The Pros and Cons of Travel...

Is anybody going to an exotic locale on vacation?  There are so many amazing experiences awaiting when one travels but there can be some unfortunate side effects as well.  Kathi over at SDC has challenged us with a travel and/or vacation theme this week.

 I had a bear of a time with the theme at first - many projects were cast aside but eventually I came up with a mini wall hanging.

It seems I have a knack for finding quotes or sayings that are a bit 'off'.  They make me chuckle though.  This quote is from Abraham Verghese.

Hopefully you can't relate to the second part of the quote, but if you can, I hope you can smile (even a half-hearted, lopsided smile) about it now.  In the mean time, happy travels!

You Bet(ti), It's Zetti

I joined an ATC swap over at ATCs For All that is zetti-themed and cat, dog or bird-themed.  I've never really done the whole zetti thing before but these were pretty fun to put together.

Give it a whirl!

Happy Independence Day!

Today in the US we celebrate Independence Day.  The fam and I will be heading out shortly to go to my sister's house where we'll play badminton, nosh on some delicious grilled delights and sip cold beverages followed by a spectacular fireworks show in the evening a short walk away.

I made a little festive something for her this morning.

Love how it lays flat so I could mail it...in theory.

I hope it makes her smile...

Ode to My Mom, the Gardener

Several weeks ago my beloved and I made a jumbo Jenga game for my son's 6th grade party.  We used 4x4s and I kinda messed up the measurements (forgot the measure twice, cut once rule...) leaving my dearest the job of trimming a chunk off the ends.  What we were left with was a nice little collection of square chunks that I wouldn't let him throw away.

My mom loves to putter in her garden.  Her birthday was yesterday so I made her a little somethin' somethin' with one of the blocks. (Thankfully she knows me well enough to not expect a gift on time!)

I love the mix of the rough-textured block (I didn't sand it except for a smidge on the sides; didn't want it to be splinterish) and the soft, feminine touch of the flower, cheesecloth and swirly bit in the back.

The flower is made with TH's Tattered Florals die cut from a scrap of experimental paper that I had smoodged color all over a while ago.  I also stamped some text over the flowers for a little interest and backed it with spritzed and inked up seam binding.

Love this garden quote.

I am adding this to the Our Creative Corner challenge: Handmade Flowers and Hand-dyed Ribbon here.

Thank you for stopping by today!