Febuary 2009 Update on Galveston Texas with Pictures!

EDITED TO ADD: The picture link below has been updated on 3-6-09, to show the Moody Garden area, the seawall, and beach repair.

Hi all,

In looking at the post hits, I saw that many visits were for the Update on Galveston Texas. Unfortunately my first post did not include the pictures that we took while we were visiting there at the first of February because they were deleted by that phantom person in our house! But, good news! A friend who lives in Galveston graciously took more pictures for us to post so you could see the ongoing rebuilding of Galveston.

Click on the link here: mhtml:%7B5B409185-9F95-4D2B-AD8C-F1F7B60C1FBD%7Dmid://00000015/!x-usc:http://www.flickr.com/photos/35827096@N07/ and you can see them. There are pictures of the 91st pier or what is left of it, and a truck that was washed up on the pier and stranded there, the Flagship hotel which is still has extensive damage, you can see straight through the bottom floor, and as of now there are not any repairs being done on it. The pictures of the Strand show the work being done and there has been even more progress since the first of the month. The carriage is back so that means that things are starting to try to get back to normal. Kings Candy was rebuilding as well as other stores, as fast as they are going it should be soon. The water line is shown in one of the photos,it is on the red stone building on the Strand.

Galveston State Park is shown and you can see the entrance is still closed but the sign saying it will be back after rebuilding! When we were down there the surge gutted park headquarters office was still standing, but in these pictures it has been demolished, so the clean-up is progressing.
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There are no pictures of the beach repair, but that was going along nicely with truckload after truckload of sand being piled up on the beaches along the seawall. And, even with the erosion there still was plenty of beach to use where they hadn't gotten to yet. Stewart Beach looked forlorn with many of the structures wiped off the beach but the main public building where the concession's/showers/and such is still there. I'm sure that by summer it will be filled with people enjoying the sun and water again!
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There are no pictures of Moody Gardens yet but there was work on Schlitterbahn and the area looks like it should be back up by summer or sooner. I will see if we can get more pictures in the coming weeks to show the progress in all these areas, so check back every so often to see how Galveston is progressing!
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EDITED TO ADD: If you would like to have more updates on Galveston, leave me a comment to let me know! I'll keep posting updates every so often if you want to see more!
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Until the next post,
Shalom,

Sonya
Comments are always welcome! Take a moment and leave me a note!

Blue Hydrangea

Here is another card using the hydrangea stamp that I love! it happens to be one of my favorite flowers and comes in some amazing colors, so you will see it again! The flower was stamped and embossed in gold then water colored in Tombow markers on watercolor paper. I had to try Jerri K's tutorial, which you can see on her blog here: http://jerrikay.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/2009/01/31/water-color-tutorial/ , and didn't have any Me & Carrie Lou stamps yet, so I used the closest kind. It was my first attempt at her watercolor technique, I still need more practice to get it down. Though, I doubt that mine would ever compare to hers!
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The blues are really vibrant in the flower and the very blue card stock was the only one that made the hydrangea pop. I cut out around the image and then used my 24K pen to highlight the edge. Next, I layered this onto a piece of metallic paper with a small swirl design, it doesn't show up as pretty in the picture as it does IRL.
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Then I accented it with blue crystals and added a sentiment that is popped up with dimensionals, then a sheer gold bow was added to finish. I can't wait to get some Me & Carrie Lou stamps to practice on!

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Drop me a comment on how you like it! I am going to finish up a couple more of the take out boxes and post them. Thanks for visiting, have a great day!
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Until the next post,

Shalom,

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Sonya

Comments are very welcome! Take a moment and leave a comment, I'd love to hear from you!

Quilled Jumbo Clip Bookmarks

Hi all! Just a short post to show more Jumbo Clip Bookmarks that I have made. These have quilled embellishments of flowers, fringe flowers, folded roses and a butterfly. Making these cute clips can be addictive! I found some of these jumbo clips in silver at WalMart in the office supply aisle, they are just a bit smaller, but not enough to matter. Have fun making these, if you do, post a comment with a link so I can see yours!

Until the next post,

Shalom,

Sonya

Comments are always welcome, Leave me a comment so I can see if the "comments" work!

2000th View Blog Candy Update Still on Despite Comment Trouble

BLOG CANDY WINNER: Tasha! Email me your address and I will send this card to you with a matching envelope so that you can send it to friends or family! Thanks to all who commented and TRIED to comment. I hope it is fixed now so the next time I give blog candy away it will work!

