Serene Shores Sea Breeze Quilt

This winter was probably one of the worst winters of my life.  I was sick for eight weeks, with who knows what.  I never go to the doctor.  It was just a super bad flu that never seemed to want to go away and if it started to go away, then bam, it was back again with different symptoms. I think I spent most of the winter in bed watching tv, which was so discouraging because I actually look forward to winter to unwind from the busy gardening season and do indoor redecorating/home improvement projects and/or craft projects.  I was depressed that my sickness robbed me of that time.  Then my beloved cat Jackson died.  That was one of the most heartbreaking things our family ever went through.  I've rarely experienced such pain in my life.  I've had pets die before of course, but always of old age, so it seemed so much harder to lose a pet so young. I am so ready to put this horrible winter behind me and move on to spring, but as a Wisconsinite, I know that is at least another month away.

Well, eventually my illness did fade away and I was happy to get back to work. I really made up for lost time too! In just a few weeks I managed to finish a quilt, do four scrapbooks, and redecorate my family room, which I've been trying to finish for five years!  I will share the redecorated family room in a later post.  In the meantime, here is the quilt I finished:  a sawtooth star quilt,

Many years ago I used to work for JoAnn's Fabrics and Crafts and employees were allowed to take classes for free.  These classes were pretty expensive, so I was sure to take advantage of them.  The problem was, I took so many classes, that I started quilts, but never finished them before it was time to start another class.  So I ended up with a lot of quilts that sat untouched in my craft room for years.  I therefore made it a goal of mine to try and finish all these quilts, and by golly, I did it! This was the very last quilt that needed to be finish!  So I am done!  It feels like such an accomplishment

The quilt is a sea theme.  There are squares of fabric that have sea scenes on them and then the rest of the fabric is either a coordinating color or a sea-theme related pattern, like seashells or grass you'd see by water.

I showed a quilting friend a photo of my completed quilt and she asked what type of quilt it was.  I really couldn't answer her because I felt the quilt used so many different quilting bocks like a "Sawtooth Star", "Flying Geese" and a "Square in a Square". 

All the detail with the different shapes yet coordinating fabrics make it quite the interesting quilt.

I did the "Stitch in the Ditch" method to finish the quilt.

The border is a lovely sea-themed script.

And since JoAnn's is going out of business, I thought I could include an old photo copy of the pattern for those who are interested.

If you're interested in seeing all the other quilts I finished since my employment at JoAnn's, here are some other posts:

Log Cabin Quilt

T-Shirt Quilt

Bird Quilt

Pinwheel Baby Quilt

 Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

How To See The Grand Tetons In A Day: Part Two

This is part eleven of a travel series to Yellowstone and the Grand Teton National Parks.  If you'd like to start at the beginning, go HERE!

Yes, you can see the Grand Teton's in a single day.  In Part One I explained how we traveled the Scenic Loop starting from Jackson Hole.  We stopped at Mormon Row first which is located just outside the park, then we drove into the north entrance of the park and went to the Craig Thomas Discovery and Visitor Center, then onto the glorious Jenny Lake.  In this post I will cover the rest of the sites we saw on the scenic loop.

Mt Moran Turnout

Looking at our trusty little map below, we are now past midway of  the top left of the loop. On the loop are many pullovers which show pretty views and points of interests.  There are so many pullovers on this loop, most of which you can see just driving slowly from your vehicle, so we didn't stop at all of them.  

Photo Credit

We did stop at the Mt. Moran overlook which reflects all the geologic forces shaping the Teton Range.  Did you know what makes the Teton so unique compared to other mountain ranges?  There are no foothills!  The mountains just jut up 13,775 feet from the flat plains.  Incredible!

Signal Mountain

Jackson Point Overlook

Continuing our drive south, there is a mountain road on your right called "Signal Mountain Road".  Although a bit scary at times because the road is quite narrow, this is a must-see detour for it gives you higher up views of the Tetons.  You can park in a larger parking lot below and hike up, but driving up is much easier.  Parking on top is limited so many people are forced to hike up, but we were one of the lucky ones and found parking on top.

Signal Mountain Overlook

The views from on top are amazing!  The mountain road climbs 800 feet to give you panoramic views of the Teton Range, Jackson Hole, and Jackson Lake. 

Chapel of the Sacred Heart

There is the cutest, log chapel in the park.  I love old churches, and this one is certainly unique.  I mean, how many churches do you see built out of logs?

The Catholic Chapel still offers weekend services during the summer months. 

There is also another chapel inside the park called the Chapel of the Transfiguration which has a scenic window of the Tetons.  Somehow we missed that one; probably because it's located just inside the south entrance and we entered from the north entrance.  But that one looks really cool too!

              Jackson Lake Dam and Reservoir

At the top of the scenic loop is the Jackson Lake Dam and Reservoir.  From the bridge, you get beautiful views of the lake and Tetons.

There is a path below the parking area where you can walk along the water and get some nice photos of the dam.

Jackson Lake Lodge

Now it was time for a fun little break.  We are at the very top of the southern portion of the scenic loop now, and we actually exited the loop to go to Jackson Lake Lodge.  Prior to our trip I read that the lodge had the best Huckleberry Shakes, so that was the main purpose of our stop.  However, little did I know that the lodge was so much more than milkshakes!  It is an enormous hotel with multiple restaurants and gift shops.

The main lobby is absolutely stunning made with stone and wood accents.

The restaurants offer indoor and outdoor dining with stunning views of the Tetons.

The lobby has huge picture windows also with incredible views of the Tetons.

The restaurants were appealing to all visitors because they offered many different dining options and cuisines for all budgets.  We weren't hungry for lunch as it was still a little early but we did grab our Huckleberry milkshakes and they were incredible!

We got our milkshakes to go and just sat outside and enjoyed the view!

