Happy Halloween!

Watch out for goblins tonight!

This is another card design I used this year.  I cut the pieces with my electronic cutter which makes life really easy.  With all the travel we've been doing, I need all the assistance I can get.

It is folded at the top and can stand up.  I used black cardstock for the base.  Patterned paper was adhered for the body of the shoe and the other pieces are cardstock.  I punched the holes in just the front of the shoe and wrapped with satin ribbon.  A big bow at the top completes the design.

Spooky

Are you ready for Halloween?  This is one of my card designs.  The pieces were cut with my electronic cutter and the hat lifts up to reveal the text.  She looks so friendly I don't think she'll scare anyone.  She probably hands out chocolate and hugs to trick or treaters.

It Was A Privilege

We recently had the opportunity to go on a tour to Square Tour in Mesa Verde National Park.  The first photo  is the typical view from but as the second photo shows, we were right down to it for a very personal view.  I've always wanted to get down there and when special tours were offered for a limited time this fall, I jumped at the chance.  The dwelling hasn't been open to the public since the 1940's and only 10 were allowed in a tour.  That's why it felt like such a privilege.  My husband worked in the park for 10 years and he hadn't even been down the trail.  The trail has three 20' ladders and some "rustic" steps in rock so it's a bit strenuous and but certainly worth the physical effort.

That's the tallest tower in the park and Square Tower dwelling contains the only kiva (photo 3) that has the original roof.  It served as the model for rebuilding kivas in other dwellings.  Notice the "crow's nest" in the upper right of the second photo.  That isn't even visible in the typical view.

There's a second dwelling around the corner from this one that isn't visible from any trail.  If they extend this tour and include that dwelling, you'll find me down there again - if I'm still physically able.

Just One

This is the closest look you're going to get.  Good looking specimen, don't you think?  I think the summer in the clear mountain air with lots of fresh grass to eat was good for the flock.

Closer View

We were able to go close to the corrals to get close up shots.  This is still a very small portion of the total sheep that were congregated.

It's a Whole Flock

This doesn't show all of the sheep but the sheepherders told us there were 2500 and it certainly looked like at least that many when you saw the whole group.  They were dividing them into groups for reasons I was unable to discern.

Red Mountain

Red Mountain is part of the San Juan range to the south and west of us and, yes, it really is that red.  This photo was taken in mid-September and you can see there was already some fresh snow on the highest peaks.

Just to the right of this mountain is Sheep Mountain and some ranchers were preparing a flock of sheep to be transported to lower elevations for the winter.

What Is It?

Check this out!  We saw it in Price UT when it stopped next to us for gas.  My husband tells me it is classified as a motorcycle.  Note the single tire in the rear and how low the passengers sit.  It seemed to be pretty powerful land the young driver didn't mind showing off that feature.  I overheard someone say that they can be built from a kit supplied by a company in CA.  I don't think you'll see one of these in my garage.

Pumpkins Galore!

There were lots and lots and lots of pumpkins at Lees Farms.  They also sell freshly-baked donuts and have excellent apple cider but since we had just come from having breakfast, it was easy to be good and pass by the goodies.

Fall Color

There's lots to like about autumn and one of the nice things is the bright color of pumpkins.  We visited Lees Farm in Tualatin OR and found all sizes, types and colors of pumpkins.

More Pink

I don't know what kind of bush this is but the leaves certainly were colorful.  This photo was also taken in OR.

Bright Pink

Oregon is a very green state and there seems to always be something in bloom which is especially nice in the winter.  But these pretty posies were beautiful in mid-October.

More Blooming Plants

I couldn't recall ever seeing palm trees in bloom but these were!

The "Real" California

As one would expect, there were lots of flowers blooming in California.  I don't know what these are but they were blooming in bright pink and red as well as white.  And it smelled of flowers as soon as we opened the car door.  It doesn't get much better than that!

More Snow

Bet you're thinking this was also taken in UT or maybe NV but it was actually taken in CA!  It is in the mountain range near Lake Tahoe and there was more snow here than we had the previous day in UT. We hadn't been in this part of CA before so it was interesting - lots of tall pine trees and mountains similar to CO.  But it leveled off before we got to Sacramento and then it stayed quite flat.