Edited to add: Comments still not working in most cases. Leave an email on link at sidebar and you will be entered to win the card. All emails will be deleted after winner is picked and will not be shared, sold or anything else! Sorry for the trouble!

Hi all,

It seems blogger is having trouble letting you comment on the original Blog Candy Post. So try it here and I will add up all off the comments from this post and the original one in order of posts to get the random number. If it still doesn't work you can also you can email me at the contact email on the side bar to enter.

The Blog Candy is still up for grabs, so try to post one place or another and I will choose the winning number tomorrow and post it here on this post! Sorry for the trouble, Thanks for looking!

Shalom,

Sonya

2000 View Blog Candy!

It's almost there, the 2000 view of my blog! In honor of all of you who drop by to see what is new, I am giving away this card as Blog Candy! To have a chance at winning this card leave a comment and when the counter hits 2000 I will post the random generated number for whose comment is the winner out of all who have left a comment that day! The winner will be posted on this post so check back and see if you have won!

I have wanted to do a shaker card for some time now and I thought that the 2000 view would be a great time to do so. The card base is a blue shimmer card stock from Bazzill. I used my scallop and circle Nestabilities to cut out the darker blue frame from cardstock. Then I used the same scallop to cut a piece of transparency and adhered it to the back of the blue frame.

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Next I water colored a background for the fish and cut it out with a circle Nestie. The fish were stamped in Stazon black on watercolor paper and water colored with markers. They are accented with glitter glue and were cut out. Next I quilled the kelp in a dark green using the wheatear/looped technique. The fish have dimensionals and are layered amongst the wheatear kelp on the watercolor circle background.

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I put a ring of double sided foam along the back of the blue card stock/transparency frame and when that was done I poured some of the blue and green metallic micro beads in it as the "shakers". Then the fish background was attached to the blue frame sealing in the beads.

The sentiment and fish were from the Ocean Friends stamp set from Kim Hughes and can be found at Cornish Heritage Farms and Ellen Hutson. The sentiment was stamped in Tim Holtz's Distressed ink, Denim, and was cut out and layered with the Nestabilities label dies. I tied a sheer blue/green bow and attached a green crystal brad at the knot. Inside the card I stamped from the same set, the wave in Brilliance tri-color blue/greens stamp pad, and then put the seahorse, colored the same as the fish, on top. Lastly, I used iridescent glitter glue to adhere the three clear Dew Drops "bubbles" near the top.

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I had fun doing this card and it was easy! I will have to make another for the grand kids, they would love it. So leave a comment for a chance to win it! Thanks to all who drop by!

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Until tomorrow to see who is the winner,

Shalom,

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Sonya

Comment for a chance to win!

Mazel Tov Sizzix Take Out Box

Here is another one of the Sizzix Take Out boxes. This one is stamped with the Papertrey Ink Mazel Tov stamp sets. I love this set! You can find the link on the sidebar. You will see it again for Passover as I will be making several things for our family sedar. I used the gold metallic paper and medium blue metallic pearl cardstock for the layers and stamped the images in gold embossing powder. I have two more boxes to make and post so check back in to see them this week. These are so fun and easy to make I will have to restrain myself from making too many and having them setting around!
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I love seeing how many visits to my blog come from all over the world! If you like the projects drop me a comment. I am going to give away some blog candy when the counter hits 2000! So whoever has the random number comment on that day will receive the project posted! So be sure to watch that counter and post a comment when it gets close!

Until the next post,

Shalom,

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Sonya

Comments are always welcome, drop by and say hello!

Quilled Lavender Sizzix Take Out Box

This is one of my new dies, the Sizzix Take Out Box. It is a smaller version of the ones you get at the Chinese restaurant. I think that they are so cute and versatile. You can use them as a small gift box or as a table favor! I haven't been inspired much of late as you can tell by the lack of projects posted. Sometimes it doesn't come easy! I have to play with the designs until I get it in the direction I want it to go. This little boxes are great for that. There are so many different ways to decorate them, simple, all out or anywhere in between. This box takes one 12 x 12 piece of cardstock and I would use one that has a solid core as the score lines and folding can show the inner white core as mine did here.

