Pass the Honey Pot

I had the fun task of setting up a challenge for our team, since our team name is CraftDBears, and a bear is our mascot, Denise (our team leader) and I decided to name this challenge Pass the Honey Pot.   We had two teams of 4 people each.  I picked a card from the current Stampin' Up! Catalogue and Idea Book.  I passed that image on to the first person on each team.   Using current Stampin' Up! product, they used the original image as inspiration for their card.  Not to recreate the card, but use the card as inspiration to create a unique card, make it their own so to speak.   They then sent me an image of the card they created.  I would then take the card that team member #1 created and send it to team member #2, who would follow the same rules as the first person.  I would then take team member#2's card and send it to team member #3 etc.  Kind of like the telephone game with cards.  

Everybody had fun.  And I loved seeing the evolution of the original image and what the final card ended up looking like.    The response was very positive and I would love to do it again.   

Below is the original card that I chose from the Idea Book and Catalogue on page 67.

For Team One, we started out with our fearless leader Denise, you can find her blog at CraftDBear

The Honey Pot was then passed on to Tammie, you can find her blog at Pieces Of Paper and Puppies

Then we passed it onto Margie, you can find her blog at Margie's Stampin Studio

The final person to receive the Honey Pot on Team 1 was Melissa.  You can find her blog at Lovely Stamping

For Team 2 we started out with Kim, you can find her blog at More Fun Outside the Lines

The Honey Pot then made its way to Andrea, you can find her blog at Jomina Creations 

Then Carol Ann had some fun with the Honey Pot.  We are working on Carol Ann getting a blog so the world can see her talent.  LOL

And the final place that the Honey Pot stopped at was Laurie, who was being pressured by some of the team members.  Poor Laurie, it wasn't her fault she was the last one to get the Honey Pot.  LOL  Laurie too needs to get a blog showcasing her Stampin' Up! creations.   We are working on her.  LOL

Thanks for stopping by and visiting my little corner of the blogging world.  Let these creations by some talented ladies be an inspiration for you to create something.      Express yourself through your art.   And have fun!!!

Horticulture Society Tour

 Our summer has been busy but good so far.  Not much time for crafting.  Getting away with Dave.  Dropping off and picking up kids from various relatives homes in different towns.  Amanda rehearsing and performing her Grade 3 & 4 Irish Dance Exams.  Which she passed!!!  Way to go Amanda!!!   Daniel's birthday yesterday.  He turned 14, my baby boy is growing up.  Happy Birthday Daniel!!!

Besides Amanda's exams, the girls going to Grandma and Grandpas to see a play with a cousin, and Daniel's birthday yesterday, we were busy preparing our backyard to be shown in our local Horticulture Society Tour.  One of our neighbours is on the Society board and asked if our yard could be added to the tour this year.  I explained our gardens are young.  Just a year old right now, so not established yet.  But they still wanted us on their tour.  So we said yes.  We have spent a lot of time this past week (especially Dave since I was mom's taxi service driving children here, there and everywhere), weeding, staining fence and shed, polishing the BBQ and fridge to a shine.   And putting decorative touches to the decor of the yard etc. The yard was ready to be shown.   Friday night we were able to tour the other properties with the rest of the home-owners and some of the society members.   We saw some stunning gardens that have been cultivated for over thirty years. Hopefully someday my gardens will be as full of gorgeous plants as the other ones.

Saturday was a busy day, we had 118 people come through our yard, we received all positive feedback on what we have done.  And a number of people wanted to just sit on the patio and not finish the tour.

Since the yard was spotless for once, all pets and children were banned until 4 pm that day.  Dave and I took various pictures of the yard through out the day, take advantage of it being show and picture ready.   And what a perfect day it was for the Horticulture tour.

To dress up our table, since it was free of food and such, I picked up some tiny vases at Dollarama and added a daisy from my garden to each one.   So pretty.  

After the tour was over, it was time to break out the steaks, onion rings, shrimp for Daniel's birthday dinner.  We had some family come over and the yard was no longer neat and tidy but cluttered and filled with laughter; which is why we built the yard in the first place.

Afterwards, when our company left, Dave and I crashed with some wine in front of the fireplace absolutely exhausted.  But our day wasn't over yet, we had to pick Laura up from work at midnight, luckily she works here in town, so we didn't have to drive too far.

 Thanks for stopping by and visiting my little corner of the blogging world.  This week looks to be a little more quiet and predictable and I hope to get into my studio and create.  We have a bridal shower for my niece to go to next weekend and a card needs to be made.

It Was A Very Good Week

Sometimes you need to get away for some rest and relaxation.  And that is what Dave and I did this past week.   For our anniversary Dave took me to The Couples Resort in Whitney, Ontario where we had much needed time to de stress and get away.    It was amazing. 

Whitney is a town just outside the eastern gates of Algonquin Park.  Both Dave and I love Algonquin Park, it is a beautiful part of the province that we have visited a few times.  We took our time driving there and enjoyed the journey to our destination.

When we arrived it was raining at the resort.  When we got to the room and stepped onto our private balcony overlooking Galeairy Lake, we saw a gorgeous rainbow.   An amazing welcome for us.

We settled into our room.  Enjoyed a nice bottle of wine and crashed in our giant four poster bed after a long day of travelling.

The next morning we awoke to rain.   Plans were changed but that is ok.  We were on vacation.  Enjoyed breakfast in our room.  Tried hiking a local trail but it was washed up so we went back to the room and read up on the area and the resort.  After lunch it cleared up so we went to Algonquin to do some exploring.  Checked out the art gallery in the park as well.   

These butterflies were everywhere we went.  So I had to get a picture of one.  No idea what it is.  Maybe somebody out there can tell me.  

We had dinner at the resort after our road trip.  We had no idea that each dinner would be a five course dinner.  Start off with an amuse bouche, followed by two starters, an entree, and dessert.   We were just a little full.  But being foodies, we loved being able to try new foods and explore different tastes and textures.   After a few days I think we each gained a few pounds.  LOL

We explored the resort grounds after supper and I had to get some pictures,  it is a stunning area.

Here is the view from our balcony.   Wednesday, it was very windy, so kayaking was out, too many white caps.  So we walked into town and did some exploring and had a couples massage at the resort spa in the afternoon.  We had originally booked a hot stone massage for each of us, but there was a computer glitch and I ended up with a regular massage and a facial.  I wasn't about to argue with the computer glitch.

Thursday was very cold.   The high of the day was 15 C.    We did horseback riding on some trails in the morning.  We both loved it.  Dave and I are huge animal lovers, and being able to ride through the woods riding these amazing creatures was therapeutic.  In the afternoon, we did some more exploring and this time headed east after checking out the Madawaska River that flows through Whitney.

It rained off and on most of the time we were there.   So we had time to watch season 1 and part of season 2 of Breaking Bad.  And we are hooked onto the show now and we are working through the rest of the series here at home.  I feel sorry for Jesse sometimes.  He always gets the short end of the stick it seems like.

Friday, was our 22nd anniversary, how the heck did that happen?   And we headed home.  Bye bye resort,  bye bye room service (I really miss that), bye bye five course meals.  We took our time heading home.  Stopped at Simply Cottage in Bracebridge and picked up a few items to decorate our backyard paradise.  Had a leisurely dinner in Barrie and picked up a nice bottle of red wine at an LCBO to drink by the fireplace at home.  And we talked about going back again sometime, possibly in the fall this time.  

Thanks for stopping by my little corner of the blogging world.    For now I am adjusting to real life again.  LOL