Bathing Beauty Sunday

Maggie rarely looks right at the camera when I try to take her picture!
Can you see why we call Samson our polar bear?

Maggie is such a pretty girl, why oh why won't she look at the camera?!

You can see the blue film in her eyes, that was our first clue she was having vision problems.
Awwww! Look how cute our big boy is. We also call him our male model because although he got the looks, Maggie got the brains LOL!
Look how tired out Samson got just by getting washed, dried, and clipped!

My main goal today was to haul my two big doggies into the car and drive 20 minutes to the do-it-yourself dogwash, The Scrubby Puppy. Because my labs live in the house and don't get too dirty this is an occasional ordeal. They really needed their toenails clipped and we pay to have it done there. If you read my earlier post this year about Maggie's health crisis, you'll be happy to know that she is feeling and looking soooo much better. She has gained 20 pounds back and the insulin shots have regulated her glucose levels for the diabetes. The sad side effect is that

she has totally lost her eyesight in the last two months. We now have to be careful not to move the furniture around and keep unexpected items up off the floor so she won't run into them.

Maggie turned 7 years old April 12th and we are so happy to have her feeling better. We are all adjusting to her blindness, but as long as she seems happy and healthy everything's good.

Samson, our 95 pound "polar bear" is as lovable as ever. We have him on the same restricted diet as Maggie now and we hope he will slim down so he doesn't get diabetes as well! I love it when they are all freshly washed and blown dry and they smell like doggie conditioner!

I thought I'd share some pics of my bathing beauties Maggie and Samson.

Artistic Evolution pages

I just started a new round robin group project called Artistic Evolution. We are all using the same chipboard journals with pages that vary in size so you can see the edges of other pages. The idea is you start with a color combo and a theme and each artist carries the previous page theme to the next page. It will be fun to see how the ideas morph from one page to another. I had two books here and I did the spreads this weekend.

Happy Spring!

To celebrate spring I got a drastic haircut because it seems like I really need to lighten up!

The weather can't decide what season it is and I am trying hard to rise above the constant

stress at work. I can't wait to show my sister how I copied her new look! What do you think?

Another OWOH prize flies in! My sister is a cutie!

TGIF everyone! Look at this adorable froggie bracelet I won in the One World One Heart event from Liv at Liv luvs scraps. It just arrived all the way from Sydney Austalia! It will be going to my lovely cousin, Tina, who collects frogs! Thanks Liv!
My sister Melanie and I went to see Kenny Loggins perform last night and she surprised me with a totally new do! It was an awesome concert and we had a blast singing and dancing!
She had been threatening to cut all her hair off and she did it!

Doesn't it look cute? She had a few women come up and tell her they loved it at the concert. They even took a picture of her haircut! Which reminds me, I need to get an appointment to

get my highlights handled! I wish everyone a weekend filled with ART and HUGS !

Oui Oui It's Marie!!!!!!!

I am pushing myself to get all my round robin books done before I go back to work Monday!Here are two different Marie Antoinette spreads I finished this yesterday! The first is Lee's

Marie relaxing in a big goblet ready to party!
Lee wanted recipes to go with the pages. Since I am NOT a cook, but I AM a decent mixologist when it comes to cocktails, I added a drink recipe!Below, are Marita's pages and she requested a cake recipe for each double page spread.
Once again, being challenged in the kitchen, I found a delightful CUPCAKE recipe.
I had fun using yummy flocked paper for Marie's dress and the cupcake.

All Dolled UP !!!!!

Since I have a few days left of my vacation from teaching second grade, I've been holed up here making a glorious art mess all over my "dining" room table. I'm still on a creative high from my art retreat to Florida and I am missing my art peeps from the Keys! So.... I decided to bring them all here.Without further ado, I am pleased to introduce my art sistahs!

Come on over and play girls- Look! We can even stand up on my messy art table!
Val is coming from Michigan- It's sunny and warm here Val!
Tracy has her hat and scarf on in Washington, but she won't need it here!
Teri looks beautiful and ready for California in her sleeveless dress and bare feet!
Oui Oui Sue! Is that a French Poodle you're holding? How's the weather in Illinois?
Doesn't Sarah look like an innocent schoolgirl here? We know better Sarah! Sarah is our awesome Aussie( but we know she's a secret Kiwi as well)
Nicole was the baby of our group and with that smile who can resist Florida's sweetheart?
Marita looks like the super hot Daphne from Scooby Doo here doesn't she? Come on down from Oregon and visit the sunny southern California girl!
Lovely Linda is ready for some fun in the sun! I know you live by the ocean in Florida but you should check out the California waves!
Lillian is strutting her stuff all the way from Canada!
Long, lean and lanky Julie only needs to drive 25 minutes to get here!
Are we buying this sweet and innocent look from Jacquie? Hmmmmm?
Ingrid is rockin' the bohemian look all the way from Michagan!
Elena is feeling the rocker pirate vibe in Key Largo!
Mary TylerMoore has nothin' on our sassy Eileen from the Bronx!
Hey did you guys get the memo? Daisy doesn't do cutesy! But she is cute, isn't she?
Beatriz is sporting a springtime look down in Alabama! Absolutely adorable!


And last, but certainly not least, is the darling Gina ready to pop over from Oregon!

Projects from the KEYS retreat!!!!!

I was so excited that I finished my printer's tray as soon as I got home from Florida. I had filled a baggie with all kinds of goodies and doodads people brought to share! This one was so much fun to put together!
This is a little page that Beatriz Guzman taught us how to make in her class at the Paper Niche. She said to make one doll and I got a little obsessed and made three! Luckily my pal, Jacquie, did my background for me while I was cutting and pasting the little outfits!
Here are a few pages from the Over The Edge journal class that Ingrid Dijkers taught.
It's really cool how you can see the edges of all the pages peeking out!
Here's a little frozen charlotte merbaby that Ingrid made and gave us for our books.
Here you can see the edges stacked up and making you want to turn the pages...
I liked the wired button edge technique because the wire didn't have to be neat and perfect!
Ingrid brought tons of templates for us to trace and use for page shapes.

Of course do you think I ( the A.D.D. queen) slowed down to actually TRACE any templates for use in the future? I'm glad so many of my friends took great detailed photos that I can rely on.
Some of the edges had fold outs that add another interactive element to the books!