I must be on a purple streak because I went straight for the purples again! The decoration on the front was cut with my scallop Nestabilities out of purple metallic cardstock layered with a light purple pearlescent circle. You will see more of this metallic cardstock in future posts, I really like it! The quilling is set on the last white scallop layer. There is a scallop layer on top of the box stamped "Celebrate" in gold embossing powder. Both scallops layers are raised with dimensional's. The handle is a lightweight silver wire with small clear beads attached through the sides with small eyelets.

The quilling has a purple 6 petal flower accented with a lavender crystal flower. The fringe flowers are a graduated from dark purple, purple, lavender to white. Punched flowers have a lavender pearl as their centers. The punched fern is green vellum with shimmery gold. More boxes are coming in the posts this week. I love playing with all the possibilities!

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I have added an email contact on the sidebar especially for this blog and you can email me about any piece. Look in the links bar often as I am going to be adding other great quilling and cardmaking sites and blogs! There are so many talented paper artists that inspire me! Thanks again to all who leave such kind and encouraging comments, I love hearing from you.

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Until the next post,

Shalom,

Sonya

Comments are always welcome, drop me a hello!

2 Posts for Today!

FYI I am trying to upload a new blogger template and am having trouble as usual. And if it looks strange or differernt that is why! If you have subscribed or or a follower please resubscribe in a couple of days when I have it figured out please! I am trying to do this without much experience!!! There are 2 POSTS for today, so scroll down to see the other one.

Thanks,
Sonya

Update on Galveston Texas after Hurricane Ike

Here is the promised post on the status of Galveston Island after Hurricane Ike. Unfortunately the pictures that we took last week while were down there visiting were deleted from my camera by that unknown person that lives in our house! So the picture above is the damage that we had. That was a beautiful pear tree. It split and took out the fence about 12:00 am the night that Hurricane Ike came in. Then it split again when it was at the highest winds and the fence on the other side survived and the pool thankfully or it would have flooded the back of the house! We were so blessed to have only this little damage, others were not so fortunate.

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In Galveston we saw the steady clean-up and still in need of repair structures, businesses that were still not open. Hopefully they will be within the next few months. The seawall looks different without the business that were on piers over the water, Murdoch's Gift Shops, The Balinese Room, other small restaurants are gone also. The Flagship hotel was severely damaged and you can see straight through the ground floor, with one of the driveways to the pier gone. Both the 61st and 91st street fishing pier are gone.

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Businesses along the seawall are not all back yet and some look like they are changing owners. The beaches are getting a few feet of new sand to build them back up. Stewart Beach park was deserted and closed. Most of the structures are gone or damaged extensively, except for the large pavilion where the bathrooms, showers, snack shop and gift shop were.

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Going through the island's neighborhoods there were houses still in need of repair and it looks like the people who have returned are trying to get back to normal. Moody Gardens is mostly down as two of the pyramids are not open. The Aquarium is up and running for the most part. The steamboat runs on certain days. The grounds look stripped of most of it's ground foliage, because of the saltwater, as does anyplace that was flooded. Schliterbahn looks like it took a lot of damage also, and there were workers repairing it trying to get it ready for this summer.

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We went to the Strand area and saw that it had 8 feet of water there. Only a handful of the businesses were open, most were not and the ones that were were on limited hours. There was a lot of repair going on in the shops and buildings that were not open yet, and it will be a few more months before this is finished. But they will be opening as they finish.

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A drive down to the west side of the island to see about the Galveston Island State Park and the damage there gave us a delightful surprise! As we drove by the closed entrance there was a sign that said "A new Texas State Park coming soon" Yea! As we have camped there many times and loved the close "get-a-way". The gate was closed and we could see workers cleaning the debris and much of the back rows of the campsites were still intact. We drove down to the nearest beach entrance and walked up the beach to the park. The dune and the bridges are gone as well as the premium beachside campsites that were in back of them. A lot of sand is over the whole park and they are removing it starting the cleanup. The beaches here have a lot of debris from the hurricane so you have to walk carefully! I wouldn't drive down it either. The pictures that you see on the Texas State Parks site for Galveston State Park give a good idea of the damage but a lot of the park is still intact. Unfortunately the headquarters and other buildings are a total lose. They will have to be rebuilt, maybe a stilted design like at Mustang Island Park?

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I wish I had the pictures!!!!! It would show you so much more. Galveston had the look and feel of being wounded and trying to heal. To be expected with what it went through! It still needs help, it's citizen's to return, so the businesses open and jobs, our prayers and help so it can back to life again.