And Into California

We crossed into California near Carson City and still found some interesting geological formations.  Fog covers the top of this mountain peak.

A Very Long Road

The road goes straight ahead for as far as one can see.  This is highway 50 in central Utah.  It's two lane and changes from long stretches of straight road to curving, climbing road.  It has been dubbed by someone as "The Loneliest Road In America" which it very much deserves.  It can be a long time between towns and when you come to a town it is usually quite small.  At least the clouds were interesting.

Snow In October

Yes, we also encountered snow in our travel through Utah and Nevada last week.  It snowed earlier but it also snowed on us.  We went over several mountain passes and at the summit of each one we'd find snow. Isn't it a little early for this?  Fortunately it wasn't enough snow to slow us down so we really didn't mind.

Utah Rain Clouds

This photo is also from "drive by shooting."  We encountered rain in various locations as we traveled.  At this point we weren't getting rained on but obviously the rain was occuring in another area.  Aren't clouds interesting?

Unique Utah

Last week we traveled on interstate 5 through central Utah.  The route is interesting because it goes through lots of unusual geological formations.  The landscape is always changing and amazing.  This is one of the formations.  I actually took the photo looking back to the direction from which we traveled.  We call this "drive by shooting" because I shoot while the car is traveling at 70 mph.  It's risky and a lot of shots don't turn out but obviously some do.

And It Looks Like They're Climbing Clear Up To The Sky

Here's one last photo of Grand Mesa's fall foliage.  It's the view from the base of the tree looking up to the sky.  Wow!

Can't Have Too Many Flowers

I made this card last spring but since flowers never go out of season, I thought I'd share it now.  The background is a commercial doily and the leaves are a die cut.  The flowers were punched and the lavender background was folder embossed.  A strip of scalloped cardstock and some narrow ribbon complete the design.

Speaking of Close

Here's a view of some aspen leaves close up and personal.  The dew drops were still on the leaves and added another area of interest.  Soon they will be compost for the next growing season.

Pines Amongst The Color

It's nice to see the pines contrasted with the bright aspen leaves - and also to have a closer view.  There isn't much that's more beautiful than this!

It Pays To Look Around

While this isn' a typical photo taken while on the search for autumn color, I thought the clouds were just beautiful and especially with the pine trees silhouetted at each end.  I hope you enjoy the view, too.

A Vista of Color

On Monday we made a trip to Grand Mesa to see the fall foliage.  The color was amazing so we stopped at a lot of different places.   The weather was also perfect which made it very pleasant.   This is one of the broad views.

With A Cherry On Top

I made this card some time ago but wanted to post it because I think it is a fun design.  It's fairly simple but what a surprise inside!

What Is That Thing?

We don't claim to be the best gardeners on the block but this year my husband decided to expand the garden so we could plant more variety.  The soil had been dormant for many years and although compost and peat moss were worked into the soil before planting, the soil needs more work.  This is one of the successful items from his efforts.  When I picked it, I thought it was a squash and in my defense it was planted with other squash.  But as soon as I cut it open I knew it was some sort of melon.  Know what it is?  Hint: it smells and tastes a bit like cucumber.  Got it?  I had to research but it is a crenshaw melon.  I think it needed to ripen a bit more but it is edible and unique.  Maybe I'll know a crenshaw melon next time I see one and maybe next year we'll have a more plentiful harvest-maybe.

Card from Inspiration Showcase

This is one of the cards I made from a technique in  Jennifer McGuire's class.  The focus of the card is the acetate which was embossed with a folder.  The flower was punched from cardstock that also went into an embossing folder.  Aren't those folders the greatest?!

I'm Back With A Canvas

Yes, here I am again.  And I'm back with a big project.  I recently completed  Jennifer McGuire's online class, Inspiration Showcase.  It was excellent and well organized and I learned quite a lot.  One of the things Jennifer suggested was making a canvas as a quick reference to the many techniques presented.  At first I wasn't going to do a canvas but at the last minute I changed my mind - and here it is!  Each row represents a different emphasis.  The hexagons are mostly cardstock, but there are a few canvas pieces here and there.  Jennifer also showed how to do the various embellishments.  She has an upcoming Christmas card class so check into that if you have an interest.  And I completed some cards using some of the techniques and I'll be showing those in the coming days so come back to check them out.