Oxbow Bend Turnout

After our bellies were full with milkshakes, we hit the scenic loop again for our next stop:  Oxbow Turnout.  This was one of my favorite stops, I just loved the view of the river with the Tetons in the background.

Elk Ranch Flats Turnout

Our next stop was Elk Ranch Flats Turnout.  The grassy fields attract elk, pronghorn, and bison, but on this day we saw horses from a private ranch.

Snake River Overlook

Once in the car again we headed north in the direction we came.  We drove past some of the other overlooks as we had actually seen them the day before when driving into Jackson Hole.  We did pull over for this one because you can't see it from the road.  It is located almost to the end of the scenic loop.

The Snake River Overlook was such a disappointment because the trees grew up and covered the view.  Pictured below is how the overlook used to look before the trees grew.

I actually see this a lot in my travels:  overgrown vegetation obstructing once scenic views.  And I have often wondered why they don't cut the vegetation down.  Is it for conservation or budget reasons?  I don't know, but I would prefer them to cut the trees down.

Buffalo Siting!

As we exited the park and were driving back to Jackson Hole for the night, once again we had to stop for buffalo standing in the middle of the road.  This is a common experience in the west, but that's ok because I got some great photos of the buffalo with the Tetons in the background.

I hope you enjoyed our day in the Tetons as much as I did!  Next week, we begin the journey home, but we still had a lot of fun stops driving home too!

Have A Great Day!  Amy

Linking Up with these Fabulous Blogs HERE!

For more information on our trip out west, please check out these posts:

YELLOWSTONE:

Old Faithful

The Grand Prismatic Spring

Firehole Canyon Drive

Fountain Paint Pot, Lake Hotel and Cabins, and Hayden Valley

The Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

The Yellowstone Caldera, Tower Fall, Calcite Springs, & the Roosevelt Arch

Mammoth Hot Springs

The Golden Gate of Yellowstone, Mud Volcanos and the Fishing Bridge

Nearby Western Towns Not To Be Missed:

Jackson Hole Wyoming

The Grand Tetons:

Mormon Row, Craig Thomas Visitor Center, and Jenny Lake

"That's Rough" Dirty Dozen Card-Making Challenge

Ten months ago I wrote in THIS POST that I was given the great honor in the paper-crafting world to join the "Dirty Dozen" on Splitcoaststampers.   Splitcoaststampers is an on-line paper crafting community where crafters can learn new techniques, chit chat with each other, share their art work, and so much more.  One part of this community is "The Dirty Dozen".  This is an invitation only group of crafters whose work is seen as exemplary so they are asked to be part of the Dirty Dozen.  The requirements of the Dirty Dozen is to create six cards for six months centered around a different theme each month.  The cards then are uploaded into the "Dirty Dozen Gallery" and only fan club members are allowed to see them.  After six months, Dirty Dozen members are allowed to post them elsewhere on social media or their blogs.  Well, it has been six months since I completed my first challenge, so I can finally show me my first set of cards!

The fourth Dirty Dozen theme was "That's Rough".  Members were asked to add texture to their cards such as sand, grit medium, glitter, etc. These are my submissions:

Stitched Wall Hanging

My first card was my favorite for this challenge. Of all the stitching dies I've received through Spellbinders I have loved this one most of all.  I just think it's so pretty with the flowers and lovely frame. 

The texture in this card is both the stitching and the dry embossed background. 

To make this card, I used the Spellbinders Stitching Die "Stitched Wall Hanging".  I cut all the pieces, stitched and assembled the card.  The background is a Cuttlebug embossing folder.  I added sequins and pearls for embellishment. 

Hello Stitched Flower Card

My next card also uses a stitching die and embossing folder, but here I added even more texture with the burlap.

To make this card, I used the Spellbinders "Stitched Flower" die.  Once again I cut all my pieced and stitched them up with embroidery floss.  I dry embossed a white background using a Cuttlebug embossing folder, then I cut a strip of burlap paper and glued that on top.  From there I just randomly placed the flowers along with some pearl embellishments and a sentiment.

Baby Card

In this card I used lots of glitter and embossing powder to create my texture.

To make this card, I created a starry background using a Spellbinder's stencil "Star Bright" and Lumiere by Jacquard "Pearl White" Light Body Acrylic.  The image and sentiment are retired Stampin Up! "Buggies and Booties".  The sentiment is embossed in Black Glitter embossing powder.  A silver glitter ribbon, twine, and baby rattle charm was added for embellishment. 

Wedding Card

My next card gets its texture from the black velvet designer paper in the background.  It's hard to tell in the photo, but the black florals is velvet and is so luxurious to the touch. 

To make this card I cut a piece of the velvet designer paper and glued it to the card base.  The bride and groom image is from Inkadinkado "Wedding/Marriage".  I popped the main image panel up on dimensionals and added a black ribbed velvet ribbon for even more texture.  Black adhesive crystals were added for embellishment. 

Unicorn Shaker Card

For my next card, the texture is inside the card.  You can't feel it, but you can see it!

To make this card I used the "Be Unique" Sweet and Sassy stamp set and coordinating dies.  I created a cloudy background with a Tailored Expressions Cloud Stencil, then I adhered my images.  I put glitter on the rainbow and used black glitter embossing powder on the word "magical".  The rainbow clouds have white flocking.  Sequins were put inside the card to create a shaker effect. 

Iris Card

For my last card I used mediums, flocking and raised die cuts for my texture elements. 

To make this card I used the Spellbinder's "Bearded Iris" die.  I cut the pieces, then using a stylus curled the pieces and assembled the flower.  I put orange flocking powder inside the flowers.  The background was created using Spellbinder's "Hummingbird" Textures Stencil and Lunar Paste.  More texture was added by using gold embossing powder on the sentiment.