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I also wanted to thank all those who visit my blog and also those who leave comments. I read each one and love to hear what you think about what was posted! I will either leave a response in the comments section or on your site/email.

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Tomorrow I hope to post a picture of a new card if I get it finished (and sort and straighten my craft area!). So until then,

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EDITED TO ADD: If you would like to see more updates on the Galveston recovery, leave me a comment to tell me. I will post updates from time to time if you want them. Also check out post dated, 2-28-09 that has a link to pictures from Galveston 2009.
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Shalom,

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Sonya

Comments are always welcome, drop me one, I'd LOVE to hear from you!

Quilled, Stamped, Scrapbook Page and Cards

So sad, I didn't get picked for the Spellbinders 2009 Design Team :( . But good luck to the 20 who were chosen to continue to the finals! And thanks to Spellbinders for the opportunity to submit my projects. I know the rest of us will be looking forward to seeing the wonderful designs that were submitted by those lucky ones!

So, since I haven't been chosen I can know post my submission to the contest. The first was a 12 X 12 layout and I chose to use the clock and butterfly die from Spellbinders. It inspired the "Time Flies" - "Too Fast" idea and I used the butterfly flying away with the clock and then then progressive pictures of Christine growing up.

Next we had to submit a card and I chose to quill a medallion in red, black and cream. I used my Nestabilities scalloped and regular rectangles to double mat behind the medallion. You can see that card at the beginning of this post.

A stamped card had to be submitted and I chose one of my favorite flowers the hydrangea to stamp in gold embossing powers and colored with Prismacolor pencils and OMS. Inside the card I put a pocket cut out of the Nesties and put a tea bag and a bookmark stamped with the same stamp. It has the sentiment of "A Cup of Tea" , "A Good Book", and "A Good Friend". I accented it with crystals and Fairy Dust glitter.

The fourth project that was submitted was an altered item. I chose to alter a frame, and what better way than with quilling. I have been wanting to do one in shades of purple and lavender and this seemed like a good time. It has a hydrangea in it of course, made from petals,punched coffee filter paper and painted with Twinkling H2O's. It give the flowers a dried sparkle appearance. I also punched accent flowers from lavender vellum with crystal centers, and pearlescent paper with pearl centers. Double stacked quilled flowers, leaves and fringed flowers complete the design. I think I will put a picture from our cruise in it!

I enjoyed making the projects for submission and don't envy those that had to judge them! Thanks to my daughter Cassandra who took the pictures of my projects for submission. I hope you enjoy, and I am off to play with my new stamps and dies!

Until the next post,

Shalom,

Sonya

Comments are always welcome, I'd love to hear from you!!!!! Really!

Is America a Democracy?

Please give me grace, this is not going to be a post about quilling or paper arts. I have not posted about politics, government or such things, but now as it is a topic of much concern I have jumped in and offer caution in these dire times. After reading many articles, blogs and their comments I have seen that there is much confusion on what government is and what it's use is. This video can clear up a lot of what we have forgotten in our high school government class.




In these tough economic times many have looked to the government as a way out. The government does not control the economy, yet. Nor do you want it to. What is economics? The short definition is the buying, selling and trading of commodities, goods and services. In other words you and I buy, sell and trade. We make the economy either good or bad, not the government.

Think about the government controlling the economy. What would that look like? Do you want the government to control what you buy, how much it will cost, when you can buy it? As a business person, do you want the government to regulate and control what you can sell, how much you can produce, or even if you can start a business? It is heading in that direction now. I am not advocating anarchy but the responsible use of government. We the people made the economy the way it is now, and the government and contol cannot get us out of it, only we can, unless we want a scenario like in the above video. It will take time to fix and we are reaping the rewards of a lifestyle of getting what you want, when you want it, and not expecting to have to pay for it now.

Unfortunately we are having to pay for it, now. People are loosing their jobs, health care (if they had it to begin with), and homes. The old saying is true, what goes up must come down, and it is coming down hard. We cannot expect to live that same fast and furious lifestyle of consumption at any cost. We have to be responsible and not trade our freedom for protection or freedom from poverty. The proposed stimulus plan is reactionary and has been tried in history and failed (easily researched). This is not about Democrats and Republicans, it is about our future and our freedom. It doesn't matter which "side" we are on the problem is the same, the needs are the same. Our Constitution is our government by law. Is it perfect, no, nothing ever is. But it is the best solution, let's keep it, the other options are worse.

