Card for Lawnscaping Challenge # 28: Distress Mania

I had fun watercoloring with my growing collection of Distress Inks for this challenge.

Here is my card:

I added some Distress Ink to watercolor paper and blended them with water before running it though an embossing folder on the Big Shot. I stamped the butterflies with Staz On ink onto watercolor paper. I added the ink straight to a nonstick craft sheet and then just used a brush and water to watercolor the butterflies. The card would work with a variety of greetings or without a greeting. I may make more of these cards!

Update 3/2/12
The card was chosen as an "Honorable Gnome" for the Lawnscraping Challenge. This is my first card award!

Supplies used:
Note: The butterfly stamp from Stampin' Up! is retired so a similar stamp is shown below.

Stamper's Select White Cardstock	Butterfly Stamp	Stampin' Up Modern Label Punch	Watercolor Paper Pad	Sizzix Big Shot
Tsukineko JET BLACK STAZON Ink Pad	Lawn Fawn PLUS ONE Clear Stamps	Tim Holtz Sizzix RAYS & RETRO CIRCLES Texture Fades Embossing Folders	Ranger Inkssentials Non Stick CRAFT SHEET Reusable	Distress Ink PAD SPICED MARMALADE Orange
DISTRESS INK PAD SCATTERED STRAW Yellow	DISTRESS INK PAD MUSTARD SEED	DISTRESS INK PAD FIRED BRICK Red	Ink Blending Tool

InLinkz.com

Thank you for stopping by my blog!

Santa Cruz

Over the mountains and through the woods to Santa Cruz we go. (Or as Alex would say, "Over the mounts and though the tree tunnel we go.") It was a beautiful day, and we had a great time in Santa Cruz on Saturday. We live about 45 minutes from the beach, which is awesome.

We walked around the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk before it became too crowded with the Clam Chowder Cook-Off. Alex enjoyed riding the Carousel.

It was warmer on the beach than I expected, but the water was freezing. The last time we were at the beach was in Texas in July, so the water was warm like bath water. Alex loved playing on the beach, and he was especially interested in the large hole dug by some older kids. It was fun and relaxing to hang out on the beach. I am still cleaning up the sand that we brought home...

I expect more trips to Santa Cruz in our future and love living in driving distance to a beach.

More Fun & Exploring

We've continued to explore the area and become more comfortable in our new home. Last Tuesday, Alex and I visited Stanford University. He loved riding the free campus buses, Marguerite. We rode three buses and saw a good part of the campus, which is huge. We saw an electric car on the way to campus and then another one charging in the parking lot. Awesome!

Last weekend, Alex took his first train ride. We rode Caltrain from Sunnyvale to Palo Alto and spent the afternoon in Palo Alto. We found two important things: a library and a playground. We enjoyed Caltrain and plan to take more trips on the train.

On Sunday we went kite flying at Shoreline Park in Mountain View. We now have two kites and enjoyed flying them. Alex wanted to hold the kite by himself. After chasing the run-away kite three times, I decided not to let him hold it by himself anymore.

Nap Time?

Alex was a great napper for about two and a half years. He did not drop his morning nap until after his first birthday, and afternoon nap time was sacred for a long time. He was the child who napped well at daycare and at home.

Sometime in the fall, Alex started doing ok without an afternoon nap. We did not mind that he missed a few naps to attend UTSA football games. Still, he took a nap most days. By Christmas, nap time became more difficult. He still napped at daycare but for a shorter time. Now, I have about a 5 minute window where I can get him to take a nap. If I miss that window in the afternoon, too bad.

The exception to this is when he is in the car. If he is tired, then he does not have to be in the car long to fall asleep. He also has a knack for falling asleep right before we get home. I know where he gets his ability to fall asleep easily in the car! (Don't worry, I only fall asleep easily when I am the passenger, not the driver.)

Alex may be ready to drop nap time, but I am not giving up easily. If we don't have nap time, then we at least have quiet time. Trust me, I need quiet time just as much as Alex needs it!

Photo from 1/12/12. Alex fell asleep in my friend's car when she watched him for the afternoon.

Exploring the Bay Area

The exciting part of our move has been exploring the Bay Area. There is so much to see and do here. I am learning about many fun things to do with kids.

This is a photo from January 7, 2012, when John and I visited Golden Gate Park. I just downloaded it to my computer and it is one of my favorites.

Last weekend, we explored a little around Mountain View. We found a neat kite flying area near the bay, so we plan to go back with a kite next time. Alex took the pictures of John and me.

Today we visited the Children's Discovery Museum in San Jose with one of my grad school friends. Alex had a blast! His two favorite items were the firetruck and ambulance. He went back and forth and back and forth between those two areas. He did also explore the water area and bubbles.

We may do some more exploring tomorrow.

Captain Underpants

This is a post for my friends who are not on Facebook. Here are two funny this that I've recently shared there:

I started getting out some pants from Alex's box of 3T clothes. (Thank you Kat!) I let Alex keep out a pair of underpants in hopes that it would be some encouragement for potty training. EPIC FAIL! He does not want to work on potty training, but he wants to wear the underpants on his head. I started calling him Captain Underpants.

I enjoyed this comic from Nick Mom: http://www.nickmom.com/blog/nickmom-originals/what-you-can-get-done-in-30-minutes-with-without-your-kids/. This is my life right now! I have learned the hard way that you cannot get a lot of boring "moving-to-a-new-state" errands done with a little one tagging along. Alex will be starting at a home daycare/preschool two mornings a week soon to help with this. I think that Alex will enjoy the interaction with other kids. He keeps joining random groups of kids at the playground!

Finding Time & Space for Crafting

As we settle in, I am finding some time and space for my crafts. It is good to get back to some stamping and scrapbooking.

As we unpacked, I realized that the craft closet would not work out. We need that space to store other items (cleaning supplies, medicine, etc.) away from Alex. He is at the age where baby proofing does not work as much as in the past, and he still gets into lots of things. My alternative was to set up my craft supplies on a bookcase, which I also used for craft supply storage in our first apartment. It is okay for now, but I had to move my good punches out of Alex's sight. He really likes to play with punches.

I am starting to work on my Project Life album. I like that I can buy the components in pieces over time. I am just starting with the Turquoise Core Kit, the Design A page protectors, and the supplies I already own.

I was inspired to make this simple card from Shelli Gardner's blog. I just used kraft card stock, Smooch spray, a stamp, brown ink, and a heart punch. It was a fun way to ease back into card making.