot roll much cheaper at our local Menard's).

After cutting the wire to the right size (16" x 20" for us), it is important to roll it the opposite direction (we used a wrapping paper tube) to flatten the wire.

It is important to get a frame that has a slight recess, so there is space between the wire and your wall to insert the earrings when you hang it on the wall.  Dad put staples into the side of the recessed shelf of the frame and then bent them down to hold in the wire.

He then put two picture hangers on the back to put it on the wall.

Here it is on the wall empty.

Dad bent some other picture hangers and inserted them into the wire, so I could hang some necklaces too.

Here's a close-up shot.

After we finished the frame, we went to check out some vintage cars.  Here's a photo of Dad & me reflected in the hubcap of a 1956 Buick Special.

Day with Dad

My Dad came for a weekend visit, we spent the day replacing rotted wooden edging around the two large maple trees in our front yard with rows of bricks.  Dad said this was his Toby Keith look.

Here's a picture of the one of the finished beds.

I always love to spend the day building things with my Dad.

Play

This week's Saturday PhotoHunt is Play ... there were lots of possibilities, but I went with one that is bittersweet.

This is the last time I got to play with my step-mom.  

She was a master at puzzles ... we used to sit at the dining room table for hours until we finally completed the picture ... the more pieces the better for her.  She was also the master of the triple word score in Scrabble.

I love this picture because it reminds me of all of the wonderful experiences we got to share ... and I love my Dad's smile too.  I miss playing with her.

PS ... thrilled to be a Mow it All at Lawnscaping ... and for a shout-out on the Cards blog ... and a win at the Bo Bunny Blog.

 

Loud

Today's Photo Hunt Theme is Loud.  Since we don't have children or pets, there's not a lot of *loud* in our world, unless we're hanging out with family.

This is a picture of my sister and me riding the Patriot Roller Coaster at Worlds of Fun in Kansas City.  We were screaming, and laughing, and having an absolutely fabulous sister-day ... and yeah, it got more than a little loud.

As Near the Ocean's Edge as I Can Go

I have the pleasure of continuing to Guest Design for Inspirational Card Sketches through the month of August.  Here is this week's sketch:

I inked-up my new Beach Babes set from Rogue Redhead Designs for a beach-themed card design using Webster's Pages nautical papers.

One of my favorite quotes ... and I love the tiny little birds in the sky and fun sandy textured background stamp (on the left panels).

To a land-locked Iowan, the beach is a magical place that I've had the pleasure to visit several times in my life.  Here's a favorite picture from a trip to see my brother in California.

Sister Day in Springfield

I took a quick trip to Missouri to celebrate my sister's birthday with her.  We spent the day together shopping, eating and laughing (oh yes, there will always be lots of inside jokes and laughter when we are together) in Springfield, Missouri.

One of our best stops of the day was at Simply Fibers, where we got our only picture together of the day (that wasn't taken in a mirror).  Sis got a very cool book of hat knitting patterns ... I picked-up some gorgeous multi-color dyed silk ribbon ... and we had a fabulous visit with the proprietor ... I love talking to business owners who obviously love what they do.

We also stopped at Red Velvet, where we had some fabulous cupcakes (peanut butter and red velvet - of course) & bubble tea & picked-up a few Red Velvet goodies.

Such a great space filled with lots of vintage goodness.

We even got a decent mirror photo with Elsie's Closet in the background.

We also hit quite a few thrift stores, but didn't find much to take home with us ... although my sister seriously considered this "knome".

I spent quite a bit of time hanging out with the mannequins.

Another favorite stop was Funtiques Market where all of the wares were styled so well ... and this guy made us giggle.

All-in-all an awesome sister day.

PS - also excited to see my cards won at EAD Designs & Petaloo.