Now is the time to tighten our budgets and take care of each other. We can get through this together and not with governmental control and interference. Let's pick up the pieces and make a better solution for ourselves responsibly. These are tough times and tougher ones are ahead of us. Let's look for balanced solutions to our problems and not take the "quick fix", that never is a true solution.

Don't go along with everything you hear from the media, politician, or governmental representatives. Let us research what is in these "economic stimulus" bills and ultimately what it will cost us. Let us research at what cost health care reform will take and what the form of health care will eventually become. Read this article: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&refer=columnist_mccaughey&sid=aLzfDxfbwhzs

Who will be those "worthy" of care, who will say what medical treatment that you deserve or need? There is a possibility for great misuse in this health care reform bill. Time and debate are needed to fully solve this problem and keep our freedoms intact.

We must be responsible and not reactionary or we will loose our freedom for the price of "bread and circuses" as the Romans did. History repeats itself if we are not careful. Our Constitution is being trampled upon "for our best interests", "for our protection" and many other "good" reasons. Yes we have great needs and problems in our country, but we do not need to give our freedom away to solve them. Let's look within ourselves to see if we have been a part of the problem(s) and to see ways that we can be a part of the solution. It is a hard look in the mirror, I know, I have and it isn't pretty. Change starts with us, not the government. Keep America free, be informed, be involved, let us work together!

Thanks for letting me digress from art and such and have this soapbox for a few minutes. My prayers for all of us and our country, may God guide us in these troubling times.

Until the next post,
Shalom,
Sonya

Comments are always welcome, I would love to hear from you.

Quilled Photo Mats

Hello again, here are the three other quilled photo mats that I wanted to post before but couldn't get to upload right!!! I did these earlier last year but never posted them. My ever increasing quilling and paper art supplies are getting out of control and I need to do some fancy organization today so that I can actually FIND all of what I have so that I can use it!

These three photo mats are for 5 X 7 photos and have folded roses, fringe flowers, quilled flowers, leaves, hydrangeas, and punched flower accents with pearls. I just love making these photo mats. I found a bunch of these in the rectangular and oval shapes at a local dollar store and they are just as nice as the more expensive ones! I was so happy because I can quill them to my hearts content and not worry about the cost of the mat.

I am still having problems with the position of my pictures and will have to do some searching for what the "user error" is that I seem to be making! Sorry for the quality of the pictures also, I took them! My daughter usually comes and photographs them for me but I decided to try and do it and you see the results, lol! I need to get her to teach me a few Photo Shop tricks so that I can edit them a little better.

Tomorrow I will post on our day trip to Galveston and have some pictures of how the rebuilding is going. Until then,

Shalom,

Sonya

Comments are always welcome, I'd love to hear from you!

Quilling and Paper Art

Again I have been neglecting my blog, so sorry. I have been getting ready for a design contest for Spellbinders Paper Arts. I can't post the pics of the entries just yet because of possible publication. I won't know if I have made it to the "semi-finals" until Feb. 9th. I am up against some very talented and experience people, So wish me luck!

So, for now I have posted some pics of some smaller quilled keepsake photo mats, and of a quilled flower trellis. Edited to add: I am having some trouble with adding pics to this post so this is the only one!

I wanted to share with you a blog for a wonderful artist. Her name is Jerri Jimenez and her blog is at: http://jerrikay.blogs.splitcoaststampers.com/ . Her water color technique is absolutely gorgeous!!! And now she has posted a wonderful tutorial on how to do it!!!!! It is very generous of teachers who post either a video or picture tutorial on their sites. It takes a lot of time and they are not charging for it, they do it out of the love of the art and want to share it with the rest of us. These tutorials are great because unless you live close to the artist or they happen to give a class close enough for you to join you would probably never get to see these techniques taught.

Other blogs that have a great tutorial sections are: Gina K. Designs at http://blog.ginakdesigns.com/ . She recently lost her father and I hope you will join with me in sending prayers for the family.

Another great site for card making tutorials is: Dawn's Stamping Thoughts at: http://www.dawnsstampingthoughts.typepad.com/ . Dawn has some great youtube video tutorials.

Check them out and their blog links to other fantastic card and paper artists. There are a lot more and so may talented card and paper artists out there. When you see their work you will know why I call these imaginative people "artists"! I will post more of my favorites again. Until tomorrow.

Shalom,

Sonya
Comments are welcome if you have the time!